Lowering an RT

[Ben P]

Okay am planning to do a number of mods in one go coz Ive got a bit of cash at the moment.

Which springs would you recommend to lower my 1.4 clio?

I was thinking Gmax, PI or Apex, and wanted a 40mm drop.

Also does anybody know a good body shop in the midlands area?

Cheers

 

[Fred@BTM]

Ive got APEX, and i cant fault them. Bham has loads of body shops

 

[JamesG]

just had mine lowered.
what u thinking? spring or springs and shocks.

my set up, pi springs, rear shocks.
kyb front shocks (arriving tuesday)

the reason i have kyb on the front is because p.i dont make it for my car. they do for some rts but not mine and they where quoting over £100 more so Chirs from southend has sorted me out with the kyb fronts.
didnt ralise the p.i fronts where wrong till xtreme were fitting them.

n e way ive got 15" alloys with 45 tyre.
55mm drop at the front and about 70 on the back.
well worth the agro though

 

[Ben P]

Sounds cool. Originally I had planned to get a full kit, but coz I want to do a load of things, I thought I would just get springs for now and then buy the shocks later on.

How much should I be paying for somebody to fit 2 front springs and adjust the rear torsion bar to suit?

Cheers

 

[JamesG]

i paid £145 for springs/ torsion bar and shocks.
i heard someone had paid about £70 for just spring and torsion bar but not 100% sure.

what other mods are you planning?

 

[Clio_novice]

What year is your RT and do you have any pics of it? Every1 that is.

 

[Ben P]

Mine is a 1997 1.4 S

At the moment mods are just:

Performance

Hill Power induction kit
Ashley cat-back exhaust with 4" tailpipe
Ecotek device (not yet fitted)
Colour coded rocker cover and anodised caps

ICE

Pioneer OEL Head unit (Just broke so am getting a new one, hence why I can only afford springs at the moment)
Infinity 6" components
4 Sony 6x9s in parcel shelf
Alpine and Sony amps

Want to get a hill power chip, and lower it.

By the way I am in the middle of setting up a small site just for 1.4 clios so if anybody wants to e-mail me pics of their cars I will put them on the web.

Cheers guys

Benparfitt@hotmail.com

 

[steve a]

94 clio s
Hillpower induction kit.
Hillpower cat replacement pipe.
Hillpower fully rebuilt cylinder head(slightly modified).
Powerflow exhaust with 4" tailpipe.
Splitfire 8mm leads and bosch super four pluggs.

Lowered on G-max springs
with clio cup rear shoxs
momo strut brace.
16v phase II wheels
laguna front spliter with rt spliter on rear bumper.
full 16v interior and polished steering wheel.

Pioneer cd head unit
MB quarts 6x9s
stealth shelf.

Hillpower chip to come along with more Ice.

 

[BenR]

ooooohh yey,RT specs!
i got an 84 rt
15" Super Ls with P5000 195/50/15
Darrens engine is goin in in 2 weeks and had 1.8laguna injection system (spi),
the works from hill power (flowed,chipped,camsetc),
Supersprint exhaust manifold (4-2-1),
K-tec racing developed side exit zorst,
koni shocks all round, Pi -55 springs and torsion lowered 75-80mm (not sure!?),
home made airbox (fibreglass and sprayed silver with K&N filter),

ICE
(not really into it but)
sony flip front thing?
kenwood dymag coaxial speakers and 6 x 9s
Alpine 10" sub and 800wtt amp (not sure of origion)

http://www.showyourcar.com/images/inv/3078.jpg
http://www.showyourcar.com/images/inv/3015.jpg

 

[BRUN]

JamesG im sure PI do two kits for the RT

was it somethin to do with 52mm or 54mm spacing on some bolts ?

 

[steve a]

Yeah for some reason some 1.4 have different struts.

 

[JamesG]

brun, bingo, p.i wanted something like £110 more for the 52mm, i bought the 54mm first but when told chris about the mistake he got me sme kyb fronts instead

... my spec.


96, not bugg eyed version.
15" Masitaly RPMs
suspension u know.
cat back custom dual s/s exhaust "letter boxes"
EBC turbo brakes and greenstuff pads
private plate
started on carbon fibre interior.
carbon fibre pedals/ gear stick (to be put on yet)
stealth shelf with "clio" writtern n the back.
"Clio" door seals
White dials
K+N
jbl 6X9
sony head unit
de-badged.


to be put on... just lazy.
12" sub,
10 cd changer,
amp,
strut brace
dimma cap,
neons,
push button starter,
guage.


will have some current pics on soon

 

[Ben P]

Hey james, just out of interest how much did your exhaust cost you and where from?

I assume you had to lose your spare wheel right?

 

[benworley]

Torsion bars???

Ive just fitted 16s with 195/45/16s, and if i carry more than 2 ppl in the back it rubs quite nastily, and thats without the plastic mudguards too!(prob due to ICE aswell, but hey thats not goin anywhere!)

So how on earth can you adjust the torsion bars in a way that it lowers the back, but doesnt drop more wen ppl go in the back. basically, i REALLY want to lower it, but use my car as a taxi service for 2 younger brothers, and i love goin away to places. any ideas on how to go about this? as i dont understand much in the ways of lowering, except that stiffer springs stops it dropping more with weight.

I was just really confused when I saw no springs at the back!!!

Shall I fill the shock thingies with oil? thatll deaden the suspension for sure!

Also, what difference to rear strut braces do? are they worth it like fronts or not?

Cheers oh mighty modders

Ben

 

[BRUN]

thats a LOT of difference James

what year is your car, hope i dont run into the same problem when i finally get some cash to get my rims lol

 

[BRUN]

BenP did you get it lowered, what springs did you get

if you havent done it yet go to Euro Car Parts an get there Terra springs, those Ventura kits

there what Bilstein use, top quality that usually cost £70+

 

[Ben P]

Hey Brun I havent bought any yet. Just checked out those terra springs and they seem damn good value, have you got them/know anybody that does?

Also they do 2 different sets, a 35mm drop and a 50mm drop.

I wanted to go lower than 35mm coz I only have 14" alloys. Do you reckon a 50mm drop on standard shocks will be too much?

Ideally i had planned to go 40mm coz I can afford to go pretty low with these wheels.

Cheers for any input

 

[JamesG]

ben, i got the exhaust from xtreme in Harlow, Essex. cost £440.
Yep lost the spare wheel.
what tyres are on the 14" wheels, 50mm is great but i was told that i need to uprate the shocks at the same time to handle it but you may get away without.

 

[JamesG]

brun, i already said its a 96 not the bugg eyed version.
i have no idea what Rts it apllies to but i also think that only a few up the price.
kyb dont so thats why im getting the fronts from them.

 

[BRUN]

Ben are you honestly going to notice 5mm !!!

i would get those mate, with a 50mm drop id think you would need new shocks

 

[BRUN]

o an no i havent used em myself yet, but there what Darren F had on his RT and he took me for a spin in that car and it handled great

 

[BenR]

i took my old shocks off (standard) to se how they coped with the -55mm springs...there were ruined.....i mean, absolutely no compression damping, and all seals were gone.....took about an hour to rip them apart though!

 

[steve a]

Brun thats because Darren was using clio cup rear shoxs on his like I am.

 

[Ben P]

On the Euro Parts website they list a full Bilstein Kit for the phase 1 & 2 Clios (1990-1996) But not the phase 3 which mine is (1996-1998).

Do you reckon the kit for the earlier models would be okay on mine? Coz if it is I will get the full kit as its less than £200!

 

[BRUN]

phone em up im sure they will know

or email Bilstein UK