FCM coilover reviews?
 

FCM, FatCat Motorsports, whatever you want to call them, offer custom valved Bilstein based coilovers for our cars. I have them on my 1995 Miata and love them, much better than the Flex's I had before. I've searched and found a few people have ordered them but no actual reviews. Anyone willing to pipe up?

I have no owner feedback but I can try to describe my on track in car ride along. I rode in 2 different setups on the track recently. One car had Tein suspension and the other had a FCM setup. Both cars were on Rcomps.
While both cars handled very well and honestly felt like they were on rails(yes, I know the tires had a LOT to do with it) the FCM car felt much smoother. The tein car was slightly harsher and in the turns It felt "bumpier". FCM car was silky smooth. If I had the extra cash to spend on a proper setup it would be by FCM...

Yeah, the Teins I had rode like absolute shit compared to my FCM's and were only a hair sharper in turn in, really wasn't worth the trade off. I'll probably go that way again on the RX8, just was hoping some more people were running them here. I'm surprised more aren't, they're fairly popular with the Miata guys.

I have some on order... I'll let you know what I think once I get them on the car in a few weeks. I'll only be able to compare them to the stock suspension though, and my past experience with some different cars.

Part of what you get with FCM is the ability to customize based on your requirements. That was a big factor for me since I am walking the fine line between daily driver and track car and so far I am impressed with the knowledge and advice they have given me.

The other option I considered was the Ohlins road and track setup, but there is not a lot of solid info review on this either.

Here is a quick lap of the FCM in action. IMO you just can't go wrong with these.
TGPR 2nd RX8 - YouTube

Very interested in your review.

There great. I advise that anyone going this route that wants to be more than 1" lower than stock go with shortened bodies or start with NC shocks which are shorter in the rear.

I see a set for sale for 1k in the used section. I'd go for it. Can't find a competent setup anywhere near that price point.

that thread completely confirms what i said and gives more detail...That's the car I rode in btw

I have a set, and am very happy with them. My car has trophied twice at SCCA Solo nationals with them (sadly neither time with me behind the wheel, but one of those trophies went to Shaikh at FCM) but yet they are super comfortable as a daily driver. In fact I drove the car from Portland OR to Lincoln without any issues.

So yes Shaikh knows his stuff and the his valving is excellent. Both the compression and rebound controls have a real impact on the handling, making it easy to setup the car, and my car handles the big dips & bumps on the Packwood surface with aplomb. Highly recommended. I wish I could get a set of Shaikh shocks in my Subaru Outback, LOL.

And yes get the shortened bodies.

Also, I was able to adapt some rear cables to work with the FCM rear shocks, allowing for rear rebound adjustment from within the trunk. Anybody who wants more info, just let me know.

You still in PDX? That's where I'm at too, might have to get a ride if you'd be willing . . .

Yes, I'm in Portland. If you want to go for a ride, let me know. I have some free time this weekend in fact. In Lake Oswego.

I've now had mine on the car for a week of DD and two track days. So far I am very impressed. Shaikh will advise on spring rates and sway bars as well as matching bump stops to optimize handling balance and ride per your requirements. You are basically getting a suspension designed to work as a whole, rather than just a coilover.

The ride is excellent given how stiff the springs are. The damping has a fluidity to it that feels really very good, compliant and controlled at the same time. My goal was to have something as stiff as possible for the track, while still being comfortable enough to commute daily and I believe I have achieved that with springs set at ~1.9-2hz. Compared to the stock suspension it actually feels smoother at lower speeds. You can feel the bigger dips on the freeway more (the stock suspension was actually very good at these, but did have some low speed jiggle).

There is a lot of useful information on the fatcatmotorsports.com site, and I do believe what they say about setting these up to be fast, rather than to feel fast. On mountain roads I find I can go faster AND in more comfort than the stock suspension. My wife also agreed on how smooth the suspension felt on country roads.

On track I found the behavior very easy and predictable. More so than stock. Some of that is due to the optimized balance and alignment, but it can also be put down to the way the shocks absorb bumps and kerbs as well as quickly and smoothly settle into a turn.

I have driven koni yellows in the past, and these are a world apart. These will cost more than those, but you do get what you pay for. The only downside is the wait. Since this is a small shop, and they are custom built to order there is a long lead time, although Shaikh does provide updates whenever asked and I believe has taken steps to reduce the wait since I ordered mine.

I posted some details on balance here: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-whe...3/#post4500307

Track video here: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-...4/#post4500418

EDIT: just completed a 2nd weekend at the track and updated the above two threads. Really, really impressed with the complete setup now. I could not imagine anything better as I was driving it around on track. Perfectly balanced, grippy, stable, and confidence inspiring. When I went beyond the limit of grip it let go in a progressive and predictable manner allowing me to easily correct and keep moving with minimum drama. Hitting kerbs hard I could unstick the car, but it would settle again quickly with minimum fuss. Fun stuff :)