One of the best mods ive done!!

[Martin_172]

I always say that my Apex -60mm Suspension kit was the best mod ive ever done to my car, and although i like every mod ive done today i fitted Powerflex/K-Tec Uprated polly Gearbox bushes/inserts to a 2.0 16v 172 gearbox mount and fitted it to my 1.2 16v.

its amazing how much this simple (but rather expensive for what it is, coming in at £70 for bushes/inserts and new 172 mount from renault!) transforms the car, the gearstick now has no movement at all in it and dropping gears feels so much better now if i had to pick between my suspension or bushes id pick the suspension but this is deffo the 2nd best mod ive done to my car yet!

downside is the car now vibrates like f**k when pulling away or pulsing the throttle and when you start it but suppose it gives the hardcore rally car feel hehe.

anyone else done this, whats your thoughts? i had heard there was still some movment in the gearstick after fitting these but they did reduce it quite a bit, but mine has zero movement!

cheers
martin

 

[Middo]

wait until you get a decent set of coilovers, will make your apex seem s**t

 

[Stu_c]

i was like thta wen i went from Apex Sus to H&R Coilovers, you wouldnt believe the difference with apex still got slight body rolll but with the Coilovers doesnt even move

 

[AlexS]

the standard gearbox is sloppy so sounds a good mod, in the 1.2 the gearbox does let it down when driving 'enthusiastically'.
I take it you have the Apex lowering springs, how much do they add to the insurance and what do they retail at?

 

[Stu_c]

i was going to get a 172 gear shifter at first but then decided on a B&M Short shifter

I got a set of Apex lowering springs for sale

 

[AlexS]

i was going to get a 172 gear shifter at first but then decided on a B&M Short shifter

I got a set of Apex lowering springs for sale

Will they fit a ph2? How many miles have they done, and how much do they lower it by?

 

[R3OBC]

nice one Martin!!! definately one of the areas that needs addressing on the 1.2!! good job

 

[Stu_c]

ALEX CLEAR YOUR PM's !!!

 

[AlexS]

ALEX CLEAR YOUR PM's !!!

Sorry mate, emptied it.

 

[clio__chris]

ah cool

ive been worried about mine for a while as my gear stick seems as sloppy as a prozzy

maybe i need a new thingymebob

 

[bmh.01]

What does a 172 gearbox mount look like?

I swear i've got one fitted as it looks nothing like the one my old 1.2 16v had. Its a twisted jobbie and I swear the 1.2 one looked different, could be rattling b****cks tho.

 

[clio__chris]

172s are twisted
non-172s arent

it appears they are both the same size tho which is a bit strange

 

[bmh.01]

Well mine is definetly twisted and I haven't put it on so where did that fecker come from I wonder. Gearstick still wobbles round like a b**ch though, where did you get the bushes from Martin ?

 

[clio__chris]

Hmm well that was only what i thought id read.

dont know whats on mine and its certainly not been changed.
ill take a look

 

[clio__chris]

oh........ mines twisted too lol

 

[Martin_172]

bmh.01, bushes came from k-tec.

i had fitted the 172 mount with standard bushes and it was better than my old mount with fuked bushes but still not brilliant, it feels much better with the new ones with no movement. you drop a gear and floor it and it pulls instantly instead of a bit of movement from engine then pulling feels much more tightly put together.

heres some pics...

i really recomend these as long as you dont mind an increase in vibration when pulling away or when the engines starting. i had been told you get more vibration but didnt expect this much lol

 

[bmh.01]

Yep, thats what mine looks like. £41, these better be bloody good.

 

[Martin_172]

yep then its a 172 mount you have mate, 1.2-1.6 16v one is a black weak looking thing lol.

and yeah deffo worth it mate do it!

old bushes just chapped out in 30 seconds by sitting a socket on them and chaping them out with a hammer.

 

[clio__chris]

flapping hell

£41 for some bushes!

i assume as mine has a twisted one on it already i can just take it off. chop/push out the old ones and put the new ones in (was it hard work)?

any problems with them in? i thought i heard somewhere that they wear out the other mounts quickly as they put more preasure on them.....

 

[fUbAr]

uprating this mount will put more strain on the other 2 mounts, causing them to wear out quicker.

 

[Martin_172]

true but the gearbox mount wears out very fast on them, ive been through 2 already (well bushes not actual mount) im still on the origional top mounts after 130k and they still arnt showing any signs of wear yet

 

[d4ve86]

i did this on my 1.4 back in the summer, really great improvement, gotta take it off today because im changing cars.

the vibrations will stop i have not noticed it in ages now.

 

[Fred@BTM]

we run stock mounts on the track car

 

[Ali]

Apex are total w**k!

 

[bmh.01]

flapping hell

£41 for some bushes!

i assume as mine has a twisted one on it already i can just take it off. chop/push out the old ones and put the new ones in (was it hard work)?

any problems with them in? i thought i heard somewhere that they wear out the other mounts quickly as they put more preasure on them.....

Fitted some yesterday to mine, 30 min job total they were easy to fit. Hardest part was getting the powerflex bushes into the mount, just squeezed them in with the vice.

BIG improvement over the standard bushes, gearstick doesn't bounce around at all anymore and it feels a lot better using the box. Only problem i've got is vibration on warm idle (its fine on the higher cold idle), i'm just hoping it'll subside like D4ve says.

 

[KDF]

bmh.01, bushes came from k-tec.

i had fitted the 172 mount with standard bushes and it was better than my old mount with fuked bushes but still not brilliant, it feels much better with the new ones with no movement. you drop a gear and floor it and it pulls instantly instead of a bit of movement from engine then pulling feels much more tightly put together.

heres some pics...

i really recomend these as long as you dont mind an increase in vibration when pulling away or when the engines starting. i had been told you get more vibration but didnt expect this much lol

Done this mod aswell.. fixed all probelms I was having and as stated it just feels so much better.. you do get more vibration in the cabin at idle.. but its not that much more.. I dont even notice it now.. did when it was first fitted though.