Spend 2K to keep DRC or fit coilovers ?

[rwilsonrs4]

Hi Guys , a few weeks ago i had to replace a rear chock and have the DRC recharged , but with 9 years of rusting of pipes above the rear subframe a pipe has failed and the DRC has <beep> itself the cost to refit 4 pipes which requires the whole rear end /fuel tank down the cost will be around 2K if it doesnt need hoses too which may be the case if they wont come out of the pipework. So....i do like the DRC and want to keep it but the car is still on the original shock bar the RR which was recently replaced so maybe a ticking bomb in future ,

I have been searching through posts about the subject and i thought it best to ask here, i do drive it quite hard but i dont want it to be like a track car on the road as it gets used normally a lot too and i like how it drives

So can i have a little contribution from anyone who has driven with DRC and coilovers as to whats the benefits/drawbacks of coilovers , i,m not interested in lowering the car as the roads around where i live are crap and i have already scuffed the exhaust flexis several times in dips and bumps , but i have heard that even with the springseats screwed right up its still lower at the rear on coilovers ? , the cost of coilovers will be less than the repair will be and i can fit them myself so that part is no problem so any input would be appreciated

[Grandadg90]

Ive just fit coilovers this week and there is no real difference in them compared to DRC.

Look into Vogtland Coilovers from Germany, you will be pleasantly suprised at their quality, KW Variant comes to mind. Then look at the price difference, you'll be shocked.

Best of luck.

[Grandadg90]

Oh and ride height at the rear is sat 66cm, which is where they were sat before Coilovers.

[rwilsonrs4]

ok that is good , i dont want the car lower , thanks for the info

[marc1]

I love the DRC. I have driven a B7 with Bilstein B14's fitted though and it drove very well. Handled well but was nice and compliant. The B14 kit being the PSS kit that is not rebound adjustable so it's just a case of setting desired ride height, fitting and forgetting I believe.

If you do fit coilovers in place of DRC though, what do you do with the pipes that join corner to corner that the oil travels through? Just remove the lot, I suppose. But would that be anymore complicated?

Docurley has fitted Blistein's recently too as his DRC gave up.

[rwilsonrs4]

yeah well i would unscrew the hoses and fit a blanking plug or something , wouldnt be hard to do think , the pressure has all gone anyhow , i would be fitting adjustable comp /rebound ones anyway as its better for town normal driving as the they are set up for that and then stiffer when working ,so prob be B16 PSS9 or the KW 3

[w00kie]

After 4 DRC failures in 3 years I finally gave up and went with KW3s and from the SS+ setup I can't really tell much difference other than that I don't cringe every time I hit a bump and worry whether that will be the next thing to kill the rear shocks.

Only thing to bear in mind if swapping out the DRC is that you might need to add H&R anti roll bars to keep things flat when cornering as the DRC helps in that respect. That's another £375 or so.

My only regret is that I didn't give up on the DRC a lot earlier and spend the money elsewhere

[rwilsonrs4]

cool I already have Front and rear H&R roll bars fitted so another reason to think of the change

[mongo]

replaced my drc with pss9's, the lines needed replaced on mine as well, but decided to just ditch it. Went for hotchkis bars and meyle HD arm kit as well. Drives lovely.

[mf51y]

Ditching the drc moves the car to modified I guess as far as the insurance companies are concerned ..how does it effect the premiums ??

[davers6]

Drc is rubbish can't wait for mine to give up! it can't cope with fast direction changes had Billy's on last b7 far superior

[Covkiller]

I wouldn't pay £2k for any kind of mild steel suspension inc. DRC. Mine were really badly rusted. So I changed my DRC SS+ for stainless steel KW v3's £1850 fitted at APS Brackley with a good setup. If you want a specialist bespoke setup i.e. corner weighted, height, rebound and stiffness then it costs about £500 to £600. But the benefit is astonishing over standard setup coilovers or DRC e.g. understeer; er horrible.

Let us know how you get on and pictures please.
Good luck

[Grandadg90]

Have a look at Vogtland coilovers. Vogtland manufacture KW Variants shocks, so in essence the shocks supplied are KW, with same part number.

Massive price difference.

[rwilsonrs4]

Thanks for that David , good to hear the b14 are good also even against the SS you had , mine doesnt have that so should be good i think , i,m not planning on lowering it at all for looks (tho i do like them dropped a bit) , but too much of a compromise for me with my roads locally ,the Bilsteins will give me peace of mind now for sure , i could stand a bit more stiffness than the DRC but my pal has SS+ on his and its noticably harsher than mine is but still fine , so i think i will like the Billys , KW 3 was my first thought but now finding out that the rear damping/rebound adjusters are on the top and cannot be accessed without removal is annoying , so B16 SS9 will be going on ,I have H&R roll bars on mine now so that will dial out a lot of roll with the coilovers so i can set the compression to the softest i want which will help remove harshness in town and daily driving
Thanks for the Info
Cheers
Roy

[RS6BRIT]

I've just got mine back from MRC after having H&R coilovers fitted. They are height adjustable only so are he equivalent to the B14's. I must say that the ride is now much improved as my DRC was very knackered. Its not too firm, but the handling was transformed. Not bad value at about a grand plus fitting. When my wife starts talking to me again I'll look into some ARB's to compliment them.