172 - lowering

[Dan K]

Can anyone help me again with lowering my mk1 172. How much is the best to drop it by, dont want it really low, just low enough to tighten the handling up and get rid of most of that nasty wheel/arch clearence...

what make springs etc. are best and how much, and where from...cheers

I know bugger all about this, so any help appreciated

 

[Man-Chun]

If its only lowering srpings I have only looked at Apex 40mm all round and Prima springs 35mm Front/ 45 mm back. Prima springs are about 85 pounds, Apex are about 83 pounds. I dont really know which is best. MAybe someone on this board can comment on these srpings. I know my friend will be fitting Apex springs in about a weeks time, so I would know first hand how good these where.

Chun.

 

[Simon]

Ive got PI springs. lowered 25 mm at the front and 15 mm at the rear. The springs are about 30% stiffer. Fitting these springs has totally stopped any body roll in corners. The only downside is you feel every little stone in the road. They cost me £100 and I paid £60 cash to have them fitted.

 

[Dan K]

seem to remember a post from Nick saying that if you only get springs, oyu will bugger up the arms(cant remember what they are called, struts???) and they will wear really quickly, do you know how much the whole suspension setup would cost and what make, sure this would be lots more cash

 

[Man-Chun]

Yup the shocks ? will wear out quicker. But might as well use the life out of that component before buying uprated shocks. Or am i wrong hehe.

Chun.

 

[Fred@BTM]

Ive got Apex 40mm springs on my car. The handling is spot on now, virtually no body roll. I paid £83 from Motech and i fitted them myself. Ive got standard shocks on at the moment but im soon changing to Spax 60mm springs and uprated shocks, i can definitely recommeend Apex springs

 

[Ben j]

if its on a 172 the shocks are new enough anyway u should get away with just springs for now, do the shocks later. as for which one dunno? apex are good, but prima are renault specialist so should be good too, think its up 2 u on that one

 

[Man-Chun]

Fred how much are those 60mm lowering springs?. Just wondering how rough the ride would be with those tho?. Also whats the ride like with the Apex springs?. Got a pic of your car?.

Thanks,

Chun.

 

[Fred@BTM]

I dont know how much they are, im guessing about £100. Im going to change the shocks to make the ride a lot firmer (when the 60mm srings go on) At the moment the ride is a little bit bouncy but its spot on around corners and through roundabouts. Its probably bouncy cos ive got standard shocks, i think the 172 is factory 20mm lower than a standard car and it probably has already got different shocks. I dont know how to post a pic, i can e-mail it to you

 

[Fred@BTM]

If you go on to Yahoo and click on clubs and type in cliosports and join the club you can see my car in the gallery

 

[Man-Chun]

Ok cool thanks.

Chun.

 

[BenR]

prima are rebadged Pi springs, eibach are good but progressively wound, dont get apex as their budget. Ket either bilstei or H&R. H&R are the best wuality in the world, and they supply porsche etc. Def H&R

 

[Dan K]

Still confused about how much to drop the car by, what would be a good height that doesnt look too drastic, but still looks cool, and gets rid of the large arch wheel clearance...40mm and 60mm sound way too much, would 30mm do the job, not that keen on a ground scraping 172 you see...

 

[Man-Chun]

BenR do you know where I can find some H&R springs?. I have found some Avo -30mm lowering springs, I think these are pretty good. How much do H&R springs lower the car?.

Chun.

 

[GR7]

You can get H & R springs from Demon Tweeks, speak to John Harris on 01978 663 057 and he will help you out.

 

[Man-Chun]

Thanks Girlracer. You dont happen to know how much these lower the car by?

Chun.

 

[GR7]

Chun: Just give John H a ring and he will advise you. A very friendly guy who knows most things to do with cars!

 

[Man-Chun]

Ok thanks for the help , got your wheels yet Girlracer?.

Chun.

 

[GR7]

Not yet, I want to wait until the car has been to the dealer for the water leak problem to be fixed, which is next Monday.

The car could do with being lowered, but I dont know whether or not it would affect the 3-year warranty. (See my posting about the high seating position in the general topic forum). Does anyone have some advice about this please?

 

[Fred@BTM]

Go 40 mm minimum youll regret going any less

 

[Black Clio]

If you want real performance go for the Bilstein Coil over suspension... no question about it!

 

[Black Clio]

Oh, and the height is adjustable from 0-65mm!!!! now thats low

 

[Dan K]

Black Clio - The blisteins sound cool, are they expensive, and do you know where you can get them??? In a dilema over which springs etc. to get, really wanna get the 172 looking abit more clio-cup and handling better.

 

[Fred@BTM]

My car is six months old, and ive got to the stage where im so fed up with Renault i dont really care if my warranty is void or not!!! My car has got 40mm Apex springs on and they are bright yellow so you cant miss them!! Ive got 17s on aswell. With this set up, my car when parked next to a standard one is about 10mm lower, basically standard ride height. Its going in for a service next week and i cant be bothered to take the springs off, im just going to risk it. (i fitted the springs myself)

 

[Black Clio]

DanK the bilstein Coilover shocks and springs cost 228,000 Yen in Japan, In Hong Kong (where I live) it would cost about 12 grand!!! (Compared to the 3 and a half I spend on my APEX springs)Im guessing it should cost less in UK.

But as I said, the APEX springs are only lowered 35mm (NOT 40mm) and is hardly noticable height wise, it does however make a huge difference to the handling of the car- ie. very stiff/ bouncy, APEX springs have been designed to use with standard shocks and therefore needs to match the stroke of the shock itself. if it was too low (like some other brands) it would only look good but handle like a shopping trolly!!!

 

[Black Clio]

Oh and if you cant afford the Bilstein coilovers, you can go for something like a Koni shock and spring set which is 40mm (I think) lower and has 8 stage damping adjustment on the shocks both front and rear. but if you are keeping the OE shocks, go for Apex or Koni springs so you can upgrade later.

 

[Black Clio]

Ive sent Jas some pics of the Coilover shocks and springs, Japanese parts and even some meeting pics from Hong Kong. Hope he putsem up soon!

 

[Dan K]

Thanks Black clio, seems like you know your stuff. Am I right in saying that the 172 has springs at back and not torsion bar??? and finally your saying that the Apex springs will work with my standard 172 shocks? and Koni will work with them as well?? I have not seen Apex springs anywhere in UK yet, but have seen Koni and they are reasonsble price, £100 set I think, are these the best spring makers for the standard 172 shocks then, Iam more concerned with better handling than the looks, although would be nice to have lower looks as well.

 

[Black Clio]

DanK- If you cant find APEX springs, then go for the Konis and when you can afford the shock you can get them later. Dont forget to get a wheel alignment done after you install the springs/shocks as it will need to be reset.

 

[Fred@BTM]

You can get Apex springs from MOTECH

 

[BenR]

wow linton!!!!!
your springs cost you $3500!!!! are you mad!!!!

 

[Black Clio]

Ben- That includes fitting and a computer wheel alignment, the spring alone costed aprox $2200, 800 for the wheel aligment and 500 for fitting.

 

[Man-Chun]

Apex springs cost about 85 pounds over here. Total for fitting ,wheel alignment and springs = 175 pounds. Thats a lot to pay for springs and fitting 3500 dollors = 320 pounds?.

Chun

 

[Black Clio]

thats HK for you, anything rare and from Europe is expensive... like Jap parts are cheaper here then UK.

 

[BenR]

jeeseey creeseey!!
sorry to say it linton but apex are a bit of a budget brand over here, are you sure you didnt get ripped off. If you want i can get some cool konis or bilstiens or avo coilovers then bring them back this summer?
and probably for the same price

 

[Black Clio]

Ben, Im seriously think of getting some Bilstein Coil Overs cause I saw it in Japan and they are hot, but cost nearly HK$15,000 for the set, in HK I need to order it and would cost just as much, so it would be cool if you can check how much it cost over there Ill aperciate it!

 

[Fred@BTM]

Heres one for all of you, me and jon have a mate that dropped his 16v 120mm on 15s!!! if you parked next to a curb you couldnt open the door!!! Also you couldnt get your foot under the sill!!!

 

[Fred@BTM]

The cars dead now, he broke about 3 drive shafts!!!

 

[BenR]

yeah linton, ill have alook.But what about other brands. i saw that avo coilovers are only 500 or something for the clio 16V. so whouldnt be much more i think. I will check bilstein and other ok

 

[Black Clio]

BenR- Thanks mate thatll be great, I think I perfer the Bilsteins as its the best there is. (unless you tell me otherwise?!)