Installed: Megan Racing Coilovers & Whiteline Swaybars
Dec 5, 2005, 11:05 AM
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Installed: Megan Racing Coilovers & Whiteline Swaybars
In an earlier post I alluded to some suspension upgrades I installed last week. This post is a more detailed install/impressions.
First off, some background. I purchased my Evo in March of 2004. At 1400 miles I decided to install a set of Tein S-tech springs because A: they were cheap, and B: they gave me the look I desired at the time. I was more concerned with appearance than performance, since at that time 6/10ths of what the Evo had to offer in the handling department was more than enough to satisfy my needs. As time with the Evo wore on, my driving skills grew and I found myself enjoying onramps and backroad sweepers more than the trips I was taking to Atco and Englishtown. I always had a desire to upgrade to a serious suspension setup (i.e. Ohlins / Custom Bilstein setup) but the cost was prohibitive. In the last month my Evo turned 30k miles and the stock shocks had enough of the lowered abuse (~29k miles of it). I knew something had to be done, but the cost of the more serious coilover setups was still far out of reach.
I came across a couple threads about the Megan Racing coilovers that various members had posted, and was as apprehensive about them as anyone else on this site. Quotes such as "You get what you pay for" and "Megan Racing products are substandard knockoffs" etc. etc. all ran through my mind and were thrown about by various members. As I dug deeper I learned that many of Megan's products are in fact rip-offs of other companies designs built to lower quality standards. However, the case of their coilovers is slightly different. Megan Racing doesn't produce their coilovers. A Taiwanese company called Bor Chuann does. This company also happens to manufacture coilovers for Apexi. Further research shows that the Apexi ExV coilovers and the Megan Racing coilovers have identical specs as far as spring rates, adjustability, etc. Inquiries to either Bor Chuann or Megan asking if the coilovers are in fact the same as the Apexi units are responded to with statements such as "We can't tell you that". Well I let my knowledge of manufacturing techniques and practices speak for itself. Large companies such as Bor Chuann will gladly accept another distributor to sell the same product with a different name on it if it means they can up their monthly production numbers and in turn, lower their own production costs. This simply means that if they are in fact the same, Apexi is making more money on these coilovers than Megan.
Well I got in touch with Zeus who is a long time EvoM Guru and an authorized distributor of Megan Racing products. He was able to get me a set of these coilovers for $890 shipped to my door. Which no matter how you look at it is a deal. If these coilovers last another 30k miles they're still a cheaper alternative that a set of factory replacement shocks. I rolled the dice...
I couldn't be happier with my choice.
I had plans on installing the coilovers this past Friday. On Monday a fellow EvoM owner decided to sell his Whiteline Swaybars... so I picked them up as well. I spent the day on Friday installing everything.
Coilovers can't possibly be any easier to install. Unbolt the stock strut assembly, both the coilover in it's place. Once I had the car supported on jackstands and the wheels off, total install time couldn't have topped 30 minutes for all 4 corners, it's that simple.
Swaybars on the other hand....
Phew.... Rear swaybar, well that's a walk in the park compared to the front. The rear swaybar took me about 10-20 min to install. Unbolt the endlinks, the mounts, and the exhaust hangar. Snake the stock bar out, swap the mounts to the new bar, snake it in and reattach everything. I set it at stiffness 2 out of 4 (1 softest 4 stiffest). Piece of cake.
The front swaybar... this is not an upgrade to be taken lightly. Everything you may have read about how much of a pain it is to install... it's all true. I am the type of guy that will try to cut corners in an effort to save a few minutes. You simply can't with this thing. The short list of what needs to be removed... Downpipe, lower engine brace (the part with the front mount attached), lower tie bars. Parts that need to be detached... rear engine mount, steering rack, lower crossmember, front struts. Things that you can get around that are listed in the manual. You do not have to detach the power steering lines, there is enough slack in them to safely lower the crossmember by 4-5 inches. The CV shafts do not need to come out, but you need to support the control arms so they don’t drop too far to pull the axles apart. When all that’s done, you better hope you have the car at least 20 inches off the ground for room to snake the old bar out and the new bar in.
Back to the coilovers…
Ride height was set to where I wanted it right out of the box. I had to tighten the adjuster nuts, but besides that all was good. When I take the car to be cornerweighted I may have the car dropped 0.25 inches all around, but not I’m sure yet. I set the damping rates to the recommended street setting (22F / 17R) and rolled the car out of the garage. I knew the alignment would be crap, so I had an appointment made at my local alignment shop to have that taken care of. They have a Hunter computer alignment rack and have done well for me in the past. When the mechanic came out to get my car, I slipped him a good tip, told him the alignment specs I wanted, and asked him to take his time. A little over an hour later I had my car aligned exactly where I wanted it (-1.8 F / -1.0 R camber 0 Toe F&R).
Driving impressions…
WOW. Ride quality is so improved over my previous setup I often wonder how I managed to tolerate it for as long as I did. Damping seems perfect for any sized bump at speeds over 30MPH. At lower speeds small bumps can cause very VERY slight oscillation. Turn in is much improved, and body roll has been ELIMINATED. For some background, I am running 245 width BFG G-Force KD’s on 17x9” FN01R-C’s. Grip on my favorite onramps is amazing. When I push this new setup to the speed that the old setup was at it’s limit, I have the feeling of confidence the old setup had at 6/10ths. (does that make sense? ) I have no idea what the limit of this new setup is, and I’m almost afraid to find out… for now 
Future…
I will be having the car cornerweighted come spring. I will also start experimenting with the rear swaybar settings. I plan on autocrossing the car as much as possible this season, and avoiding the dragstrip. I will also be installing a front LSD this winter to round out the handling upgrades. We’ll see how it all comes together when the weather breaks!
I wanted to thank Zeus for getting me a great deal on the coilovers and KLancer for hooking me up with the swaybars. If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me. I will be adding pictures tonight.
Here are some installed pics of the front Coilovers and the Front Swaybar (the end are allyou can see, lol)
- Steve
First off, some background. I purchased my Evo in March of 2004. At 1400 miles I decided to install a set of Tein S-tech springs because A: they were cheap, and B: they gave me the look I desired at the time. I was more concerned with appearance than performance, since at that time 6/10ths of what the Evo had to offer in the handling department was more than enough to satisfy my needs. As time with the Evo wore on, my driving skills grew and I found myself enjoying onramps and backroad sweepers more than the trips I was taking to Atco and Englishtown. I always had a desire to upgrade to a serious suspension setup (i.e. Ohlins / Custom Bilstein setup) but the cost was prohibitive. In the last month my Evo turned 30k miles and the stock shocks had enough of the lowered abuse (~29k miles of it). I knew something had to be done, but the cost of the more serious coilover setups was still far out of reach.
I came across a couple threads about the Megan Racing coilovers that various members had posted, and was as apprehensive about them as anyone else on this site. Quotes such as "You get what you pay for" and "Megan Racing products are substandard knockoffs" etc. etc. all ran through my mind and were thrown about by various members. As I dug deeper I learned that many of Megan's products are in fact rip-offs of other companies designs built to lower quality standards. However, the case of their coilovers is slightly different. Megan Racing doesn't produce their coilovers. A Taiwanese company called Bor Chuann does. This company also happens to manufacture coilovers for Apexi. Further research shows that the Apexi ExV coilovers and the Megan Racing coilovers have identical specs as far as spring rates, adjustability, etc. Inquiries to either Bor Chuann or Megan asking if the coilovers are in fact the same as the Apexi units are responded to with statements such as "We can't tell you that". Well I let my knowledge of manufacturing techniques and practices speak for itself. Large companies such as Bor Chuann will gladly accept another distributor to sell the same product with a different name on it if it means they can up their monthly production numbers and in turn, lower their own production costs. This simply means that if they are in fact the same, Apexi is making more money on these coilovers than Megan.
Well I got in touch with Zeus who is a long time EvoM Guru and an authorized distributor of Megan Racing products. He was able to get me a set of these coilovers for $890 shipped to my door. Which no matter how you look at it is a deal. If these coilovers last another 30k miles they're still a cheaper alternative that a set of factory replacement shocks. I rolled the dice...
I couldn't be happier with my choice.
I had plans on installing the coilovers this past Friday. On Monday a fellow EvoM owner decided to sell his Whiteline Swaybars... so I picked them up as well. I spent the day on Friday installing everything.
Coilovers can't possibly be any easier to install. Unbolt the stock strut assembly, both the coilover in it's place. Once I had the car supported on jackstands and the wheels off, total install time couldn't have topped 30 minutes for all 4 corners, it's that simple.
Swaybars on the other hand....
Phew.... Rear swaybar, well that's a walk in the park compared to the front. The rear swaybar took me about 10-20 min to install. Unbolt the endlinks, the mounts, and the exhaust hangar. Snake the stock bar out, swap the mounts to the new bar, snake it in and reattach everything. I set it at stiffness 2 out of 4 (1 softest 4 stiffest). Piece of cake.The front swaybar... this is not an upgrade to be taken lightly. Everything you may have read about how much of a pain it is to install... it's all true. I am the type of guy that will try to cut corners in an effort to save a few minutes. You simply can't with this thing. The short list of what needs to be removed... Downpipe, lower engine brace (the part with the front mount attached), lower tie bars. Parts that need to be detached... rear engine mount, steering rack, lower crossmember, front struts. Things that you can get around that are listed in the manual. You do not have to detach the power steering lines, there is enough slack in them to safely lower the crossmember by 4-5 inches. The CV shafts do not need to come out, but you need to support the control arms so they don’t drop too far to pull the axles apart. When all that’s done, you better hope you have the car at least 20 inches off the ground for room to snake the old bar out and the new bar in.
Back to the coilovers…
Ride height was set to where I wanted it right out of the box. I had to tighten the adjuster nuts, but besides that all was good. When I take the car to be cornerweighted I may have the car dropped 0.25 inches all around, but not I’m sure yet. I set the damping rates to the recommended street setting (22F / 17R) and rolled the car out of the garage. I knew the alignment would be crap, so I had an appointment made at my local alignment shop to have that taken care of. They have a Hunter computer alignment rack and have done well for me in the past. When the mechanic came out to get my car, I slipped him a good tip, told him the alignment specs I wanted, and asked him to take his time. A little over an hour later I had my car aligned exactly where I wanted it (-1.8 F / -1.0 R camber 0 Toe F&R).
Driving impressions…
WOW. Ride quality is so improved over my previous setup I often wonder how I managed to tolerate it for as long as I did. Damping seems perfect for any sized bump at speeds over 30MPH. At lower speeds small bumps can cause very VERY slight oscillation. Turn in is much improved, and body roll has been ELIMINATED. For some background, I am running 245 width BFG G-Force KD’s on 17x9” FN01R-C’s. Grip on my favorite onramps is amazing. When I push this new setup to the speed that the old setup was at it’s limit, I have the feeling of confidence the old setup had at 6/10ths. (does that make sense?
) I have no idea what the limit of this new setup is, and I’m almost afraid to find out… for now Future…
I will be having the car cornerweighted come spring. I will also start experimenting with the rear swaybar settings. I plan on autocrossing the car as much as possible this season, and avoiding the dragstrip. I will also be installing a front LSD this winter to round out the handling upgrades. We’ll see how it all comes together when the weather breaks!
I wanted to thank Zeus for getting me a great deal on the coilovers and KLancer for hooking me up with the swaybars. If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me. I will be adding pictures tonight.
Here are some installed pics of the front Coilovers and the Front Swaybar (the end are allyou can see, lol)
- Steve
Last edited by SuperHatch; Dec 8, 2005 at 03:04 PM.
Dec 5, 2005, 11:28 AM
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I think for the price that going with megan coilovers is really a no-brainer unless you want to spend some serious cash on ohlins. Can't wait to see the pics tonight. 
Dec 5, 2005, 12:55 PM
#4
SuperHatch,
Thanks, I'm glad you're happy with them. I have a few customers now who have been running them. They seem to the "the" bang for the buck in Coilovers considering not only price, but quality for the dollar. The only problem will be supply if people want them in any numbers.
Thanks, I'm glad you're happy with them. I have a few customers now who have been running them. They seem to the "the" bang for the buck in Coilovers considering not only price, but quality for the dollar. The only problem will be supply if people want them in any numbers.
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Dec 8, 2005, 07:23 AM
#9
I've had no complaints what so ever on these units thus far.
Also, see www.meganracing.com about the warranty. Basically if you have a problem with one (no one has), they don't repair the unit, they replace it out right.
Also, see www.meganracing.com about the warranty. Basically if you have a problem with one (no one has), they don't repair the unit, they replace it out right.
Last edited by Zeus; Dec 8, 2005 at 07:26 AM.
Dec 8, 2005, 07:34 AM
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I have driven this car before and after the swaybars and coilovers were installed. The steering response after coilovers and swaybars is amazing. The car also rides great, not very harsh like you would think coilovers might make it. Steve will definately put this car thru the paces and see what this setup can really do 
Cant wait to get my car and join in on the fun
Cant wait to get my car and join in on the fun
Feb 3, 2006, 04:05 PM
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Superhatch, Where do you plan on getting your car cornerweighted? I've been looking for a place here in NJ for a long time and have found no one. Let me know of a few places that you may know.Thankds in advance.
BTW, nice write up
BTW, nice write up