During our recent trip to the Nürburgring, we stopped by MCS Europe’s HQ for a catch-up with the team and to experience the company’s purpose-built E92 M3 track car.
Given MCS’ success in the United States, you would forgive the suspension specialist for blazing its branding across its European premises. And yet the company keeps its presence in Döttingen refreshingly low-key.
Appearances can be deceiving, however. Behind unassuming shutter doors lies world-class levels of mechanical damping sophistication – and we’ve come to remind ourselves of the possibilities…
Shock Tactics
Motion Control Suspension was established in 2011 by Jerome van Gool, Lex Carson and Kent McCray. The main branch of the company is based north of Atlanta in Georgia, United States. The founders boast a wealth of experience in developing aftermarket shock absorbers for road and track applications, including motorsport.
As Motion Control Suspension’s popularity grew on home soil, attention turned to expansion overseas. In 2024, MCS Europe was born to serve the EU, UK and Switzerland.
With the Nürburgring less than a 10-minute drive away, MCS Europe is perfectly placed to continue developing advanced suspension technology. Systems are available for every BMW (from E30 to the G8x) and Porsche (early 911s to the 992 GT3 RS). MCS also caters for historic race cars, other modern classics, and the latest GT vehicles.
“Why the Nürburgring?” Echoes Hermann Muck, Head of Business Development at MCS Europe. “The Eifel region is the ultimate testing ground. The public roads offer every type of surface – from perfectly smooth tarmac to extremely bumpy sections. Being right next to the Nordschleife and the Grand Prix circuit is indispensable for our development,” he adds.
“This location houses our B2B center, service center, and our ‘Experience Center’ [in cooperation with Rent4Ring and Trackspeed], allowing dealers and customers to experience the product in the perfect environment.”
MCS focuses on supplying the best dampers, and with help from Suspension Secrets more comprehensive packages are in the works. Stay tuned for more on that development…
Tuned to Perfection
MCS dampers are assembled by hand and offered with remote and non-remote reservoirs. The remote reservoir damper range includes the 2WR, 3WR and 4WR. The non-remote line-up covers the 1WNR and 2WNR. To find out how many ‘ways’ each damper can be adjusted, simply check the number in the product’s name: ‘3WR’ equals 3-way adjustable.
MCS dampers feature a monotube design with blow-off valve and precision orifice control for more consistent and predictable damping performance. This construction also improves grip and reduces harshness – just what the discerning ‘Ring meister needs for fast BTG times…
M3 with MCS
If MCS Europe’s beautifully blended coffee is anything to go by, we are in for a treat with its E92 M3. Stripped out and covered in company colours, this E92 oozes purpose and sits incredibly well on its upgraded suspension. The roll cage and bucket seats provide more hints at the car’s ability at high speeds.
This E92 is equipped with MCS’ 3-way 3WR remote reservoir system. As we’ll find out, this is a fantastic setup for cars driven on the road and track. On this BMW, the reservoirs are positioned just ahead of the stonking 4-litre V8 and inside the rear luggage compartment. Their Schrader valves allow direct adjustment of the nitrogen gas pressure, which is great news for drivers wanting to make tweaks on the fly.
High and low-speed compression are adjusted via the rotary dial on the reservoirs, while rebound is adjusted on the dampers themselves. On the MCS 3WR system, there are 18 clicks of high speed compression adjustment, 10 clicks for low speed compression, and 18 clicks for rebound.
First Impressions
There are few greater pleasures than firing up BMW’s S65B40 motor. The initial deep bark is followed by a crisp and menacingly mechanical idle sound. The 5-point harnesses squeeze air from our lungs while the stripped cabin offers little protection from the V8’s thick rhythm.
As we knock the DCT gearbox into Drive, there is no doubt we are inside a hardcore showcase of what MCS systems are capable of on the road and track.
We begin our drive with the dampers set for general road driving. Immediately, the car’s taut fluency on smooth road surfaces impresses. The Nankang CR-S tyres are still coming up to temperature, but as the curves come our way the M3 continues instilling confidence in the driver. The stock E92 is a hugely impressive car, but it’s obvious the platform has taken a giant leap forwards with the MCS 3WR system in place.
To the Hills!
Suddenly, our guide takes a sharp right and we dive headfirst into the UK equivalent of a B-road slicing through a large wooded area.
This lane is littered with stones, leaves and surface imperfections, yet the M3 remains unflustered. The 3WR dampers pull off the impressive trick of communicating grip levels with absolute clarity while rounding off the harshest thumps sent towards the cabin. There’s a distinct lack of resonance created by the stiffened setup too. This is deeply impressive given the stripped cabin. It also makes this BMW more usable day-to-day.
Five miles later and we sense the M3 could do with a minor adjustment to reduce understeer on corner exit. Thankfully, tuning of the MCS 3WR system is straight-forward. A bonnet pop and two clicks of the dampers later, we’ve got the setup we want.
With rebound softened slightly, the front tyres maintain great contact with the road surface even as the chassis pitches under throttle. It’s a common misconception that ramping up rebound stiffness reduces understeer on corner exit. Set up this way, the tyre is more likely to be pulled away from the road by the damper under acceleration. This reduces grip and increases front end washout.
Dream Setup
We could spend all day exploring local back routes in the MCS M3, but we’ve a flight home to catch.
No greater example of the 3WR system’s capability comes in the final few miles of our drive. An oncoming tractor forces us into the road’s drainage channel, but there’s no bang, jolt or teeth-rattling vibrations. Just a rippling feeling under seat as we continue on our way.
The experience confirms that truly great dampers not only offer excellent performance on track – they also improve chassis behaviour on the road. Performance dampers might even get you out of a situation that stock dampers simply would not. And how could you put a price on that?
A special thanks to Hermann Muck at MCS Europe for the loan of the BMW E92 M3.
