BC Racing Coilovers – Audi A3 Hatchback (AWD) 8L 1999–2005

For most road and fast road cars, we’d usually point people towards the BC Racing BR Series. It’s the most popular all-round option because it gives you ride height adjustment, 30-way damping adjustment and a monotube damper design, while still being usable day to day. It’s a solid choice if you want better stance and sharper handling without going too extreme.

The BR Series is the go-to road and track option, while the DS Series takes things a step further with digressive valving. In simple terms, DS coilovers give stronger low-speed damping control, which helps with body roll, braking dive and weight transfer, while still allowing the wheel to deal with bumps and kerbs more effectively. We’d usually suggest DS if you want something more track-biased than BR.

Yes. BC Racing coilovers are designed to give you both ride height and damping adjustment. Many kits use 30 clicks of damping adjustment, combining compression and rebound through one adjuster, which makes them straightforward to fine-tune for road, fast road or track use. Ride height is also adjusted separately from spring preload on many kits, helping retain proper damper travel.

Yes, but the right series depends on how serious the car is. BR Series is a solid choice for fast road and occasional track days, while DS and RM offer more control for harder use. ER Series is better for serious track day, drift and race cars thanks to its external reservoirs and separate compression and rebound adjustment. For dedicated track day vehicles, ZX and ZR Series are the more focused options.

ZX and ZR Series coilovers are aimed more at dedicated track day and competition-style vehicles rather than normal daily road cars. They’re designed for drivers who need more setup control and are comfortable making damping changes to suit tyres, circuits, weather and driving style. For most road cars they’re probably overkill, but for a serious track build they make much more sense.

On some cars, the rear spring and damper are separate from factory. An integrated rear setup keeps that separate-style layout, with the spring and damper remaining in their original positions. A true rear coilover converts the rear to a coilover-style layout, where the spring sits around the damper. True rear can offer more precise adjustment and packaging benefits for track setups, but it’s not always the best option for every car. We’d always recommend choosing the correct layout for the vehicle and how it’s going to be used.

Yes, definitely. Once fitted, we’d always recommend checking ride height, damping settings and getting a proper wheel alignment carried out. For more serious track setups, especially ER, ZX or ZR Series, corner weighting and geometry setup are well worth doing so you actually get the benefit from the extra adjustment.

If your car has EDC, or electronic damping control, you can still fit BC Racing coilovers, but you’ll normally need an EDC cancellation kit to prevent dashboard warning lights. The coilovers replace the factory electronic dampers, so the car can no longer adjust the damping electronically. Instead, damping is adjusted manually on the coilovers themselves. If you’re unsure whether your car has EDC, send us your registration or vehicle details and we can help check before you order.