Raceland ultiomo review.

[beemer36]

alright il start it off with a few befor and after pics! let me know what you guys think lower higher? getting a little rubbing in the rear so prob need to bring it up.

After! this is them slammed

Ride Height Adjusted where i want it

Not a ton of pics for the install. because i didnt have someone to take the pics. total time for install over the course of the weekend about 5 hours. not bad for the first time doing coil overs. bruised a finger and had to buy a new strut tower for the passenger side those were the only negatives.

so far did a 5 Min drive on them and there are Gods compared to blown stock suspension. still feel too soft in the rear for my liking but its gonna have to work. Overall i give these a 7/10 fora DD as far as track i cant say becasue i dont track my car. i would recommend these to some one who is looking for a bang for there buck coilover. for 400 dollars you cant beat it. i will be putting these guys through there paces over the next couple of days and will give another update! thanks everyone for the interest and i hope someone can find thise usefull!

Damn bro! You ride is looking sick! My rims are lookin good on that car lol so jealous !

[JerCotter7]

I had standard racelands on my car. They are a good coilover for just slamming it. They were very bouncy though and I never realized how much grip the car had until I changed to HSD's. I wouldn't go back now. Wow. Turn in is incredible.

But if I was buying the car again and only had however much racelands costs now to spend on suspension, I would buy them in a heartbeat, IF my own suspension was blown. Otherwise I would save up for a better set.

[MightyMikee]

thanks everyone for the compliments and I hope this helps anyone interested in these coil overs. there great for US 430 for the ultimos. there really not as bouncy as I was expecting and the ride is solid. I have them pretty stiff right now and I like it. bit then again I am used to blown suspension :P haha. yeah I prob will upgrade with some koni inserts at some point in time. better damping and what not. so definitely recommend these if ur wanting a good looking okay riding coil over. like everyone had said they go stupid low and tags a fact they definitely do. so I highly recommend them if that's what looking for. but like I said I can't say much for performance.

[waldo619]

Needs more low!

[SSRI]

I had standard racelands on my car. They are a good coilover for just slamming it. They were very bouncy though and I never realized how much grip the car had until I changed to HSD's. I wouldn't go back now. Wow. Turn in is incredible.

But if I was buying the car again and only had however much racelands costs now to spend on suspension, I would buy them in a heartbeat, IF my own suspension was blown. Otherwise I would save up for a better set.

For the price I hope they are, they're about 1200$ USD, race lands are less than 1/3 of that. How did you have the race lands set up just dumped? I'm sure if you corner balanced and swapped out for Koni they would be a well balanced coil over. Wish I could get a shock dyno on them....

[MightyMikee]

For the price I hope they are, they're about 1200$ USD, race lands are less than 1/3 of that. How did you have the race lands set up just dumped? I'm sure if you corner balanced and swapped out for Koni they would be a well balanced coil over. Wish I could get a shock dyno on them....

yeah that's what I'm thinking of doing when mine go out. hopefully about 20,000 or more miles. could any place with a dyno do that? I was thinking of going to psi and having them dyno my car for fun lol I could see if they can do that. ill let you know. tho so far driving on them there not bad. I rub in the rear on the fenders right now but I'm running 20mm spacers on the rear tires with a 235/45/17. but other then that I have problems with them they seem to corner well. much less both roll.

[SSRI]

yeah that's what I'm thinking of doing when mine go out. hopefully about 20,000 or more miles. could any place with a dyno do that? I was thinking of going to psi and having them dyno my car for fun lol I could see if they can do that. ill let you know. tho so far driving on them there not bad. I rub in the rear on the fenders right now but I'm running 20mm spacers on the rear tires with a 235/45/17. but other then that I have problems with them they seem to corner well. much less both roll.

I think dyno is wrong term, but a shock / spring compressor that records the rates, anytime I try to understand it my head hurts, but I just want to see if the "linear" springs are actually linear, and if the dampening on the struts is enough to handle the springs.

The regular race lands are a bit bouncy because they are under dampened, this is why I think with a set of Koni's in there it could be a phenomenal coil over since we can adjust the dampening a bit and the Koni's should have no problem handling the low spring rate these come with. Of course it will not ride as nice but should make for a nice setup. I'm 90% sure I'll pick up a set this summer for my M3 and I will buy a set of koni rear's to replace to help, if that works out well I will try and source a set of fronts on the cheap.


Quick question, what type of coating is on the shocks? I would like to weld M3 sway tabs on but would prefer to not ruin the coating since it will keep them clean and probably help them last for awhile.

[JesseE36]

Raceland Ultimos here as well...

Definitely stiff (thats what she said) but they ride WAY better than my stock 170K mile OEM suspension....I'm going on two weeks now and no complaints here....I have my rears set all the way down and the fronts can go another inch or so. They have settled a bit more since these pix and need to lower the front to match the rears...

BEFORE:




AFTER:

[Kentetsu]

Shock Dyno is the correct term. We use them to "match" sets of struts. Depending on the manufacturer, there can be huge differences in shock performance, even when they came from the same lot. I wouldn't bother with this for cheap shocks, but if you start talking real money then any high dollar damper should come dyno matched with documentation to show it....

[tlamm]

Im still running my Racelands....lol With a sticky tire you still could take good cornors. The point I got nerves was a 85 mph cornor in a probley 45 mph "recomended". Still doing good after 3 years of owning them.

[MightyMikee]

I think dyno is wrong term, but a shock / spring compressor that records the rates, anytime I try to understand it my head hurts, but I just want to see if the "linear" springs are actually linear, and if the dampening on the struts is enough to handle the springs.

The regular race lands are a bit bouncy because they are under dampened, this is why I think with a set of Koni's in there it could be a phenomenal coil over since we can adjust the dampening a bit and the Koni's should have no problem handling the low spring rate these come with. Of course it will not ride as nice but should make for a nice setup. I'm 90% sure I'll pick up a set this summer for my M3 and I will buy a set of koni rear's to replace to help, if that works out well I will try and source a set of fronts on the cheap.

Quick question, what type of coating is on the shocks? I would like to weld M3 sway tabs on but would prefer to not ruin the coating since it will keep them clean and probably help them last for awhile.

do it dude! I would definitely be interested to see how it goes. and it could be something similar to a powder coating? I could be wrong I'm not 100% sure.

Raceland Ultimos here as well...

Definitely stiff (thats what she said) but they ride WAY better than my stock 170K mile OEM suspension....I'm going on two weeks now and no complaints here....I have my rears set all the way down and the fronts can go another inch or so. They have settled a bit more since these pix and need to lower the front to match the rears...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

that looks really good! I'm running spaces so no super low for me what size wheels do you have?

Im still running my Racelands....lol With a sticky tire you still could take good cornors. The point I got nerves was a 85 mph cornor in a probley 45 mph "recomended". Still doing good after 3 years of owning them.

nice that's good to hear they have longevity that was a big concern

[SSRI]

Shock Dyno is the correct term. We use them to "match" sets of struts. Depending on the manufacturer, there can be huge differences in shock performance, even when they came from the same lot. I wouldn't bother with this for cheap shocks, but if you start talking real money then any high dollar damper should come dyno matched with documentation to show it....

Thank you, yes from what I hear even Koni's are off from each other sometimes. Even thought most people wouldn't bother I really want to see what they put down. Maybe they are not as far off as people think (I bet they are but still it wouldn't hurt to see).

I know that an expansive coil over should come with all the information but its a joke when people are running 3k coil overs on the street it's just over kill. 90% of drivers will never be able to outdrive the coil over, never mind tune it in themselves.

I guess what I'm saying is I want to try and see if I can build a true koni based single adjustable coil over for under 1000$, with ride and camber adjustment. I'm betting with this setup (race land ultimo, with koni shocks) and a garage corner balance. I can put a lot of people with very very very expansive coil overs to shame, and if it doesn't work?

Oh well I'm out a couple bucks, sell the race lands, put the koni's in my billies run some springs and race on!

[Nomade30]

The only problem I see with your plan is quality camber and caster plates cost a lot of money 400-500$. For the best bang for your buck, you'd be better off using swapped 96-99 m3 top hats and then upgrading to 96-99 m3 control arms with offset CA bushings.

[SSRI]

The only problem I see with your plan is quality camber and caster plates cost a lot of money 400-500$. For the best bang for your buck, you'd be better off using swapped 96-99 m3 top hats and then upgrading to 96-99 m3 control arms with offset CA bushings.

True that is probably what I will run in the beginning, but might upgrade to turner adjustable later. I'm running swapped mounts now and for some reason I have -4.0 degrees of camber...

[Nomade30]

True that is probably what I will run in the beginning, but might upgrade to turner adjustable later. I'm running swapped mounts now and for some reason I have -4.0 degrees of camber...

Spin the top hats arrow to face forward.

[JerCotter7]

For the price I hope they are, they're about 1200$ USD, race lands are less than 1/3 of that. How did you have the race lands set up just dumped? I'm sure if you corner balanced and swapped out for Koni they would be a well balanced coil over. Wish I could get a shock dyno on them....

I got my racelands for 1/4 the price. Set up just dumped? I don't understand. Yeah but how much are koni inserts for the racelands? Here it would cost about €500 then they aren't made to match the spring rate. And then I would need a camber plate that can also adjust caster with a pillowball mount. I would also need to weld on the tabs for the sway bar since I was swapping it anyway. And buy adjustable drop links. Plus with HSD I can lower the car without compressing the springs.

All in all it just wasn't worth spending that much on my own creation. Easier to buy a set designed for the purpose rather than sticking stuff together and hoping it works.

I was happy with the racelands the way they were though. For a €250 coilover I would have no problem buying it again if I was in the market for cheap coilovers.

[SSRI]

Thanks Normade haha...

To the other guy I understand where you're coming from. The reason for using Koni's is that they work with a range of springs. They will work VERY well with these race lands since they have low spring rates.

The coilovers you have are a Euro coilover and from my research they don't even offer them
For the e36 anymore. Never mind if I did get a set what would I do if they broke or needed service. Same goes with the JOM. With this race land koni mix I can easily get it serviced. I'd feel more comfortable with this setup than some junk 16 way adjustable coilover that doesn't actually do anything but turn a knob. Koni's work it's been proven.

Sent from my iPhone using BF.com Expect Errors

[JerCotter7]

Thanks Normade haha...

To the other guy I understand where you're coming from. The reason for using Koni's is that they work with a range of springs. They will work VERY well with these race lands since they have low spring rates.

The coilovers you have are a Euro coilover and from my research they don't even offer them
For the e36 anymore. Never mind if I did get a set what would I do if they broke or needed service. Same goes with the JOM. With this race land koni mix I can easily get it serviced. I'd feel more comfortable with this setup than some junk 16 way adjustable coilover that doesn't actually do anything but turn a knob. Koni's work it's been proven.

Sent from my iPhone using BF.com Expect Errors

They still offer them for the E36 here. So no idea where you got that information from. The supplier I bought them from has an excellent customer service if anything goes wrong. Not that I know personally but from word of mouth. They also adjust the same way as Konis.

[SSRI]

They still offer them for the E36 here. So no idea where you got that information from. The supplier I bought them from has an excellent customer service if anything goes wrong. Not that I know personally but from word of mouth. They also adjust the same way as Konis.

I've checked there websites and I don't see BMW applications

http://www.hsdcoilovers.com/hsd-coilover-applications

My only issues would be that the supplier isn't going to service them for me, and to ship them over the pond to service them will not be very cheap either.

Yes a lot of coil overs "adjust" like Koni's but a lot of them have also been put on shock dynos and the range of 16 clicks on those coils has been less than one click on a set of konis. I think ICS is a good example, a 1000$ adjustable coil over that does just about nothing haha!

I wish we could get the JOM coil overs here but its a just a bit risky if they break or something.

Edit: Sorry if it sounds like I'm talking down your coil overs, I truly am not it just wouldn't be smart for me to try and build / buy a budget coil over that will cost more than the coil over to service if need comes.

[JerCotter7]

I've checked there websites and I don't see BMW applications

http://www.hsdcoilovers.com/hsd-coilover-applications

My only issues would be that the supplier isn't going to service them for me, and to ship them over the pond to service them will not be very cheap either.

Yes a lot of coil overs "adjust" like Koni's but a lot of them have also been put on shock dynos and the range of 16 clicks on those coils has been less than one click on a set of konis. I think ICS is a good example, a 1000$ adjustable coil over that does just about nothing haha!

I wish we could get the JOM coil overs here but its a just a bit risky if they break or something.

Edit: Sorry if it sounds like I'm talking down your coil overs, I truly am not it just wouldn't be smart for me to try and build / buy a budget coil over that will cost more than the coil over to service if need comes.

www.driftworks.com is there shop for the coilovers.

Yeah I know what you mean but HSD are well known here in Ireland for being a good coilover. 16 clicks on these are useless on even a track. Goes to hard on 16. Once again not my own my own experience. I'm still bedding them in so still on setting 1 for me

JOM are pretty much the same as standard racelands. Only difference is the racelands give a really good c-clamp. JOM one is useless. Friend had JOM in his passat and the ride was the same as racelands.

I didn't take it that way. I can see your point and agree with it. Everyone has different needs and I wouldn't like to see postage to UK and back for a service

[MightyMikee]

alright so after driving on the ultimos now for about 2 weeks or so I have found them to be pretty sporty and have some pretty high performance qualitys. the rears are a little to soft for what I was hopping. I am also getting a really bad squeaking sound from the driver and passenger rear springs? what could be causing this? any help is really appreciated!

[R3APER]

Did you ever figure out the squeak? Also now that they have settled how low would you set them at time of install? I'm buying a set next week so kinda curious. With the ultimos the spring rates are supposed to be 15% more than the standards and it's still soft?? My shocks are shot, factory with 157k on em so they have to be less spongy than that haha.

[CJRUCK]

Just ordered mine the other night, can't wait to install

[R3APER]

Cj did you see that the ultimos are on back order?

[CJRUCK]

Cj did you see that the ultimos are on back order?

I didn't when I ordered them, how long have they been back ordered? I ordered mine Friday night and didn't see that, nor did it pop up anywhere through my ordering process. Maybe it was there and I just didn't notice... I will be giving them a call tomorrow