172 Dilema

[Gareth]

Got a little bit of a dilema, want some honest advice. It goes like this:

Before i had my 172 i had this:

http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/file.php?image=1055575779__02.jpg

17"s lowered 60mm, ride was hard as fap!! but the car looked ace. But heres the dilema, ive grown up a little bit and enjoy a relatively smooth ride, but am very, very tempted to put some 17"s on the 172, the car is on 9100miles and pretty soon is going to need a set of new tyres, and to top it off i have just been given a wad of cash from work which would cover a set of 17"s, so i am thinking of getting some 17"s and lowering it say 30mm?, but dont want a really harsh ride? Advice please, should i? shouldnt i?

 

[BenR]

H&R coilovers like the set we threw on loonys.......very supple and firm, not choppy or harsh.....very nice!

 

[rt172]

What sort of money are coilovers for a 172?

 

[BenR]

think it cost him just under 700 quid but money well spent, better than other non TUV approved junk you can get.

 

[telford_mike]

Or if the coilovers are a bit expensive just get some Eibach springs - will lower 25-30mm and youll still get a good ride.

 

[Turkish]

i had quotes upto a grand for my H&Rs but paid 630 inc vat in the end, been on the car 2-3 weeks now and im still very impressed with them

 

[rt172]

Think I might go for the Eibach springs. Coilovers would be nice, but I already know that lowering a 172 does great things for the handling. Would get Spax springs again as they were good on my MK2, but they sound a bit too much like "Spaz" springs, and people look at me funny if I say Ive just fitted a Spaz to my car. Hmmm...

 

[TimO172]

Get some Eibachs and if you must have 17s get some light weight ones. Superlegs or something.

 

[Daz]

Heh, your previouscar was sweet - make your 172 look like it.. hehe.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Gaz, I previously had -40mm Chassis Dynamic (AVO) springs on my 172 (with standard 16" rims/tyres) . The car looked tops and handled really well on smooth flat roads but unfortunately screwed up the handling on the twisty A/B roads (fronts were bottoming out). Handling/performance always over rules looks in my book. So following telford_mikes recommendations (thanks Mike ) i just got Eibach Pros fitted on Friday 13th! Still getting used to them but like them lots. Probably the best compromise between the extreme AVOs and standard. The car still rolls a wee bit but in a more controlled manner. The chassis soaks up the minor humps and bumps better than standard improving overall ride and stability. Unlike the AVOs i can now still "feel" what the car is doing. A bit more expensive than most but well worth the money IMHO. My personal conclusions .... -40mm is the absolute limit for a roadgoing 172 on standard struts with -30mm nearer to the ideal for most scenarios. If you need adustability then go with Bens suggestion of the H&Rs. They look like serious pieces of kit!

 

[Gareth]

thanks to everyone for the suggestions, i think the coilovers are a bit too much £, i am thinking along the lines of 17" superlegas in silver, and lowering 30mm, does anyone know how much difference there would be in ride height, between standard on 16s, and 17s with 30mm drop?

 

[Turkish]

ive set my coilovers at -40mm and with the 16s i couldnt get a trolley jack under the sills, dont know what the ride height was but it didnt scraped on speed bumps and it will be slightly higher now i have the 17s on, not much help i know

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Gaz if your going for 17s the overall rolling diameter ideally. to retain the same gearing. should be the same as the 16s so ride height will not be affected ..... does that make sense? e.g. In general if you go up a rim size you drop a profile size and up a section therefore the RD should pretty much remain the same.

 

[Gareth]

hmm, just been looking through the gallery, Yogis 172 looks smart with the Mille Miglia Actions on it, i have had them alloys in 15s on my old car and really liked them, but my experience of 17" mille miglias are that they weight a tonne, so perhaps superlegas is the way to go, but also noticed that a lot of the cars with 17s on seem to be very low even though they have only a moderate drop (15mm - 30mm)?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Yep, because the rims are closer to the arches (due to the lower profiles) it makes the car look lower. Also the rims are physically bigger.

 

[Gareth]

so whats the setup on yours then, wheels, suspension? and how do they differ from standard, harshness, ride, acceleration etc?

 

[telford_mike]

If you fit 17"s with 205/40 tyres your ride height will increase by 5mm. As mentioned above itll look lower though.

 

[Gareth]

so, if i fit 17"s, then do i really need to bother lowering at all? I think i am going to do it, 17" superlegas, or 17" Kahn RS-Ss, i know the superlegas are supposed to be good on weight, does anyone know what the Kahns are like, looking at them i would have thought they would be pretty heavy?

 

[telford_mike]

Yes, you absolutely MUST lower it or itll look like a tractor.