172 Strut Braces & Brakes

[barry.riddell]

Has any one fitted front and rear Strut Braces to a 172 Mk2 and is there an improvement in the handling?

And how long did it take to fit them?

I am also going to fit new brakes and pads ( Tarox )my pedal goes soft when i am going very quick?


And any tyre info would be very handy ( That’s 8,000 and there f***ed )

Any feed back on the above would be very help full

Thanks

Barry

My email is barry.riddell@clara.co.uk

 

[BenR]

look at "tyres for 172???" in the general forum.

rear strut brace will reduce chassis twist, but leave no boot space....not that i care.

 

[barry.riddell]

Thanks for the note Ben r but was looking for more detailed information

I am also a racer….. 25 years experience

I do understand what they do but that’s not what mean …….
I was looking for any constructive information. IE if it really sharpened up the front and rear ends. boot space is of no Importance to me this car is just my Toy

I was not looking for a fitment tyre chart but user info on different tyres fitted to members 172 and if they worked better than the continentals fitted as standard. I believe that the continentals were partly designed with Renault for the Clio. And they scored very highly in this months tyre shoot out in Evo Magazine. But as you know tyres work very differently on different cars. The test car was the new 170 ST Focus.

 

[BenR]

Wickid, ive raced since i was 8, and i dont have one in my 172, but in the clio cup cars i have raced, it does make it extremly tight at the rear. allot like a hard reared mini.
might be the lack of weight in the rear, but it gets very unstable over bumps when braking.
overall, not a huge miprovement over what it normally is int eh road car, but deffo worth the little cash it costs.
oh, stops some of the squeeks too.#

as for tyres, i didnt mind the contis, you could always drive around the understeer.
buti found the SX GTs much more fun and able.

but maybe a bit of anti ackerman might be the best solution.

 

[BenR]

BTW...evo jurnos are poo.
also, tarox are way over priced and not worth it! a set of pads is enough...
and i went through my bridgestones in 2000 miles!!! (1 trackday inc.)

 

[barry.riddell]

thanks for that ... think i will try the front and rear the roads in my area are Pretty smooth.

I find it difficult get good reading material now a days ….. I had been reading CCC for the last 25 years but its not good information now a days …. Its getting like Dare I say it Max power the stereo and loud exhaust magazine and evo magazine can be interesting in the cars that they drive but yes the reporting can be none descript.

In my experience just fitting better quality pads on standard discs does not work … after 3 or 4 hard drives I get the dreaded disc warping….. Better heat dissipation my a***

 

[Taffy]

i have never used tarox (now called red dot in this counrty) but i sell them in work, and i dont think much of them at all - 1 in 3 of the discs we sell comes back warped.

 

[BenR]

see if you can get some maxtorque iscs as i have been using these for a while now and they dont warp, well, 1 did, but that was becasue it wasnt mounted flat..my fault.

CCC is my bible, true, there is too much interest in silly cars from people from max power, but that is where the money is spent nowadays.

did you see my letter (star letter) in the feb or march issue of this year? on F1 diffusers?

 

[JJ172]

Why not try PerformanceFriction carbon metallic pads, as used on the Clio cup cars?

 

[Simon]

Im having a front sparco strut brace fitted this w/e. Will let you know if it makes any difference. Have got Koni Shocks & PI springs and the car handles so much better than standard.

Also brake wise am putting on Ferodo DS 2000 on front & rear. Will eventually put in higher spec. brake fluid with Steel piping. V6 discs & calipers may go on with 17s to improve overall braking.

 

[BenR]

are the hub mounting points the same on the V6?

 

[Simon]

Thats what I need to find out but hopefully they are compat.

 

[BenR]

wouldnt of though so, the front suspension on the V6 is fairly different...are the calipers specific to the V6 or are they off the safrane or laguna or something?

better get out a tape measure and go down to you local dealer!

 

[Simon]

Havent got a Scooby. If they go on then cool - may be able to do it on the cheap being Renault. If not then will pursue some other options. Will ring my renault motorsport contact and ask him as he race prepares both 172s and V6s and one of his mechanic should know.