Megan Coilover and Maximal Control Arm Review

**HLxDrummer** · 07-06-2012, 11:16 PM

Hey guys,

Got my suspension installed and wanted to put my thoughts out there for anybody researching these two items.

Coilovers
Ride Quality
I think whoever complains about the ride quality of these: is old, didn't install them properly, or has really shitty roads. I installed them with the instructed preload (basically none - which is not how they come) and have the damping set at 12 up front and 14 out back. Rides much better than my old 170K suspension overs small bumps but is noticeably more firm over big bumps which is to be expected with triple the spring rate. Absolutely no complaints here.
Update: I moved to Morgantown, WV (college town) with lots of bumps and potholes in the road and I am realizing these ride a lot more rough than where I used to live. It is a pain in the ass to drive around down here without feeling like I am knocking everything loose in my car. Pretty annoying. If I was still daily driving the car I would seriously consider other options.

Build Quality
Just installed them recently so no durability issues but hope to comment in here at a later date. Everything seems nice and I put antiseize on all the threads to keep it that way. One complaint I have about the design is that these do not fit stock wheels/tires easily! I initially adjusted the camber at the knuckle to have as much positive camber as possible but I still couldn't get enough clearance to lower the car much (at least not enough that I was comfortable with). Combined with people mentioning that the coilover slid in the knuckle even with torqued bolts, I was not willing to take the risk of the coilover digging into my sidewall. Additionally, this would have limited the amount of negative camber I could obtain. I ended up getting SCE's 5MM wheel spacers for up front. They are a PITA because the wheel no longer sits on the lip that the spacer now covers so putting on the wheels is annoying and it is one more thing to worry about shifting/rusting/etc and causing my rotors to "warp". With the spacers, however, I was able to set the bottom adjustment to maximum negative camber (that way if I hit a bump and the coilover slides in the knuckle, it is already maxed out) and adjusted camber using the plates up top.
Update:The lock nuts keep coming loose in the front, causing me to lose my settings. Luckily I measured everything before I drove the car so I can just adjust it back to the specs and not need alignments constantly. Still very annoying. I did put some anti-seize on the threads so maybe that is why. I have tightened them as much as I can and it still does it. I called Megan and they weren't helpful.

Performance
Compared to my 170K old suspension, the performance improvement is amazing. Handling is much more neutral than stock although it still has a tendency to understeer. Through slaloms and transitions the suspension loads up much more quickly than stock which is obviously great. One thing I don't like is that it feels a bit oversprung in the front. I can stiffen the dampening but that is just rebound and you can tell. To have balanced rebound/compression dampening up front, it will sometimes bounce over big bumps. Additionally, if your track(s) are a bit rough in spots you will loose some traction on them over softer setups. Fairly obvious but thought id mention it.

Maximal's Teflon Control Arms
Fitment
The bushings supplied with the control arms did not fit my bracket properly and left extra space that the end would slide around in. I had to go buy washers to shim the bushings although Terry offered to send me replacements. The bushings I got had a decent amount of variance in their thicknesses according to my digital caliper (don't remember the exact measurements). My stock arms fit in the brackets perfectly and my measurements matched what people had online when they made their own arms so I doubt my car is bent up. However, I have never heard of fitment issues with these arms before so who knows - just thought I'd mention it.

Adjustment
Seemed like the threads were a little dirty, maybe from powdercoating, but once I cleaned them up the arms adjusted nicely and I was able to get a good alignment. One nice thing would be to put a nut on the arm for easier adjustment without scratching the powdercoat. Also would be nice if the arms were a little shorter so I can get more than a degree of camber at my ride height (~2" lowered).

Durability
Plan to comment on this in the future. Hoping with antiseize on the threads and the rubber boots that these arms will last the life of the car.

Rubber Boots
Got RERS3 boots from Seals It on eBay to help protect the arm ends from dirt/salt/etc. With some stretching I was able to fit the boots on the ends of the arm without ripping any. They seem pretty nice.

If anybody has any questions about any of these products feel free to ask!

**green-lantern** · 07-07-2012, 12:19 PM

Nice review, really my only complaint about the Megans is they are a bit bouncy with the damping set soft but for the money they are a good deal. I think mine are set for 5-7 in the front and 3-5 in the back for driving around here. The roads are a bit bad in some spots so they can be uncomfortable at times but not enough to make get rid of them.

I did run the road course this year at NG. I just adjusted the damping all the way tight and they worked great. I can't complain for the price.

If you had 170k struts on you car I could imagine these would feel fantastic when you put them on.

**HLxDrummer** · 07-07-2012, 06:03 PM

With the settings I have them at now they are a touch bouncy at times but I think it's the best I can get it without having compression and rebound adjustments. It was a little harsh when I had it at 6 from the hardest.

Glad to see you like yours, too!

**92RT-TT** · 07-09-2012, 01:30 AM

Great review, I plan to run the Megans someday too and I need to buy a set of adjustable control arms soon for my current GC/KYB setup before I wear out my rear tires with the negative camber.

**HLxDrummer** · 07-15-2012, 07:59 PM

Updated the first post after two autocrosses.

**Maximal** · 07-16-2012, 02:45 PM

Thanks for the review.

Just wanted to comment on a few things with the arms.

As for the dirt in there that is from sandblasting them before powdercoat. I think my supplier got a little lazy with cleaning up the oil from cutting the threads recently which means all the sand sticks to the threads in there. I honestly didn't notice this until a month or so ago and since then I've been cleaning them out much better. They're not completely smooth of course since they are a course thread.

As for the spacer mix-up...really can't tell you what happened there. We measure them with a caliper and cut them down on a lathe (they come a bit larger) so you're going to have a bit of difference between them but nothing that should be noticeable or affect anything. Yours were clearly too short and to keep them from happening I'm measuring them after cutting them down also to prevent that in the future.

Other than that glad your're happy with everything.