Top 5 Best Scion tC Coilovers: The Ultimate Guide
The Scion tC is not exactly a sports car, despite the fact that is the “spiritual” successor to the Toyota Celica. Even so, it is a relatively popular car with tuners and car enthusiasts and is a common sight at car shows, due to its potential.
One of the best upgrades you can do to get the most out of your Scion tC is to install a good set of coilovers.
In this guide, I’m going to cover the benefits of installing coilovers, and give you the top 5 coilovers for the Scion tC available today.
Benefits of Installing Coilovers on Your Scion tC
The Scion tC wasn’t exactly a performance beast from the factory, and its standard suspension system leaves a lot to be desired. It also sits relatively high, which doesn’t exactly give it an aggressive sporty look.
If you are looking to improve the looks and handling performance of your Scion tC, one of the best upgrades you can do is to install a decent set of coilovers.
Coilovers are going to give you several benefits over the factory suspension, including:
- Allow you to adjust the ride height
- Significantly improve the handling performance
- Depending on the model, allow you to adjust the damper settings
- Depending on the model, allow you to adjust camber through a camber plate
Let’s quickly discuss each of these points and how they will improve your car.
Ride Height Adjustability
One of the biggest reasons people buy coilovers is for the ability to adjust the ride height. The way coilovers are designed allows you to wind either the spring perch or the shock body up or down, giving you the ability to adjust the ride height and set it exactly where you want it.
This is not only useful for the initial lowering of the car, but if you decide you want to change height or you change wheel sizes and need to make adjustments, coilovers make that extremely easy.
Sure, you can get even easier adjustment with air bag suspension, but they come with their own set of disadvantages, which I discuss in my post Air Bags vs Coilovers.
Handling Improvement
Coilovers were initially invented for use on racecars to deliver maximum handling performance and give them the ability to quickly and easily adjust the suspension settings and swap out the springs for different spring rates.
This translated over to the road car coilover kits which, even if not full race spec, stiffen up the suspension, lower the center of gravity and reduce body roll, which helps to significantly improve handling responsiveness and feel and increases tyre grip.
No matter which way you cut it, even a semi decent coilover kit is going to outperform 99% of factory suspension setups, simply due to the fact that the car remains more stable around corners and can take the corner faster.
Damper Adjustment
Most coilover kits on the market today offer the ability to adjust the damper settings and change them from soft to stiff and vice versa, usually with a simple turn of an adjustment knob.
The benefits of this are twofold:
- This gives you the ability to fine tune both the handling and the ride comfort of the car, so that you can find the perfect balance that suits your needs, whether you are just driving to work or trying to cut down your lap times at the track
- It allows you to quickly adjust between the settings, so that you can drive in comfort to the track, quickly stiffen up the suspension for performance, and then soften it up again for the ride home.
Camber Adjustment
Because the Scion tC has MacPherson strut front suspension, this means that the camber can be adjusted through a camber plate on the top mounts.
Most coilover kits these days also include camber adjustable top mounts where the application allows for it (such as in this case), which allows you to fine tune the camber beyond what the factory suspension parts will allow you to do.
This is beneficial for getting the wheel alignment neutral, as often when you go past a certain ride height, the factory components can no longer adjust enough to set the alignment where it needs to be.
It’s also beneficial for allowing you to fine tune the camber settings in order to maximize grip, depending on the type of driving you are doing. This is particularly useful for cars that will see a lot of track time where you want to increase cornering speed and responsiveness.
The Best Coilovers for the Scion tC
So now that I’ve covered the benefits of installing coilovers on your car, let’s take a look at the top 5 options currently available.
TEIN Flex Z
Price: $829-849
tC models available for: 2005-2016
As far as budget coilovers go, the TEIN Flex Z’s are, in my opinion, easily the best option you have.
Unlike most budget coilovers, these are actually a decent coilover kit that TEIN has managed to produce for a low price.
Designed as primarily a street setup, these feature twin tube dampers selected for the extra ride comfort they provide, and give you 16 levels of dampening adjustment. The damper oil used has been designed to handle extreme temperatures and is resistant to foaming, which makes this kit suitable for occasional track day use.
The ride height on these is adjusted by the shock body, which means you retain full suspension travel no matter how low you go, which gives you a more comfortable ride and means the dampers will last longer because they are not bottoming out all the time.
TEIN has designed the dampers on this kit as replaceable inserts, which means when it comes time to replace them, instead of having to send your coilovers in for a rebuild you simply order replacements and install them. TEIN will also custom valve them for you if you request it.
Like I said, as far as budget coilovers go, this is one seriously impressive kit, and is easily your best option in this price range.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- Twin tube dampers for extra ride comfort
- 16 levels of dampening adjustable
- Compatible with TEIN’s EDFC system
- TEIN no sag springs
- Aluminium Pillowball camber adjustable strut mounts
- TEIN’s patented powder coat and ZT coating for maximum corrosion resistance
- Replaceable damper inserts – Can be custom valved
- 1 year warranty
GET THE tC TEIN FLEX Z KIT HERE FOR THE BEST PRICE
(Select your tC model on the next page)
Riaction GT-1
Price: $1043
tC models available for: 2011-2016
The Riaction GT-1 kit is a highly customizable and even upgradable kit that is just over the $1000 mark.
What makes this kit unique is that it has been designed to be modular, and can be upgraded to 2-way dampening adjustable with external reservoirs, as well as be switched between linear and digressive valving.
Basically, short of being a professional track setup, this kit will be able cater to any needs you have in the future as you progress with your car and your driving ability.
The GT-1 kit features monotube dampers with linear valving which makes these suitable for street cars that will be doing some performance driving and track days. They also give you 32 levels of dampening adjustment.
Ride height on this kit is adjusted by the shock body and will give you 1-3 inches of lowering from standard. It also comes with front camber plates.
If you are starting out on a budget and have plans to upgrade the car in the future and participate more in performance driving, this kit is an excellent choice which will allow you to customize the setup to suit your needs and upgrade as your situation requires.
Riaction are also based in the USA and offer great customer support, along with a lifetime labor warranty which means when you need to rebuild your coilovers, you only have to pay for the parts and they will do the labor for free!
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- 1-3 inches of lowering from factory
- Monotube dampers with linear valving
- 32 levels of dampening adjustment
- Modular – Can be upgraded and valving can be switched between linear and digressive
- Pillowball camber adjustable top mounts
- Electroplated carbon steel shock bodies
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- Fully rebuildable
- 2 year warranty, lifetime labor warranty
GET THE tC RIACTION GT-1 KIT FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
BC Racing BR Series
Price: $1195
tC models available for: 2005-2016
The BC Racing BR Series are a very popular coilover kit and offer great value for money.
Designed as their entry level kit, these feature monotube dampers with linear valving designed to give you great ride comfort while still giving you responsive handling and being suitable for occasional track use. They give you 30 levels of dampening adjustment which adjusts compression and rebound simultaneously.
The ride height is adjusted by the shock body and gives you 1-3 inches of lowering. They also offer an Extreme Low version which goes up to 4 inches lower than factory.
One of the reasons this kit is so popular is because it is highly customizable, giving you the option to select custom spring rates and valving, Swift Spring upgrade, the Extreme Low option mentioned earlier and more.
These coilovers have proven themselves many times over and are a great all-rounder kit at a fairly low price. Perfect for street cars that will do occasional track days.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- 1-3 inches of lowering, Extreme Low goes up to 4 inches
- Monotube dampers with linear valving
- 30 levels of dampening adjustment
- Aluminium Pillowball camber adjustable top mounts
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- Fully rebuildable, all parts available for purchase
- 1 year warranty
GET THE tC BC RACING BR SERIES KIT HERE FOR THE BEST PRICE
(Select your tC model on the next page)
KW V2
Price: $1959
tC models available for: 2005-2008
The KW V2 coilovers are designed for the road car where comfort is a priority but you still want significant handling improvements.
KW are well known for the quality of their suspension. They have been in the game for decades, and put a lot of engineering into every kit they produce, extensively testing them on their 7 post testing rig as well as on the road and track.
Each kit is specifically tuned for the vehicle it is made for, which is more than you can say about most coilover kits.
Another thing that makes KW kits special is their extreme resistance to corrosion. Being designed to handle the harshest European winters, they use a special INOX-LINE stainless steel for the shock bodies, which has been salt spray tested for 220 hours without corrosion.
Combined with their composite spring perches, you will never have to worry about your coilovers rusting or seizing, and KW back this up with a life time warranty.
The V2 kit features twin tube dampers that give you 16 levels of rebound dampening adjustment to fine tune the ride.
Ride height adjustment is done by the spring perch, and will lower your tC up to 2.3 inches. Just keep in mind that the lower you go, the less suspension travel you retain, which may not be ideal if you are planning to run your car very low.
This is definitely a high quality kit that is a good choice for street cars where ride comfort is a priority, but a good amount of handling performance is also desired.
NOTE: These use OEM top mounts, so be sure to order new ones to replace yours if buying this kit.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by spring perch
- Lowers 2.3 inches front and rear
- Twin tube dampers
- 16 levels of rebound dampening adjustment using KW’s TVR-A system
- INOX-LINE stainless steel shock bodies
- Composite spring perches
- Springs and dampers specifically tuned for each vehicle model
- Rebuildable
- Lifetime warranty
GET THE tC KW V2 KIT FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
RS*R Sports-i
Price: $1999
tC models available for: 2011-2015
The RS-R Sports*I kit is an incredibly high quality coilover that is hand assembled in Japan and made for performance driving.
RS-R have designed these coilovers to give you maximum driver feel and handling responsiveness while still retaining a comfortable ride for the road.
One of the things that show’s RS-R’s attention to detail is the fact that they designed special top mounts which combine a steel plate and rubber bush with roller bearings, in order to give you camber adjustment while retaining a more comfortable ride than a Pillowball setup. Pillowball top mounts are available as an option.
The dampers on these are monotube and are designed for optional damping force as well as stroke to give the best performance possible. They feature special damper oil designed to withstand very high heat and give consistent damping in all situations. The dampers also give you 36 levels of adjustment.
The ride height adjustment on these is done by the shock body, and they feature RS-R’s special titanium composite Ti2000 springs which are both lighter and more durable than standard steel springs.
These coilovers are extremely high quality, and are a great choice for road cars where performance is a priority but you still want to retain a comfortable ride.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- Monotube dampers tuned for optimal damping force and stroke
- 36 levels of dampening adjustment
- Special damper oil that is resistant to high heat and offers consistent damping
- Ti2000 titanium composite springs, available in a range of spring rate options
- Camber adjustable top mounts with steel plate and rubber bush construction
- Pillowball top mounts optional
- Rebuildable
- 1 year or 12,000 miles warranty
GET THE tC RS-R SPORTS*i KIT FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
Conclusion
I hope that this list has helped you to select the right coilover kit for your Scion tC. I did my best to find the best coilover for every price range, so no matter what your budget, there is a coilover here for you.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post in the comments below and I will do my best to address them.
Cars owned: Mk2 Golf with 1.8T swap, BMW E28 with M30B35 swap, BMW E36 328I Mtech, BMW 750IL, Nissan 300ZX, Honda Civic EF
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