Coilover review thread for 182 cup fitment (NO CHAT!)

[Dan]

Right 1st this thread is not for any chit chat or debates on coilovers as i would just like reviews posted please (any questions PM them).

I am looking into coilovers myself and seem to find people on here putting out questions about certain types just to have the question cut up by other users telling them to look at another brand without actually explaining why they should change there mind or if they do explain another few users creating an arguement due to them not agreeing with the opionions stated :S

I would just like some reviews of various brands of coilover kits within different price brackets for the 182 cup fitment.

If the people posting a review could follow the order below to make it easier to read as well please .

Brand and model

Reason for purchase

Review of fitment and dealings with supplier

Review on performance in different situations (i.e. track, B-roads, long motorways trips)

Review on servicing/breakages once fitted

Any other info you would like to add about the product (to be kept as short as possible please)

And finally a score from 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)


Thank you for taking your time out to post a review as all information is appreciated great i hope this will help out other members also in my indecisive situation

 

[DanFreemanPhoto]

AST Sportline

Reason - errr...well I wanted 'proper' suspension.

Fitted by Mr AST himself, at Powerstation in Tewkesbury. No problems at all - pleasure to deal with.

Performance - simply epic. Everyone in the car instantly says how good the car handled, great fun to drive too. I had uprated springs which meant my set-up was a bit firmer than the 'standard' kits. It was a tad bumpy on crap roads, but I didn't care at all. Just man up.

Never had any problems with them at all, and managed to sell them for a tidy sum too.

10/10. One of the best suspension kits you can get for a RS Clio. Period.

 

[Gaz_]

Brand and model

H&R

Reason for purchase?

'Bo aint thee?

Review of fitment and dealings with supplier?

Bolted straight on with no bother. Were bought 2nd hand

Review on performance in different situations (i.e. track, B-roads, long motorways trips)

Day to day, superb, very refined. Like a cupped 182, but you can go a bit more lowz init?

Review on servicing/breakages once fitted.

Other than cleaning up threads, checking collars, no problems.

Any other info you would like to add about the product (to be kept as short as possible please)

One of the best daily set ups imo

And finally a score from 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)

9/10

 

[Dan]

great stuff guys

any other reviews as im buying over easter

 

[charlesk]

Brand and model

Spax (coilover rear setup)

Reason for purchase?

Wanted something better/more focused than stock shocks with Eibachs, and these were at the right price bracket/spec

Review of fitment and dealings with supplier?

Instructions a bit confusing, but easy to fit/sort. Bought from 519 which has been helpfull.

Review on performance in different situations (i.e. track, B-roads, long motorways trips)

Day to day, very refined (comfier than stock). V.good on track too (slightly stiffer than the road setup)

Review on servicing/breakages once fitted.

No problems/breakages to report yet

Any other info you would like to add about the product (to be kept as short as possible please)

Well worth the money

And finally a score from 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)

8/10 (better/clearer instructions and rear bump stops/dustboots would of gained them another point)​

 

[ripp]

Hope that this post will help others, if the OP has decided already, so here it goes

Brand and model


GAZ GHA


Reason for purchase?


good price, I had no idea how Bilstein, AST, Spax are like so I really wanted something adjustable. I knew about their reputation mind you


Review of fitment and dealings with supplier?

took me an entire day to fit but that was because of the stock suspension coming off really hard
lack of travel if you go lower than 30mm- you'll hit the bumpstops
I had to cut mine, as GAZ advised to, they were kind enough to answer to all my emails shortly




Review on performance in different situations (i.e. track, B-roads, long motorways trips)

heard people say they are crashy. well if you go low they will be as you'll hit the bumpstops as I said. But kept to a reasonable drop they do good so far at least
Had them fitted from october last year, no leaks so far but they corroded-not bad though, I've seen top brands do that






Review on servicing/breakages once fitted.


cleaned up the threads once, greased them and the collars move with ease.


Any other info you would like to add about the product (to be kept as short as possible please)

good so far, only problem is that they don't go as low as advertised.






And finally a score from 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)

I'll give them a 7 for causing me to mess with the bump stops. I think there may be some bad design somewhere




Bottom line: Was thinking what if I waited a bit more and gone for something better? (even if for the cup fitment there aren't so many options)
AST's were twice the price- I'm not in the situation of spending that amount
Bilsteins- very few of them in cup fitment and read here that they may "clunk"
H&R- even if they did cup fitment there are plenty saying bad things about them
Spax- same story some say they are brilliant some say not so
So I said why spend huge amounts on my first coilovers given the fact that NO brand guarantees 100% quality?

 

[stokie4ker]

Brand and model
D2 Racing

Reason for purchase-
When I first bought my Clio both rear shocks and one front shock were leaking and one front spring was snapped. I needed to replace most of the suspension so looked at coilovers as well as standard setup.
The D2 coilovers were only £500 but would give me adjustable spring preload, separate height adjustment that did not alter the spring preload, adjustable compression and rebound damping and adjustable camber from a slotted top bolt hole.

Review of fitment and dealings with supplier-
The first time I fitted them, setting up the ride heights took some time as I had to keep adjusting it slightly with the wheels off the ground and then lowering it to measure the ride height. Also, due to the slot for the top bolt where it attaches to the wheel hub, setting the camber meant again setting with wheel off the ground and then measuring with the car on the ground.

The supplier has said they are more than happy to offer advise with setting up.

Review on performance in different situations (i.e. track, B-roads, long motorways trips)-
It's hard to say how they compare to standard as I haven't driven a standard 182 FF with working suspension but a friend who had had a 172 Cup from new says my suspension is much firmer than his had been.
On B roads it doesn't wallow or roll around bends or dive under heavy breaking like every other car I've ever driven. It also handled a short flight after taking off from a sudden drop off in the road quite well.
Motorways are hard to say, if it is a smooth tarmac motorway then it's fine but if there are lots of joints like on the M5 or a concrete section of motorway then it can get annoying. I could of course reduce the spring rate and back off the damping to make driving on motorway driving more comfortable.
So far I haven't had the chance to take the car on track but hope to find time to amend that failing.

Review on servicing/breakages once fitted-
So far no servicing has been needed but the supplier said they were fully rebuildable.
There have been no breakages so the only problem I have had is the adjustable camber meaning any time I have to remove the coilovers I have to make sure they go back on in the same position.

Any other info you would like to add about the product (to be kept as short as possible please)-
If you look them up on ebay then you will be shown an image where both front and rear units are coilovers. The rear units are actually a similar setup to standard except the spring rate can be adjusted to alter the ride height. The ebay results will also show they come with adjustable topmounts, the Clio version doesn't get that.

And finally a score from 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)-
Build quality 10-10
Performance 8-10 but that may be because I haven't set them up properly.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Brand and model
H&R Coilovers (182 Cup fitment)

Reason for purchase
The Sachs needed refurbishment & for the price of a full refurb (£820) i thought it wise to perhaps try something else. If the 'something else' was no good, i would simply take them off & get the Sachs refurbed.

Review of fitment and dealings with supplier
Fitting was an utter ballache, no doubt due to the miley nature of my Trophy. Rear spring adjusters needed modification with a airsander in order to go through the (too small) holes on the rear beam. All other issues were related to the monkeys fitting them, ie us.

Review on performance in different situations (i.e. track, B-roads, long motorways trips)
Great ride quality, with a suppleness that is very similar to that of a standard 1*2 for day to day driving, however if you start to push on a bit they become more akin to the Trophy setup, seeming to offer a decent level of firmness, with similar throttle adjustability when on/approaching the limit of adhesion. On track they offer similar roll characteristics to the Sachs, with a nice amount of movement to let you know when you are starting to get towards the limit.

Review on servicing/breakages once fitted
All seems fine so far, covered them with anti rust treatment prior to fitting so that is no doubt helping.

Any other info you would like to add about the product (to be kept as short as possible please)
All round, it is a fantastic setup imho, & the fantastic reviews from a few years back (prior to the requirement for adjustable everything - CS members are all race engineers iirc) are no surprise.

And finally a score from 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)
10. I really dont see why you would need anything else. Unless you are going racing and need to fine tune every aspect of the setup.

 

[ripp]

h&r in cup fitment? where from?

 

[Sir_Dave]

h&r in cup fitment? where from?

Ktec. Although, Kam & the other usual suspects sell them as well.

 

[Stefan.]

Ktec. Although, Kam & the other usual suspects sell them as well.

can't see them on k tecs site? :S

 

[jpbacs12]

I have noticed them on here

http://www.kamracing.co.uk/renault/...2-rs-182-cup-handr-monotube-coilover-kit.html

There is probably more places to buy.

PS find this thread very helpful as I am looking for suspension atm aswell. (sorry for the chat just wanted to help)