Advice wanted on coil overs.

[Brett_182]

Hi, im just looking for some advice on coilovers, which to buy, how are they with bumpy country roads, pro's and con's & just general need to know information.


Thats how my car sits at the moment on Eibach springs.

Thanks in advance.

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

What budget you got in mind mate

Good condition standard shocks and Eibach springs will be better then cheap coilovers

 

[DrHammershaft]

What are your plans for the car? I'm in a similar position, trying to decide between standard shocks and eibach/cooksport springs or a set of coilovers.

Car will be used for track in the summer and daily in the winter, thinking about a set of kw v2s for when it's tracky, and then put standard suspension back on in the winter

 

[Tony Hunter]

I wouldn't bother. They need to be kept clean, which is a pain in this country. I'd go for the above on standard shocks, with a slight spring upgrade, but even that isn't really needed.

Save your money and go and have some fun.

 

[Mr R.]

If you do have a look at the BC Racing kit that MicKPM @ Diamond Motor's sells.

 

[Nick172Cup]

Best dampened coilovers for the road are Bilsteins, though you pay for the privilege. I'd almost say they ride the road better than a standard damper and lowering spring, so long as you're not mega low with the coilovers.

Nick

 

[DrHammershaft]

What would new cup shocks all round, cooksport springs and PMS top mounts be like on track? Say for 10-12 track days a year?

Too soft? Would if be best to buy coilovers for the track months and revert for winter?

 

[Kelv]

my other half's old 182 used to run a set of Eibach springs with new shocks, everything else suspension wise (lower arms, ball joints, top mounts etc) was refreshed and new aswell, and it was bloody good on track, it even clocked up over a dozen laps at the ring and it was found to be faultless, it gave great feedback and was just as pleasant when she used it as her daily through the country lanes to/from work.

for a compromise of road and occasional track, I really could not fault it, its daft to go any further .

 

[MicKPM]

What would new cup shocks all round, cooksport springs and PMS top mounts be like on track? Say for 10-12 track days a year?

Too soft? Would if be best to buy coilovers for the track months and revert for winter?

It depends on what you want from the car really as a decent coilover setup when setup properly will make your car so much quicker on track but that comes at a price as most people think harder is better which isn't actually true. I ran my car on PMS topmounts/brace kit, Cup dampers, Cup wishbones and Eibach Sportlines for a full year of track use and it was perfect. I've now gone to the BC's but mine is purely track now so unless you're hunting scene points for "lows" or a weight shifting unpredictable monster (becuase not setup properly and on probably terrible tyres) in the wet/winter months then as Tony Hunter has already said above just go have some fun and save your money.

 

[Brett_182]

Cheers guys, my budget would be £600-800 but it is my daily driver. Im not too fussed about 'lows' mick haha.
It setup is basically refreshed suspension all round, bottom arms, tops mounts all OEM. Im gonna get some PMS solid top mounts and strut brace.

Would anyone recommend doing the bushes? Uprating them to powerflex?

 

[MicKPM]

Cheers guys, my budget would be £600-800 but it is my daily driver. Im not too fussed about 'lows' mick haha.
It setup is basically refreshed suspension all round, bottom arms, tops mounts all OEM. Im gonna get some PMS solid top mounts and strut brace.

Would anyone recommend doing the bushes? Uprating them to powerflex?

I like the BC's and honestly find them very progressive on the road (they actually ride better than Cup dampers with Eibachs IMO) but I've no experience with any other coilovers and I don't actively try to sell them either (Maybe I should start pushing them more?). Anyway just my opinion here but if you're replacing the bottom arms/wishbones with brand new items then don't polybush them as there's really no need! Chances are any movement in your existing ones will be due to age as i'm betting the car has never had a set.

 

[Chip-mk1]

600-800 is ideal budget for new cup shocks, eibach or sportline springs, and a refresh of the bottom arms / steering components etc.

We did that on my mrs old 172, then did about 50 trackdays in it and a 5 day trip to the ring and spa.
The ONLY place it ever really felt compromised was Spa, its was brilliant fun everywhere else and great fun on the road.

Sure compared to some of our other cars on coilovers it lacked ultimate corner speed, but people get confused between grip and handling too often, while it only gripped "ok" it handled "very well" IMHO, was very controllable and great fun.

Out of the dozens of dedicated trackday cars I have had over the years, Im not sure any one of them has ever brought me more pleasure overall (when taking into account reliability and not needing to trailer it around and all those things that can detract on the more dedicated cars) than that well sorted 172 with such a basic spec, these really are epic little cars when all in good order, they dont actually *need* anything else to be great fun on a trackday, and it did 30,000+ road miles as well so was useful as well as fun.

 

[MicKPM]

^^^ Word ^^^

 

[Brett_182]

Well I've already done the bottom arms and shocks etc from an advisory off you Mick. It was loading alot onto the N/S and it was sagging too. So they all got done within 2 month of my cambelt change. Ill have a look into those coil overs. Cheers guys!

 

[Chip-mk1]

See if you can take Mick's for a spin, thats a great way to assess the coilovers he sells as they are on his own car.

If its doing loads and loads of winter road miles though, ANY coilover might be a bad idea.

Great for on track though!