172 non-cup suspension refresh

[Clio182Pete]

Been a lurker for a while, hence the low post count but finally have something worth about. The time has come to refresh the suspension on my 53 plate 62,000 mile 172 non-cup, the car is mainly used as a fast road car with the odd track day.
At first I thought I would replace the shocks with new oe units and a set of pro line springs with the possibility of a whiteline ARB in the near future. I priced these up at about £350 without the ARB. When I priced this up I spied a set of V-max coilovers for just over £400 so now I am wondering which route to go down.
Also, if coilovers mean the ARB is not necessary I can add an extra £150 to the pot for coilovers.
Any comments, experiences with these items or opinions welcome

Cheers

Pete

 

[Gaz_]

Fast road i'd go for a Koni/pro/sportline combo. V-max are at the cheaper range of the market.

 

[ForceIndia]

Cheap coilovers are pointless imo. If the budget is sub £500 stay standard with the whiteline arb. Or konis, but again with the arb.
If it's a choice of the 2, I'd take the arb over the konis.

 

[TimR26]

Vmaxx are cheap but nothing wrong with them for road or track use. No-one has ever said to me "your car looks like it's got cheap coilovers".

 

[ForceIndia]

Vmaxx are cheap but nothing wrong with them for road or track use. No-one has ever said to me "your car looks like it's got cheap coilovers".

They were better than I thought they'd be, but not in the same league as KW/H&R/Bilstein. But that's to be expected given the relative prices.

 

[.Kev.]

Would it be worth replacing ball joints and track rod ends?

 

[TimR26]

They were better than I thought they'd be, but not in the same league as KW/H&R/Bilstein. But that's to be expected given the relative prices.

I agree with that totally but for the money they offer excellent performance. At Brands on Tuesday I was as quick if not quicker than a Clio 172 with Gaz adjustable coilovers and R888s.

I admit though that I would like coilovers with adjustable damping if only to have fun playing about with it

Also an arb is on the list.

Would it be worth replacing ball joints and track rod ends?

Only if they need doing, if it ain't broke don't fix it IMO

 

[Fred@BTM]

yeah but GAZ are terrible on the clios! LOL

 

[TimR26]

Fred, out of curiosity, what coilovers would you get if you had about 800 to spend?

 

[ForceIndia]

1st off, Gaz are shite. 2nd, I'm sure there are people on here that would be quicker in a standard car (Fred, T Hunter come to mind!) than me on the KW's. I went past a mk2 FRS, damn sure doesn't make my car quicker lol.

 

[Fred@BTM]

Bilsteins all day long, then if you have a bit more to spend KW's

 

[Gaz_]

I love my B14's. Only running about 15mm lower than standard, awesome B road king!

 

[ForceIndia]

I love my B14's. Only running about 15mm lower than standard, awesome B road king!

They aren't bad for those on a budget.

 

[Gaz_]

Indeed. If i wasn't on the breadline i'd have a downs car tbh!

 

[ForceIndia]

Flol.

 

[mat-nos]

cheap ok coilovers or brilliant spring/shock combo...........
personally i would go for the konis/eibach springs then save up for an arb and get a group buy going on them!!