MarriedToSubaru

Be warned, this is long and detailed. I tried to keep emotions out of it because honestly I get pretty fired up with **** poor customer service. Any quoted areas are direct from emails or publications.


Details:
Purchased On: November 18, 2014
Purchased From: Import Image Racing
Received On: November 21, 2014
Installed On: November 22, 2014
Installation Mileage: 972 miles

Background:
These were installed two weeks after purchase of the vehicle, all hardware was torqued to spec, preload was set to ~ 4mm all the way around, and checked for control arm bushing bind. For the first two weeks there was a squeak that came from the driver front coilover. This squeak could be described as a very annoying and persistent mouse. This sound went away with some driving and we wrote it off as everything settling.

A few months, and miles, later in March (around 6,500 miles) the squeak came back. Considering that I had driven the car from Virginia to Massachusetts and back through a blizzard as well as quite a bit of Virginia snow driving, I thought there might be a build-up of road salt. I took the coilover out, thoroughly cleaned the moving parts and liberally applied white lithium grease to try to keep things moving. The squeak would be gone initially anytime the car was on the lift for anything but would return and remain relatively consistent.

TLDR Version:

I have had a horrific squeak from my driver front coilover. The tech support response has been quick but lack-luster. Only half of the parts needed to fix this were sent, replacing the entire unit was never an option and was ignored when brought up even though you can pay $95 for replacement after the warranty expires. I had to purchase product to fix this in a timely manner and the parts that they promised have not been sent. Emails are going unanswered and the squeak remains. I will be replacing these at the end of winter with a better product.

Pictures and Videos can be found here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskgxZ1Xh

Timeline:

June 29, 2015
• Contacted BC Racing NA for warranty support on their product. They responded quickly with the basic information to isolate the problem. These items were:
1. Verify the top nut is secure and tight
2. Verify all mounting hardware is tight and secure.
3. Verify pre-load is properly set.
a. This included two videos, one that did not pertain to the product I purchased.
4. Check for bushing bind.
5. Request for original purchase receipt, serial number, and installation pictures.
• Out of town for work, responded to make them aware that I had checked and verified items 1 through 4.
• No further response from BC Racing NA
July 20, 2015 – July 22, 2015
• Responded that I had removed the coilover again and discovered a large amount of corrosion in the bearings and attached images. (see link for all images)
• Immediate response to ask where I was located and if the car saw a fair amount of winter/snow driving (details that were already provided)
• Responded to reiterate my snow driving that happened on brand new coilovers, as this is my daily driver, but based on their product guide the coilovers have a corrosion protection to “protect against the darkest of European winters”.
• Immediate response to ask if the squeak is still present
• Responded to explain that the entire bearing was rusted / corroded as far as I could tell without disassembling the entire unit. I was unable to provide a pinpointed explanation of the parts that were failing because there is an extremely poor parts diagram on the website and one was never provided by tech support.
• Response on July 22nd that they were sending “one front pillowball casing to see if that solves the issues as well as a new top plate bushing and top nut”
July 30, 2015
• Received parts, 8 days later even though they are located in Florida which is three days max shipping time from VA.
• Car placed on lift, coilover removed and completely disassembled, discovered that not all of the parts that were needed were sent.
• Immediately contact BC Racing to make them aware of this issue, especially now since my daily driver has the suspension completely torn apart on one corner. Additional pictures are sent as well as a video. Request for them to send ALL necessary parts, next day air for Saturday Delivery since I cannot have my car down for another week waiting for parts shipped at molasses speeds.
July 31, 2015
• Apology sent:
o I apologize for the miss-communication. The spherical bearing, which is what I mentioned I would replace, and asked for the status on, is what I sent you.

The part you have in your hand is an upper spring seat with bearing.

We unfortunately could not even select Saturday delivery to that address.

You could however contact Motion Industries in Manassas and ask for a 6204Z bearing. That is the bearing itself if you need to get it done tomorrow.
• Notes about this response:
o My company ships a large amount of product daily, I had already checked my address to ensure it was eligible for Saturday delivery through both FedEx and UPS, I have also received Saturday deliveries multiple times. This isn’t cheap but you do what is needed to keep the customer happy.
o Notice the bolded, spherical bearing vs pillowball casing and top plate bushing. This is actually the first time that spherical bearing has been brought up and without a proper parts diagram how am I to know the technical name for the components of the entire coilover.
• I replace the Upper Spring Seat bearing personally paying for the bearing, getting it pressed out and pressed in. While pressing the bearing out we discover that there is additional corrosion / rust between the bearing and the metal surround of the spring seat and that there was a very loose fit. Apply a thin layer of RTV to fill gap upon pressing-in, able to press in by hand.
• Install all new hardware and use marine grease on all bearings to prevent water from penetrating the part. Re-install coilover in vehicle; re-torque all parts to spec, check ride height.
• On test drive the squeak remains.
• Add a small gasket between the top hat and the top of the strut tower. Since the strut tower is rubberized, I was thinking the squeak may be a friction response. This had no effect on the squeak sound.
August 3, 2015
• My response sent to point out the notes above and to point out that after inspection the passenger side is showing signs of corrosion and the beginning of failure. Also that compared to other vehicles I have inspected personally the hardware on my set of coilovers is much less gold colored, and almost silver. These vehicles have also experienced no problems.
• Response from BC Racing attempting to shrug responsibility of the parts sent back to me and apologizing again for miscommunication. Requested clarification about the passenger side failure and additional pictures.
• My response to confirm that I am looking for replacement parts for the passenger side and asking if there was any special process that caused the gold color to the hardware. (At this point I’m thinking there is a corrosion protection coating that enhances the gold color and this may have been missed on my particular set)
• Response from BC Racing skirting the questions that have been asked but asking again for the vendor name and date of purchase. My invoice purchase had been provided at an earlier date at their request.
August 9, 2015
• I sent additional more detailed images trying to show the color of the hardware from different distances and lighting. They unfortunately are photographing a bit more gold than they actually are based on the lighting.
August 10, 2015
• Response from BC Racing that the hardware is very gold in color and is accurate to all other sets. Confirm that they are shipping out replacement hardware for the passenger side. Still ignoring the question about what creates the gold color. Inform me that they will be sending all parts for the passenger side and ask me to confirm my shipping information.
• Immediately respond with shipping information for the third time.
August 11, 2015 – Present
• No additional emails received, my emails have gone unanswered.
• Passenger side parts have not been sent, email sent to alert them of this, email unanswered.
• Squeak remains.

nemsin

iTrader: (19)

When the time comes you should look at a set of MCS coilovers. http://www.motioncontrolsuspension.com/

They are very well known and respected in the autox/track scene. Plus they actually answer their phone and stand behind their product.