Lowered Suspension - Worth it?

[waftywoo]

Im not sure if this has been done to death but who cares!!

Is it woth putting lowered springs on, on their own?
-40 looks really good. But does it make the handling crashy?
Do you need to change the dampers as well?

Renault seem to know what they are doing when it comes to good handling cars (Trophy) so is it worth doing?

The reason i ask is that i had a Fiesta XR2i (16v model) a few years ago. I did the lowering thing, -50 mm and it made lift off oversteer a b*****d! Suffice to say i ended up rolling it at 90mph!! after a bit of lift off.

So, discuss!!

 

[Tom_E]

wrong section mate..but anyway just had my apex put on and i can defo says its worth it...first of it looks so much better with no "gap" between the arches, second it handles much better and feels very stable.

the ride is not that bad either, sure! it feels firmer, but thats good in my opinion.

for just springs its a good starting point.

 

[waftywoo]

Was reading your thread just before i posted this.

I may consider it tbh.

 

[Englebert]

I can't imagine it actually 'handles' better. The dampers are compromised and with a full workout on track you would notice it.

 

[Fred@BTM]

lower COG, simple, DO IT!

 

[edde]

Best get new springs and dampers all the time it makes the ride much better.
Stock setups not bad though for what isn't designed as a racing car for ultra smooth racing tracks.
I went back to stock setup and I have to say its very good if you accept its compromises ie roll.

 

[White16valver]

I'm sticking with standard as the roads round here aren't that great, plus I've found that once you start lowering it it's less adjustable mid-bend, which is less fun.

 

[clio__chris]

mines on fk coilovers and whilst sometimes it can become tiresome on day to day driving it all comes together when u take it to an airfield or chuck it into a roundabout with someone right up ur ass and put a fair old distance between u.....

tbh if i had the time again i think i would have just lowered it 35mm on springs/shocks as it does cause some problems when u come across big humps or whatever

 

[onpoint productions]

mate if your just getting springs its not worth it my mate changed his springs to -40 and yea it improves the handling but the car suffers big time and the human body is absourbed to so much pain even over a little bump.

 

[arj256]

I would say its not worth doing, you alter the characteristics of the car, and loose feedback etc, Renault have it pretty well setup from standard, unless your always doing trackdays, you will probably find the bumpy roads this country has would make handling worse.
Best compromise would be harder springs with the same height?

 

[edde]

I would say its not worth doing, you alter the characteristics of the car, and loose feedback etc, Renault have it pretty well setup from standard, unless your always doing trackdays, you will probably find the bumpy roads this country has would make handling worse.
Best compromise would be harder springs with the same height?

Its best having the springs and shocks made to fit each other.

 

[ant]

there's some big girls in this thread!!


DO IT......APEX -40.



handling is improved [less roll], turn in is just amazing!! sure you feel more bumps but so what?

 

[George k]

The biggest problem is if you lower it so much that you roll onto the bump stops or hit them because of a mid corner bump - it completely changes the characteristics of the car for the worse; unless you have long progressive bump stops you will suffer an enormous change in spring rate and awful handling. I know that some single seaters run on their bump stops, but the whole system is designed around this and they hardly roll in the first place. This is probably why the Festa did the nasty for you. It is also why firmer damping is necessary as it reduces the rate at which you hit the bump stops. So proceed with caution. Fred is right that it lowers the CoG, which is good, but particularly with strut type suspensions, lowering can bring some significant downsides for the geometry. The beauty of coil overs is that you can experiment.

 

[Fred@BTM]

erm, HOW MANY GAYS?????????

 

[Scott 172]

Apex -40 - Yes

 

[Guy]

if my car didnt cost 10k then id lower it.. lol

was considering lowering it but thought long and hard about it and decided agaisnt it

main reasons were because ive previously had a stupidly low car.

i dont want to cut away at my arches or bumper brackets
i dont want a rough harsh crashy ride
i dont want it scraping when i go on rough road
i dont want it scraping when i have passengers.
didnt want to take it in for some warranty work and renault refuse because its non standard

all these factors are because ive forked out 10k on the car to have a comfy nice car as standard.. i dont want to start hacking away at it.

my old car nly cost me like 2.5k and was quite hevaily modified and stupidly low. i bought the clio to try get away from that and try have decent handling/performance and a bit of luxury

plus i want to sell it shortly after christmas.



its all down to personal choice really..

 

[Fred@BTM]

and homosexualness

 

[ant]

rampant homosexualness.

 

[beatjunkie]

jeeeeez just deck it!!!!!40mm??get coilovers i wish id of got coilovers!!

if uv got lowering springs u dont 'have' to have short shocks do u as ive got koni sport dampers but there not short, matter?

having the car lowered makes the ride more enjoyable as u feel the road better and it makes u concentrate harder i think!!good for night driving keeps me awake!
Ryan

 

[Danny Lee]

got a full spak kit fitted to my mk1 last week

simple answer

DO IT, -50 on front and -70 on the back, handles like a dream and drive is a lot more responsive, very nice indeedy!

 

[Guy]

spak kit

is that for spaks? :clown:

 

[The Bear]

Lower it!!

But be fully aware that Apex 40mm springs on their own WILL make the ride much harder, especially on bad roads.

If you can afford it get some coilovers, if not - save up for them.