Cooksport or coilovers.

[Stopherson]

I cant make my mind up about going for springs or coilovers. The only springs im interested in is the cooksport ones as i have read good things. The only problem is im unsure if ill be happy the lows they give. Coilovers i was looking at k tec v max or maybe some 2nd hand gaz coiloversdepends what comes up. I want to go for best handling but have a nice stance. My aim is to do track days. I know if i go for coilovers it will become about the lows again. What would you guys go for?

 

[Adamm.]

Cooksports will be much better than vmaxx or ktec coilovers mate, you need to be looking at £600+ for coilovers tbh.

Depends if you're only bothered about lows or want good handling too.

 

[Stopherson]

Im trying to go for pure handling but i cant keep away from lows. What shocks would you recommend for the cooksports i know every one says cup shocks. But they wouldn't fit the front on mine what other options are there.

 

[Simon_16v]

I've been told for the slight difference in bolt spacing you can get away with elongating the holes. I've not tried this so don't go by my word!

 

[vecbtb]

172 Cup dampers will fit fine.

 

[Stopherson]

so i would get clio cup dampers to fit a standard ph2 172
​

 

[Ph1 Tom]

Cup shocks will fit a standard 172.

I've got Cup shocks and cooksport springs, great on the road. I'm yet to try it on track. But for track I'd be looking at a decent coilover setup.

Montube is the way forward. So that's Bilstein, H&R or AST. Bilstein are a nice compromise but might be a bit soft for track dependant on what tyres you want to run, they're great for fast road. AST would be good as they can provide you with a road, track or full slicks and cage biased setup. About a grand for the AST 1 and £1400-1600 for the 2s.

Saying that though. My experience of GAZ hasn't been a terrible one and they are cheap. They were spot on on track but a little unrefined on the road, I played around with spring rates to get a good compromise and turned the damping up a little for track days and it worked well. If you're happy to compromise the compliance on the road they're not bad for the money.

Another good compromise would be the cooksport springs (or maybe something a little stiffer) with an adjustable monotube damper (I believe Josh may be working on one with AST)

In all honesty your best talking to someone who knows more about setitng Clios up for track use.

 

[Chip-mk1]

Your options:

Standard tired old shocks plus cooksports
Pros: cheap, will look ok
Cons: your shocks are probably knackered so wont handle as well as it could, cant go very low if you are the sort of chav that wants that

Standard new cup shocks plus cooksports
Pros: cheap, will look ok, will handle very well on road and ok for track
Cons: cant go very low if you are the sort of chav that wants that, not the ultimate on track but still good

cheap coilovers
Pros: you can "deck it"
cons: wont handle well, coilovers will need occaisonal rebuilds or replacing (if very cheap ones they are not worth rebuilding)

Expensive coilovers
Pros: you can "deck it", it will handle well on track
Cons: wont ride nicely on the road, coilovers will need regular rebuilds



In bold is what I have on one of my cars that is both a road car and a track car, if I only had one car it would be this setup. I recommend this for you.

 

[Stopherson]

cheers looks like ill be going for cup shocks and cook sport springs.

 

[Chip-mk1]

cheers looks like ill be going for cup shocks and cook sport springs.

I think you will be very pleased with the results.

renew all your supension and steering bushes and joints too and you will have a pinsharp epic handling little car

 

[Stopherson]

yea i have seen a few people say that so that's on the list along with a rear arb

 

[Feates172]

I've had ktec coilovers and vmaxx on my 172.

Now have fresh shocks all round with cooksports and rear arb. It is 100% better.

 

[Chip-mk1]

yea i have seen a few people say that so that's on the list along with a rear arb

I personally dont think you need the rear ARB with the cooksport springs, but it depends how tail happy you want the car.
My mrs for example likes the really neutral feel you get without the RARB, makes the car very predictable, where as i quite like it a bit more tail happy so like a stiffer RARB than she does.

 

[Stopherson]

i think i will really enjoy a rear arb then. also do the cooksport springs only lower by 25mm and 30mm

 

[Chip-mk1]

I didnt measure mine before, but its quite a big drop, its about 10mm more than the lower eibachs.

 

[Ph1 Tom]

I personally dont think you need the rear ARB with the cooksport springs, but it depends how tail happy you want the car.
My mrs for example likes the really neutral feel you get without the RARB, makes the car very predictable, where as i quite like it a bit more tail happy so like a stiffer RARB than she does.

I've got mine set to soft with the Cooksports and cup shocks, it feels more stable, planted and less tail happy. I haven't tried the ARB on hard yet.

 

[Stopherson]

where can i get the cook sport springs from

 

[Chip-mk1]

Cook sport.

And if you ever want a big mac, you can buy them from mcdonalds.

 

[Stopherson]

I tried cooksport out of order was just wondering if any where els sold them. But that's a handy tip to know i wondered why burger king kept kicking me out.

 

[ferry]

Are Spax RSX any good?

Also, Apex springs?

 

[MicKPM]

And if you ever want a big mac, you can buy them from mcdonalds.

High five!

 

[Feates172]

I tried cooksport out of order was just wondering if any where els sold them. But that's a handy tip to know i wondered why burger king kept kicking me out.

Yeah their stock doesn't last long, have to be quick

 

[Stopherson]

Ok I need coilovers. I'm not sure if I should get
Ap coilovers or gaz I like the gaz coilovers as they are damping adjustable but the ap are made by kW and may be better.

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/perfo...ult/clio-98-05-172/ap-suspension-coilover-kit

http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=1441&appid=2

Or are they as good as v max coilovers.

 

[Ph1 Tom]

Track use, road use or both?

 

[Stopherson]

It will be road use. I would like to do a track day tho In The future.

 

[plymcl172]

Road use I would not get coilovers but maybe that's just me

coilovers need attention and care where as springs do not

 

[Ph1 Tom]

Tbh I have to say the cooksport springs are still a good shout...

They are an excellent road setup, I use them on track too and for the odd trackday I can't complain. No setting the height, just fit and forget. And the height is such that it's low enough to look good but the car is still perfectly functional and practical.

My mate has APs on his Ibiza, they're pretty good. I'd be looking for a good deal on some Bilstein B14s, or BCs though. You don't need damping adjustment on the road as long as the dampers and springs are matched. FKs are worth a shout too.

 

[Stopherson]

Yea I'm just unsure if I get some cooksports I won't be happy with the drop they give.

 

[Sunglasses_Ron]

Mine sits lovely on Cooksports.

Can't see you'd want it much lower?

 

[Stopherson]

Mine sits lovely on Cooksports.

Can't see you'd want it much lower?

That dose look good there not as expensive as coilovers so it properly would be worth me trying some when them come in stock.

 

[BustaMOVEs]

Keep checking cooksport regularly as when I was looking I was checking everyday and bought some asa they came in stock but didn't last 3 days and were out of stock again, patience is a good thing.

 

[Sunglasses_Ron]

That dose look good there not as expensive as coilovers so it properly would be worth me trying some when them come in stock.

Yeah and if you don't like them you will always be able to sell them on without any hassle tbh.

 

[BustaMOVEs]

Off topic a little, but am I right in saying that from ktec website you buy the 172 cup shocks to fit the 172 and not the 182 cup shock with 60mm spacing (fronts)
And the rear shocks are both same for cup and non cup?
Just making sense of buying options on ktec website.

And do the cup shocks have a more stiffer damping rate to normal ones (fronts)
And the rear are same damping for 172 cup and non cups?

 

[imprezaworks]

After having both unless you spend a fair few quid on a decent set of coilovers, get cooksports mate, IMO

 

[CSMatt]

Coming from a fast cooper s, coilovers where always a yes and springs where a big no no. Are the cup shocks on the clios that good? I never had any issues with comfort on coilovers for road use but I had full adjustability for track. I'm always very interested in this as I'm after a 172 cup which will not be an out right track car but used as my daily (catch train to work and use mrs 1series for long journeys) with a morning blat on Sunday mornings with my mates and trips to the ring. Will new cup shocks and cooksport springs be enough?

this is the only thread in 10 pages on this sub forum I found on this and I'm surprised at the responses. Interested to here views

 

[peanuthead]

Mine on cooksports and 15" wheels. Plus they have settled a bit lower now

Busta- The rears are different on the cup as well iirc. I have some cup shocks for sale if your interested pm me

 

[Lawro]

Coming from a fast cooper s, coilovers where always a yes and springs where a big no no. Are the cup shocks on the clios that good? I never had any issues with comfort on coilovers for road use but I had full adjustability for track. I'm always very interested in this as I'm after a 172 cup which will not be an out right track car but used as my daily (catch train to work and use mrs 1series for long journeys) with a morning blat on Sunday mornings with my mates and trips to the ring. Will new cup shocks and cooksport springs be enough?

this is the only thread in 10 pages on this sub forum I found on this and I'm surprised at the responses. Interested to here views

Depends what your looking to spend on coilovers, I wouldn't even bother if your not looking to spend £700+ for the likes of the B14's, H&R's, AST Sportline 1's etc..

The Cup Shock and CookSport Spring combo is brilliant, not much stiffer than standard cup setup but it feels far more planted and gives you a lot of confidence behind the wheel. I am really pleased with mine especially with the front end refresh and Whiteline RARB.

 

[CSMatt]

Yer I wouldn't buy budget coilovers, look at gaz golds or avo coilovers

 

[Lawro]

Yer I wouldn't buy budget coilovers, look at gaz golds or avo coilovers

Only you can decide then really mate.. Depends if your happy with the height on CookSports really as it's a brilliant set up otherwise. I think the right height is perfect and you still get the nice aggressive nose down stance from them.

 

[BustaMOVEs]

Busta- The rears are different on the cup as well iirc. I have some cup shocks for sale if your interested pm me

looking at the part numbers here says different
172 ph2 front shocks - 8200681106 - £43.66
172 ph2 rear shocks - 8200662257 - £43.66
172 cup front shocks - 8200681108 - £43.66
172 cup rear shocks - 8200662257 - £43.66

Thanks for the offer but I'd rarther buy new as there not that expensive.