Mods/Admins: This is NOT a sales thread, but a GI thread simply looking for a tester on this forum to help us with development. We will not answer/reply to any sales related questions directly on this thread.

Hey guys,

just putting this up to see if one of you would be interested in helping us to develop our new line of mid-range coilovers for the EVO? We've already successfully developed these for the BMW 135i/335i platforms (as well as other Euro fitments such as VW Golf and Ford Focus), but realise that the EVO is a whole different beast, so will have specific "upgrades" over our currently developed fitments

Requirements
- Must have a good mixture of Street & Track Use (Circuit/Auto-X. Not Drag) i.e Must be primarily a street car, as this is our target market, but also put to the test on the track occasionally
- Must have good experience in installation, setup and diagnosis of suspension/chassis components i.e Be able to provide us with sufficient feedback/recommendations
- Must have sufficient resources and time to help us develop and test any required updates/modifications i.e We don't want to have to wait weeks for you to test an update because something is broken on your car or other non-emergency commitments
- Must have good experience in providing detailed reports/write-ups throughout the full stage of development i.e Good camera and explanation skills
- Must be in a region of the world where development will not be affected by weather i.e Winter

What you get in return
- The initial development set, at no cost to yourself (other than time)
- Any and all upgrades/modifications deemed necessary during the development stage, at no cost to yourself (other than time)

Why YCW Suspension?
For those of you whom are not familiar with YCW Engineering (i.e those who do not know about our Carbon Driveshafts), we are the parent company for MFactory (LSD's, Axles, Clutches, Flywheels etc). Whilst MFactory is but a "brand", YCW is the engineering company behind it all, with our own in-house manufacturing facility in Taiwan with several million dollars worth of specialist CNC and Measuring/Diagnosis Equipment.

You're probably wondering why/how a Drivetrain company can develop and manufacture Coilover Kits? Well, the majority of the components that make up a Coilover Kit are machined (which is where we excel over other Coilover brands due to our in-house manufacturing experience), so not only do we do the final assembly of our Coilover Kits ourselves (which is the easy part that any company can do; infact, the majority of Coilover brands on the market, including the high-end companies, outsource their manufacturing as they do not have the experience nor equipment to do it themselves), we machine all of the "machined" components ourselves (and those familiar with MFactory can testify to the quality of our machined components).

For those familiar with Taiwan, you will know that the light-industrial industry is a very close community, mostly all located in Taichung (which is where we are located). Whilst there are lot of Coilover "Assembly" companies (i.e most of the budget mass-market crap that comes out of Taiwan), there are several Tier-1 manufacturers (i.e while they do not provide/export the entire suspension system, they do provide/export specific components that make up the suspension system to both oem and the high-end European/Japanese Coilover brands) all located within a stone-throws distance from us. Some of these Tier-1 manufacturers do offer their own Coilover Kits (Taiwan Bor-Chuann i.e BC Racing, is probably the most well known), but due to contracts-in-place, are unable to use the same technology/high-end components supplied to their customers in their own kits, and this is the reason why Taiwan coilovers get such a bad rep; they are the closest the manufacturer can offer to the higher-end brands without breaking any contracts. The result? A sub-par own-brand product.

But what about the testing/diagnosis? That's the million-dollar-question, and why being within a stone-throws distance from these Tier-1 manufacturers has its benefits. Whilst their own-brand products may be sub-par, they are legally obligated to possess (either self-owned, or provided/subsidised by their customers) the required specialist equipment to test and diagnose the parts they are manufacturing. So while we do not personally possess the same specialist equipment, we do have unrestricted access to it. And in case you were wondering, no, we do not have a relationship with BC Racing; we partner with a different Tier-1.

What we are offering
After countless hours of research into the various coilover setups currently available on the market, we noticed that there is a gap in the market for a mid-range setup that:

1) Offers premium real-world features, at an affordable price point
2) Offers local (North American and European) facilities for rebuild and servicing

Whilst there are a lot of generic (i.e budget) setups available on the market at the moment, they are basically all the same/similar design (i.e generic) and have not changed over the past 15 years, with prices ranging from $1000-2000; the more expensive only being due to the "brand" and the "assembled in XXX label" rather than the design features (the components are all still manufactured in China, Taiwan or Korea). Infact, the top selling Budget Taiwanese Coilovers that are currently plaguing the market at the moment are all manufactured from the same (stolen) technical drawings originating from Taiwan Bor-Chuann!



Of course, we fully understand that, rather than reinventing the book, it is best to stick to tried-and-tested designs (especially for the street car) hence why all the current setups available are very similar. It is because of this gap, we at YCW Engineering decided to design and manufacture a quality mid-range solution from scratch that meets our #1 priority; Value for Money. Whilst there is a large demand for premium setups designed for the high-end race car, our aim with our Reference Series Coilovers is to bring some of the more advanced real-world features from the premium setups, incorporate them into a package suitable for the everyday street car, and offer them at an affordable price point without sacrificing on technical support and servicing

At only marginally more cost than a good/established budget setup, you get a higher quality, better performing mid-range coilover solution with an industry-leading warranty, unparalleled after-sales technical support and product servicing that you have come to know from our MFactory brand.

YCW Reference Series Coilovers
- Spec'd for Superior Performance
- Priced for Affordability
- Over-Engineered for Comfort & Safety

Limited Lifetime Warranty on Hard Parts
- Warrantied against Manufacturers Defects
- Non-Transferable. Registration and Proof-of-Purchase Required
- Hard Parts include: Upper/Lower Mounts, Spring Perches, Locking Collars, Shock Body and Piston Rod

Limited 1 Year Warranty on Wear Parts
- Warrantied against Manufacturers Defects
- Non-Transferable. Registration and Proof-of-Purchase Required
- Wear Parts include: Bearings, Springs, Seals and Shock Internals

Local Service Facilities
- North America: San Dimas, USA. Warranty Claims, Rebuild Services and Re-valving Services available
- Europe: Leyland, United Kingdom. Warranty Claims, Rebuild Services and Re-valving Services available
- Asia-Pacific: Taichung, Taiwan. Warranty Claims, Rebuild Services and Re-valving Services available

Specifications:
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Front Upper Mounts
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Mounts are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance

Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Rear Upper Mounts
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Mounts are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance

High-Tensile Carbon Steel Front Camber & Caster Plate with Anti-Slip Coating
- CNC-Machined High-Tensile Carbon Steel supports more load than lesser-quality mounts
- Camber Angles can be adjusted precisely to your driving needs
- Caster Angles can also be fine tuned

Oversized PTFE-Lined Japanese Spherical Upper Mount Bushing
- Increases shock articulation and prevents coil-bowing
- Higher load rating for increased durability
- Minimises knocking noise associated with lesser-quality bearings

Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Upper Spring Perch with Sealed Japanese Radial Bearing
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Spring Perches are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
- High Quality Sealed Japanese Radial Bearing removes rotational stress from the upper mount and is sealed from the elements

62mm ID Cold-Wound Japanese SAE 9254V Chrome-Silicon-Vanadium Steel Linear Springs
- Custom-made for us in Japan by Tohatsu Spring Company, from the highest quality Japanese-grade spring steel, using proprietary manufacturing processes. These are not cheap quality springs (a simple Google search on Tohatsu Springs will tell you who they are)
- Not all springs are manufactured the same. Lesser-quality, Taiwanese-manufactured springs offer inferior performance and durability
- Although more expensive, we believe the increase in performance more than offsets the increase in manufacturing costs

OEM-Balanced Spring Rates
- The majority of budget coilovers currently on the market offer default spring rates that deviate from the oem-balanced spring rates
- By not accounting for Motion Ratio Calculations and just replicating race-car setups, this results in a very unbalanced and uncomfortable ride on a Street Car
- All Reference Series Coilovers are supplied with oem-balanced spring rates, offering you increased performance without sacrificing ride comfort

52mm OD Cold-Drawn Japanese SAE 1020 Seamless Carbon Steel Shock Body
- Offers superior physical properties and strength-to-weight ratio over lesser manufacturing processes

Black-Zinc Plated Fully-Threaded Shock Body with 250hrs of Salt-Spray Testing
- Offers superior corrosion-resistance
- All production coilovers will include a Test Certificate

Forged SAE 4140 Chromoly Steel Piston Rod within an Inverted Monotube setup
- Monotube shocks, although offering increased performance over Twintube shocks, have an inherent weakness; a load-bearing Piston Rod
- Our over-engineered solution to the problem, with only a marginal increase in manufacturing costs, is our proprietary Chromoly Steel Piston Rod. We are the only company to manufacture this type of Piston Rod, and is currently used by several high-end European brands under a "transfer-of-technology" agreement
- Offering a substantial increase in tensile strength over lesser-quality rods, it significantly increases product safety
- All production dampers will be QC sealed with batch number and date/time of assembly

Ceramic Piston Rod Guide
- A common issue with the majority of budget coilovers currently on the market is performance-sapping deflection, shaft-play and friction, even after only limited usage
- Through the advantageous use of our "transfer-of-technology" agreement, our advanced Piston Rod Guide, which is also used in higher-end Ferraris, significantly minimises deflection, shaft-play and friction, allowing you to reap the performance benefits for a longer period of time

7-Level Rebound Adjustment
- Our Reference Series Coilovers allow 7 levels of Rebound Adjustments, allowing you to fine-tune your vehicle comfort and handling
- Unlike the majority of budget coilovers currently on the market, with their 30+ Level Adjustments, you can physically feel the difference between each adjustment
- In this particular case, more is not better; it's simply an inconvenience and setup-nightmare

44mm OD Forged 7075-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Digressive-Blow-Off DBO Piston™
- Over-engineered for superior strength, with anti-stiction and anti-friction properties
- At lower shock speeds (Cornering), our DBO Piston™ maintains a higher damping force, offering increased responsiveness and stability
- At higher shock speeds (Bumps), our DBO Piston™ maintains a lower damping force, offering increased comfort and control
- All production coilovers will include a custom shock dyno graph

Silkolene PRO RSF VI-460 Damper Oil
- A proprietary formula providing consistent damping over a wide temperature range and superior anti-stiction/anti-friction properties. This is one of the best, if not the best, damper fluids on the market, as used by several high-end European brands

Viton Performance O-Rings
- Upgraded O-Rings offering better performance and durability than lesser-quality Rubber O-Rings

Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Lower Spring Perch Locking Collar
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Locking Collars are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
- 1pc Locking Collars, providing secure and hassle-free adjustments

Fully-Threaded Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised (Rear) and High-Tensile Carbon Steel (Front) Lower Mount
- Threaded Lower Mounts allows us to use a longer shock body for increased performance
- Shock Stroke is unaffected by Ride Height changes
- Allows an increased Height Adjustment range

Silicone Lower Mount End Caps
- High Quality Weather-Proof End Caps for MacPherson lower mounts, preventing water and dirt from entering the the lower shock body

Weather-proof Neoprene Shock Covers
- High Quality Weather-Proof Shock Covers, preventing water and dirt from clogging up the shock assembly

Fully Rebuildable
- Our Reference Series Coilovers are fully rebuildable, with spare parts always in stock and available for purchase

BMW 335i Fitment


Ford Focus Fitment


Softest Setting (this is shown just as an example of our digressive curve, and is not from the EVO)


Hardest Setting (this is shown just as an example of our digressive curve, and is not from the EVO)


Reviews of our other (more basic) fitments:
BMW 335i - http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42704
VW Golf GTi - http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105309
Ford Focus ST - http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-s...st1081460.html

MSRP: TBD
ETA: We do not have the EVO fitment ready yet, so will be 1-2 months before the tester will receive the initial development set

If you are interested in helping us to develop our new Coilover solution for the EVO, and feel like you meet all of the requirements stated at the beginning of this post, please PM me with your detailed history/achievements/qualifications

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask