Best Suspension (for handling)

[Colin_S]

Right for a Valver, willy front track thing?, poly bushes? and want to know what the BEST strut and spring setup is, ride height does not mater what so ever. (pretend cost is not an issue)

I would like to know what front shocks, what front springs, what rear dampers and what to adjust the torsion bar, if at all?

 

[Ben H]

If you want an all-round setup for the best cross-country pace on A and B roads, then Williams has got to be the way forward.

My old Valver was lowered, firstly on big wheels and then on some original ones. The handling was way better on the smaller wheels - probably because of more flexiblity in the tyres. Then I found out that handling can be better when the car is not lowered.

When I got my standard Williams, I was blown away by the suspension. Its obvious that it relies on the full suspension travel and quicker rebound rates. More travel means that the wheels can travel further in/out of the bumps and the higher rebound rates mean that the wheels will stay in contact with the ground more by reacting quicker. The Willy is alos far more controlled half way through the travel and rarely bottoms out (so no skipping across bumpy roads). Theres a little more body roll and a weeny bit less lateral grip than with my lowered cars, but I cant stress enough how much better this setup is for someone like me and my driving.

I guess that it totally depends on what sort of driving you do, but my point is that if you live in an area with loads of B-roads then lowering to the floor isnt always the way forward. In your case, Id consider uprating the shocks to adjustable ones, but leaving the ride height the same to start off with.

 

[Daz]

Yea, Standard Williams setup is pretty cool, hehe.

 

[Daz]

Failing that, Mats Old Valver (Now AdiClio16v) has Avo Coilovers and that thing seemed to stick to the road like glue.. proper on rails!

Was slammed tho on 15s..

 

[clean16v]

^^^^^^^^^what he said, my old clio was on GAZ coilovers and scraping the floor at the front and think its fair to say that both Adi and myself could hold some pretty silly speeds through corners, very hard ride and not very practical BUT for throwing the car through corners its an incredible set-up, maybe a bit too harsh for long sweeping corners but on the tight corners very impressive. heard ALOT of good things about willy track though and its a defo future mod for myself

 

[Colin_S]

I have AVO coilovers on my Maxi and yes they are are good, but i think that lowering it too much adversly affects the all round handling. I was thinking along the lines of Koni Adjustables for the shocks, but dont know about the springs and the torsion bar settings. As i said ride height is of no importance and neither is comfort. Just want to know what would cause it to handle the best it possablly can, no compromise.

 

[BenR]

My personal setup for road use.

Willy front track using OE bushes, poly is too hard.

LEDA oil dampers with 190lb springs.

15" wheels with 205s upfront and 195s on the rear.

You cant adj the torsion bar poundage, and i know of nowhere to get uprated torsion bars. So it might be easier to get coilover units made to fit your current mountings althought you might possibly have to box section teh area to fit the shock with spring in. This means you can add poundage to your torsion bar.

Ben, jsut so you know in the future. Quicker rebound rates = lower rebound damping rates, and Slower rebound rates = higher rebound damping rates. You contradicted yourself above.

 

[2 live]

Quote: Originally posted by clean16v on 25 April 2004

^^^^^^^^^what he said, my old clio was on GAZ coilovers and scraping the floor at the front and think its fair to say that both Adi and myself could hold some pretty silly speeds through corners, very hard ride and not very practical BUT for throwing the car through corners its an incredible set-up, maybe a bit too harsh for long sweeping corners but on the tight corners very impressive. heard ALOT of good things about willy track though and its a defo future mod for myself

yeah they were 2 mightily impressive motors, both on the twisties and the straights

think the AVOd willy seemed to just have the edge on em thru the bends tho,poss cos its a bit softer n handles the bumps a bit beter.......maybe its cos the drivers a lunatic , i dunno lol

 

[Colin_S]

Your setup seems good Ben, prob not go the route of having custom coilovers made tho.

when you say poly bushes are to hard? is that the bushes are too hard or the ride is too hard? does this have a negative affect on the handling?

As for the rear, does adjusting the height give any benifit to handling?

 

[u33db]

Recently, ive had the willy track fitted and there is no comparision to how my 16v used to handle (standard or not) - the willy setup is superior in every way and is the best mod i have had done yet! Granted im down 35mm but even if i had the std willy springs, i think itd be hard to find a 16v that could match it overall....

As for best struts/springs to use with the above, i cant comment on this im afraid.

 

[BenR]

Quote: Originally posted by Colin_S on 26 April 2004


Your setup seems good Ben, prob not go the route of having custom coilovers made tho.

when you say poly bushes are to hard? is that the bushes are too hard or the ride is too hard? does this have a negative affect on the handling?

As for the rear, does adjusting the height give any benifit to handling?





The bushes are too hard and take away from the suppleness of the drive. You dont want anything too twitchy on the road which is why i havent reccomended an overly stiff setup.

Adj the rear ride height affects castor at the front geometry wise. But it can make the car nimble or stable. Up to your to find what you feel most comfortable with.

 

[cliokongen]

Quote: Originally posted by BenR on 26 April 2004


My personal setup for road use.

Willy front track using OE bushes, poly is too hard.

LEDA oil dampers with 190lb springs.

15" wheels with 205s upfront and 195s on the rear.

You cant adj the torsion bar poundage, and i know of nowhere to get uprated torsion bars.

You could use the torsion bars from the R5 Express.

They are a bit harder/thicker and were used in the Clio Cup racing series some years back.

So it might be easier to get coilover units made to fit your current mountings althought you might possibly have to box section teh area to fit the shock with spring in. This means you can add poundage to your torsion bar.

Ben, jsut so you know in the future. Quicker rebound rates = lower rebound damping rates, and Slower rebound rates = higher rebound damping rates. You contradicted yourself above.

Nice set up though!

Michael

 

[MaLicE]

if u go to gaz direct they make coilover units for the rear of the clios, so you can adjust the poundage... i contacted them with regards to getting a full set of coilovers for my clio and they said the rear dampers were coilovers too, and should come as standard on all gaz kits...

 

[BenR]

on MK1s?