Coilovers are so overated!

[Martin]

After driving a variety of clios in the last 4 years or so from stnd, widetrack, springs and shocks to various coilovers I've concluded that stnd setup is by far the best compromise for road and track use.

For me the standard williams setup is great and is far superior to a stiffly sprung and snappy coilover setup...yet it seems that most people on here's first mod is spending an arm & a leg on coilovers.:S

Do people buy coilovers purely for looks..and if so surely it's a stupid amount of money to spend just to lower a car?

Discuss

 

[BenR]

you do have gaz's though, most most apalling of coilovers.

But i agree, stock chassis are awesome fun and you can take more liberties.

 

[LegoHead]

I have standard suspension on my current 182 and it is easier to lose the back end than with the last car on h+r coilovers.

The ride is comfier now, but as soon as I can afford another set I'll be getting some.

 

[Peperami]

Standard is more fun up to a point, but i prefer the handling of coilovers if im pushing it.

 

[AlexS]

I don't think my 1.2 16v handles to badly 'out of the box' for what is essentially a shopping car. Aesthetically it needs badly lowering, but I may well just put some eibachs on there to close up the arch- wheel gap a little but most of all reduce the body roll.

 

[LegoHead]

Another thing, bump steer is something i havent had to fight as much with for a while.

I hit a bump now and the steering wheel is snatched out my hands.lol. Need to hold on tighter.

 

[Martin]

Standard is more fun up to a point, but i prefer the handling of coilovers if im pushing it.

In what way? Personally I prefer the well telegraphed communication of the stnd setup to the grip, grip, grip, oh s**t...you get with some coilovers... Maybe I need to sample a pro setup clio on uber coilovers but I still can't see it being better on the roads I drive.

 

[Ollie82.]

For road use, no i don't see the point of throwing that much money on say H&R's but they will obviously come into their own round a track.
I've put Eibach Pro's on my Cup and its worked wonders for me. Less body roll, more reactive front end but alot of people ignore them as they are more interested in the looks that Sportlines give....the "slammed look badwagon" is getting full...but hey each to their own.

But for me, i'd want to justify spending that much cash on coilovers, and knowing i don't intend to do hardly any track work then i'd prob consider spending the money elsewhere.

 

[Kneel]

I found that I prefer coilovers as it keeps me nice and low and imo grips around the corners better than standard. It also helps as there is less body roll. It may be that the coilovers are maybe only slightly better at handling than the springs that I had but they are much comfier and so I think it was worth the money I spent, even if the effect is only a placebo and it just gives me that extra bit of confidence it was worth it.

 

[S22 JGS]

is this opening into the debate that all production cars have coilovers anyway, and the term coilovers is very incorrectly used in one sence.

back to subject though... i woudnt say they are worth it purely for road. if u track it then yeh, otherwise no

 

[Munson]

I thought the point of coilovers is that thay have a spring for bound and rebound. Last time I checked, most OEM systems don't do this.

 

[Jamie]

I suppose it depends on how you prefer your car to handle.

I have to say the stock williams suspension is very good, however i dont really like the graduity of the way you have to push the car. When pushing hard in the williams you get that initial role then the gradual element which to me feels dangerous and always find myself driving well within the limits of the car as i am constantly scared of overstepping.

The next change for me was fitting some semi-slicks on stock suspension, which made a big difference and have to say since taking them off i want to go back to them, for £200 they were great.

The next set-up i tried was lowered 25mm on the front on standard shocks. I instantly preffered this, as the turn in and response felt sharper, and you could easily tell where the limit was and where to back off in fear of overcooking it.

I then went to standard suspension in the form of cup springs which felt exactly the same despite the apparent higher spring poundage as compared to standard! Of which i now have added some Avo adjustables on the rear and all i can say is wow. Now they are set on the hardest setting (needs to be lowered tbh) but the difference is tremendous. I was nailing a round about at 10mph quicker the other day and the rear grip is something else, on a track i can see it being a few seconds quicker as the extra confidence is awe inspiring.

And finally i have a set of avo adjustable damping front shocks with -25mm springs on the way which i will review hopefully when back on next weekend, but if the rear is anything to go by they will be super.

In my case i didnt go for coilovers as i dont need the adjustable ride height, but i did want the adjustable damping for road/track differentiation and i know i will prefer the way the car will handle.

Thus in conclusion to your answer, the few hundred pounds i have spent on my suspension will be well worth it and imo ensure the car handles better.

 

[S22 JGS]

I thought the point of coilovers is that thay have a spring for bound and rebound. Last time I checked, most OEM systems don't do this.

coilovers is nothing more than a coil, over the damper, hence the name... the fact that H&R's etc are diferent is not why they are called coilovers

 

[Munson]

Ah ok cool

 

[Laura]

i bought my coilovers because i wanted it lower than i could on springs

 

[richy]

i always prefered std set-up on my williams, i just ran custom made springs on that, i did have AVO coilovers but didnt like them, but i used the car alot on roads and didnt think it was right for that tbh

my 16v which i use for track does have AVO coilovers on and i couldnt fault it at donington, also running wide track btw, i previously had it with std williams set-up and tbh i didnt like it on a trackday i did, with the coilovers it was miles better on track, i dont use the car for road use so not worried on comfort but its caged/bucket seated anyway lol so not its main use!

 

[edde]

I agree Martin, Renault spent more on development than the tunners did so they ofen know what best all round.

 

[richy]

thats it though edde, they have to make the car user friendly so to speak, not just for track use etc

 

[Ali]

I've been sayin this for ages. For looks you can't beat it tho...

 

[Chris n nic]

For road use, no i don't see the point of throwing that much money on say H&R's but they will obviously come into their own round a track.
I've put Eibach Pro's on my Cup and its worked wonders for me. Less body roll, more reactive front end but alot of people ignore them as they are more interested in the looks that Sportlines give....the "slammed look badwagon" is getting full...but hey each to their own.

But for me, i'd want to justify spending that much cash on coilovers, and knowing i don't intend to do hardly any track work then i'd prob consider spending the money elsewhere.

Thats what I though when I was buying my eibachs but the Sportlines barely make a difference in ride height tbh but handles much better than std (or more stable than standard)


Chris

 

[richy]

chris you got any side on pics with the sportlines on? just i wanna change my 182s but dont wanna drop it on its arse etc!

 

[Chris n nic]

Here you go m8

Like I say it is barely noticable

Chris

 

[GordonD]

After driving a variety of clios in the last 4 years or so from stnd, widetrack, springs and shocks to various coilovers I've concluded that stnd setup is by far the best compromise for road and track use.

For me the standard williams setup is great and is far superior to a stiffly sprung and snappy coilover setup...yet it seems that most people on here's first mod is spending an arm & a leg on coilovers.:S

Do people buy coilovers purely for looks..and if so surely it's a stupid amount of money to spend just to lower a car?

Discuss

I guess the "Discuss" at the bottom means its not a serious question. you're just trying to start a debate/argument.

The fact is that some things are technically better than what manufacturers could afford to or saw the need to put on standard cars, especially fairly low-cost ones like Clio Sports. But if you fit those "better" parts to your car you haven't had the opportunity to spend the large amount of money on setting them up in the best possible way that the manufacturer would have with the standard part, so the probability is that it if it works any better than the cheap standard-equipment part it won't be much better.

Correctly set up coil overs are only going to ever at best be marginally better in extreme circumstances than the standard suspension. But badly set up coil-overs are going to be a lot worse.

Anyway, young guys don't fit things like coil-overs and drilled and slotted disks and 4/6-pot calipers and carbon-fibre bits and racing seats and most other things because they work better. They fit them so they can show them off and boast to their mates that they've got them.

 

[2 live]

wel, iv tried brand new and used willy susp, and brand new AVO coilover kit.


i bought the coilover kit as i had snapped both springs on my oe set up. i tried brand new, but the body roll was still too much for me. the std susp is a good compromise between handling and comfort, just as most mass produced cars are, they have to thik of their customers at the end of the day.

each to their own really for this type of thing. the williams handles well on std, and sometimes dependant on road is a little crashy on the AVO's, but for the pro's cons, the pros far outweigh the cons of the coilies. less roll, sharper turn in, more stable(particularly on high speed corners)

 

[Laura]

o 2live same price off that other company too, and they are the ones we used for peugeot spent ages trying to find the cheapest

 

[fmp_]

depends what situation were talking to...

stock suspension will probably out perform coilovers on the open road 95% of the time.

But on a silky smooth race track a well setup set of coilovers will be far superior. Reduced body roll, lower centre of gravity etc etc etc.

Clio owners have it easy anyways with coilovers. I had to spend so much more on my old track Saxo to get it handling very well, what with dampers, springs, torsion bars, anti roll bars, bushes etc etc!

 

[2 live]

o 2live same price off that other company too, and they are the ones we used for peugeot spent ages trying to find the cheapest

thanks for that...will have to have a think lol.


nice 1 for finding tho.

 

[MarkM]

I suppose it depends on how you prefer your car to handle.

True.

I prefer my coilovered car over standard.

 

[MarkM]

Anyway, young guys don't fit things like coil-overs and drilled and slotted disks and 4/6-pot calipers and carbon-fibre bits and racing seats and most other things because they work better. They fit them so they can show them off and boast to their mates that they've got them.

LOL!

I have coilovers, 4pots and a racing seat. Just thought I would point that out as I havent had a chance to boast about it for a couple of hours. I was getting withdrawel symptoms.

 

[richy]

Anyway, young guys don't fit things like coil-overs and drilled and slotted disks and 4/6-pot calipers and carbon-fibre bits and racing seats and most other things because they work better. They fit them so they can show them off and boast to their mates that they've got them.

LOL!

I have coilovers, 4pots and a racing seat. Just thought I would point that out as I havent had a chance to boast about it for a couple of hours. I was getting withdrawel symptoms.

yeah me to, cant beleive ive not posted saying that i also having coilovers, 4pots, and a racing seat for nearly a day! lol

 

[richy]

btw i see what you mean chris, looks std lol will have a think over what to get!

 

[2 live]

LOL!

I have coilovers, 4pots and a racing seat. Just thought I would point that out as I havent had a chance to boast about it for a couple of hours. I was getting withdrawel symptoms.

yeah me to, cant beleive ive not posted saying that i also having coilovers, 4pots, and a racing seat for nearly a day! lol

lol.i dont have the 4 pots......i dont deem them necessary tbh, the std set up with good pads is ample imo.


i do have coilovers buckets and throttle bodies tho

 

[Markpw]

I had some H&R's put on my cup 6 mths back and it felt so much sure footed and less twitchy on the road, but yes it was a little to low for bumpy b roads so i raised both front and back so it sits more like the trophy. Feels awseome b roads are tackled with alot more speed and responsiveness now. Doesnt feel like i take off when hitting dips and ridges etc. Will see how i cope with my next track session this fri at Bedford Autodrome (not that its a Cadwell type circuit) but should be able to get the power down better out of corners etc where i struggled at Cadwell last year.
So i think you dont have to slam your coilovers to get the best result quite the opposite IMO as long as the initial setup is good.