Higher end coilovers for NAs?

[Spac]

Ring Murray and talk to him. If you have any doubt about where MCA Gold are manufactured and assembled after the phone call, then you probably also believe that the earth is flat.

The Josh models (Blues, Reds, etc), have most/all of the hardware made in SE Asia - I believe Thailand. They are smart enough to keep the assembly in Australia so the Intellectual Property isn't 'borrowed'.

My opinions are based on experience, not internet cynicism.

Yeah because the word of one man is as good as hundreds of years of empirical scientific evidence

Here's some free advice. Google the word "reverse engineer". Then add the word "china" to the search parameters. I'm fairly sure your position will change as to the reasons that MCA assembles their products in Australia.

Yeah, no.

Reverse engineering is easy, but it is even easier to make the thing that you are already making and put a different sticker on it.
In the case of MCA not-Golds, the variety of shocks and specs make it much harder to steal the valving and spring rate IP by reverse engineering.

As to the origin of MCA Golds, I don't know what else to say. You were strongly alluding that they are built overseas, and possibly of poor quality. I can categorically say that both points are incorrect.
Murray Coote hand builds them in his workshop. There may be some imported parts in the mix, but the clear majority of it is made in Australia to very high standards.
Maybe you need a shiny website. Maybe you need a reference to a Wikipedia page. Maybe you need a signed affidavit. Maybe you need a promise sworn on the blood of a sacrificed baby goat.
I'm not going to give you any of those things, but the truth will not change.

If were actually interested, you could have spoken to Murray or Linda and it would take about 30 seconds to work out that Murray is not importing cheap crap from SE Asia.
Keep banging on if you want - you've been told three times now - if you want to keep arguing then it is clear that you just want an argument.

[Wivvix]

Reverse engineering is easy, but it is even easier to make the thing that you are already making and put a different sticker on it.
In the case of MCA not-Golds, the variety of shocks and specs make it much harder to steal the valving and spring rate IP by reverse engineering.

MCA could be genuinely worried about this as you seem to think, and have different valves and springs made by different manufacturers in different countries, but I think it's more likely they are assembled in Australia because of quality control and market positioning. These are legitimate reasons on their own. IP theft is a real stretch given what these other countries already manufacture, and have reverse engineered with minimal effort.

As to the origin of MCA Golds, I don't know what else to say. You were strongly alluding that they are built overseas, and possibly of poor quality. I can categorically say that both points are incorrect.

No I wasn't. I pointed to the lack of information about manufacturing standards, quality control, country of origin and materials. You're asserting bias where there is none.

If were actually interested, you could have spoken to Murray or Linda and it would take about 30 seconds to work out that Murray is not importing cheap crap from SE Asia.
Keep banging on if you want - you've been told three times now - if you want to keep arguing then it is clear that you just want an argument.

Haha, you've been told three times to stop perpetuating your own views about their country of origin as if it were accurate and based in fact. I think we can agree to disagree.

If nothing else i'm satisfied the OP is now better informed about what is and isn't definitively known about the products.

[Magpie]

I have used Murray to modified a set of dampers to move the external canisters off the shock and have them remote mounted. After they were modified Murray tested them for me, gave me the test sheets, recommended some settings and surprise surprise the recommended settings were spot on! No Murray did not modify a set of MCA's...

This is the work done...
IMG_1347[1] by Eipeip, on Flickr

Back to the OP's question...

I would suggest doing some research on the available damper dyno plots to understand the characteristics of the damper. Whilst most off the shelf dampers do not allow bespoke changes, they can have big differences in the way the valving works. What can separate some brands is how close the pair of dampers are 'matched'. The more closely a pair of dampers are matached then this is a better indication of quality control. Quality control has nothing to do with country of origin rather the controls in place. For those that understand quality compliance, that is, if you test 5 in every 100 and the 5 pass you can say that therefore the 100 passed. What you need to know is the testing ratio to get a better understanding of 'quality'.

Plots from my BC's - What does this tell you? That the adjuster for compression does minimal, however on rebound for high speed velocities there is a big difference. From this the separate adjustable bump does not have a 'big' impact on the bump part of the plot. In low-med velocities the curve is linear but again the curve is more towards rebound than compression. The separate compression adjustment does have an impact on the low speed compression, which is handy for fine tuning.
BC Dybo 1 by Eipeip, on Flickr

BC Dybo by Eipeip, on Flickr

I am no expert, but these are my thoughts...

1. Dampers do not support the weight of the car, this is the job of the springs.
2. Dampers are for fine adjustment. First you need to dial in springs, roll bars, alignment (camber/toe) and or tyres (pressures/temps).
3. Do you want more control of low speed (0-50mm/s - roll/pitch), medium (50-150mm/s - braking) or high speed (+150mm/s bumps/sprung mass) settings? Consider that dampers generate force with velocity.
4. Do you want linear, digressive or progressive curves? Consider that dampers time the delivery/release and the key is getting this to happen at the right time to maximize grip.
5. Do you want 1,2,3 or 4 way adjustable dampers? 1 way change the rebound part of the curve and a minimal impact on the bump. 4 way allow low/high speed adjustments to both curves.
6. Do you want to critically dampen the car? Consider dampers do not control weight transfer rather they control the rate of weight transfer...

In the future I will be able to post track data and damper velocities as I'm waiting for 4 x 500Hz travel sensors from Racepak...
https://store.racepak.com/product/v-net-sportsman-iq3d-g2x-shock-travel-module/

[project.r.racing]

I don't wanna take sides in the discussion. And also don't have a set of MCAs myself. But I wanna share some thoughts on the MCA company and mainly Murray.

I have known Murray for a decade plus (before MCA era) and he lives about 5 minutes up the road from me. But when he was doing his own thing. He was building $6.5K coilovers for rally cars, which is why most wouldn't have heard of him before MCA era. As knowledge of the club level rallying scene is nil. He custom built everything in-house, hence the price tag. Finding a coilover sest with long range movement and ext res for Datsun 1200s in 2005 etc was no easy task etc etc. Way before online Japanese warehouse businesses.

So buying a few quality pre-fab parts from overseas and lowering final cost to the customer isn't a bad thing in my eyes. And the experience Murray has behind himself and his products, I'm sure he wouldn't use crap quality stuff.

Once I took a set of D2 coilovers for rebuilding to him and he was out, but his wife was home and didn't know what they were. So she called him and put me on the phone. I said, "They are D2 coilovers." He said, "Chuck your crap $1000 coilovers in the bin."

[Spac]

Reverse engineering is easy, but it is even easier to make the thing that you are already making and put a different sticker on it.
In the case of MCA not-Golds, the variety of shocks and specs make it much harder to steal the valving and spring rate IP by reverse engineering.

MCA could be genuinely worried about this as you seem to think, and have different valves and springs made by different manufacturers in different countries, but I think it's more likely they are assembled in Australia because of quality control and market positioning. These are legitimate reasons on their own. IP theft is a real stretch given what these other countries already manufacture, and have reverse engineered with minimal effort.

As to the origin of MCA Golds, I don't know what else to say. You were strongly alluding that they are built overseas, and possibly of poor quality. I can categorically say that both points are incorrect.

No I wasn't. I pointed to the lack of information about manufacturing standards, quality control, country of origin and materials. You're asserting bias where there is none.

If were actually interested, you could have spoken to Murray or Linda and it would take about 30 seconds to work out that Murray is not importing cheap crap from SE Asia.
Keep banging on if you want - you've been told three times now - if you want to keep arguing then it is clear that you just want an argument.

Haha, you've been told three times to stop perpetuating your own views about their country of origin as if it were accurate and based in fact. I think we can agree to disagree.

If nothing else i'm satisfied the OP is now better informed about what is and isn't definitively known about the products.

I don't even know what you are talking about anymore. You were clearly alluding to MCA Gold being Chinese junk, and you were wrong.

Notice how several other people have said the same things about Murray's product? It is almost like the people who have dealt with him/Linda know a lot more than you.
But hey, keep on digging if you want.
Maybe you could even buy some Maxpeedingrods coil overs for yourself.

[greenMachine]

Another happy MCA user at our coffee morning today. Just saying.

[Wivvix]

I don't even know what you are talking about anymore. You were clearly alluding to MCA Gold being Chinese junk, and you were wrong.

Notice how several other people have said the same things about Murray's product? It is almost like the people who have dealt with him/Linda know a lot more than you.
But hey, keep on digging if you want.
Maybe you could even buy some Maxpeedingrods coil overs for yourself.

Oh don't pretend, you've been flailing in the dark for a good while already. Your lacking reading comprehension is entirely beyond my control and notwithstanding, doesn't entitle you to make outright false claims and misrepresent my posts - the first or second time for that matter.

I've noticed that credible people have made statements about MCA's experience, the history of their products and the high standard of work that goes into their Australian operations. Maybe one or two other credible people have also made representations that MCA only use good quality parts irrespective of where they are manufactured. This is all encouraging and I'm glad to hear it, as I said in my first direct reply to you, which clearly was also the point at which you stopped understanding my posts.

[StanTheMan]

You boyz get a room.

no one cares about your keyboard war.

sounds like I'll be stopping at MCA to get shocks for my NA6 one day

I'm still sporting 20 year old King & Koni Combo. anything has to be better than that.

[Magpie]

Another happy MCA user at our coffee morning today. Just saying.

I'm a happy BC Racing ER user and have been for a few years now!

On the agenda (before October) will be a set of BC Racing ZR's with custom valving/spring rates. I'm deciding on how I want the valving...

[RS2000]

I'm a very happy MCA Red (from Josh) user, with 11/7 kg springs & custom valving. Don't care where the parts are from.
I'm convinced Golds are Australian made by Murray.

[Spac]

no one cares about your keyboard war.

Including me!

While I stand by the information I provided, I do apologise for my part in the dribble fest. I'm not even sure how I let myself get sucked into that one.
Upon re-reading, I realise that that first couple of posts from each of us were enough to make our respective points perfectly adequately.

Sometimes I am a bit slow to recognise trolls. Sorry.

[Dean.H]

In another life I used 4 brands of shock before purchasing some MCA and getting in touch with Murray. All I can say is the reputation of MCA/Murray is well earned and deserved. Disclaimer: application was off road which is MICH harder on shocks, and good shocks have a greater impact on performance than what is being discussed here.