Optimum Valver/Willy Ride Height

[u33db]

Just downloaded some of those foreign clio/williams videos and feck me - those cup willys/valvers are well low!

Now ive be told that going much lower than 40mm or so will mess with the handling but surely not if they used to race with lower? Does anyone know whats best or have experience of very low 16vs/willys on 15"s??

Thanks!

 

[BenR]

Issues with the race cars is that when you lower it you also gain some freedom to alter other suspension factors such as pickup points....effectively you can lower the car without affecting the suspension/roll geometry too much. And being a one make series a fair amount can be done as each customer car will be the same. I know fair amount is donr to teh front subframe in the new cup series, but dont know too much about the early 16S/16V cup series.

As for optimum, optimum is defined as The point at which the condition, degree, or amount of something is the most favorable. Favourable depends on teh conditions your most likely to be in....so a racecar setup will see you slower over a bumpy rd than a softer and more balanced setup.

Entirely your decision as to which you think will suit you better.

 

[Dean]

60mm and mine handles great?

 

[MAXIBOY]

buy coilovers for the front the rears are adjustable and experiment

 

[weight]

just from what i read

no more than about 30mm all round

keep the front 15mm lower than the back whatever u do

the clio 1 cups are only about 30mm lower, u sound as if youve seen something dropped on its arse???

 

[Clio16vPaul]

standard( for the road)

cos ever since mines been a pain in the ass.

 

[weight]

why it been a pain?

what was it lowered by?

 

[Clio16vPaul]

god knows about the original drop, it was done by Ktec...

I had it lowered with standard shocks and it handled better but the usual problems arose with speed ramps and real road driving. Got a set of Koni adjustables new for next to feck all and it improved but to be totally honest for road use in real life where you have to give your mates a lift to the pub id say leave it as it was meant by renault.

 

[weight]

fair enough, but mine is 30mm lower and i have no problems

but then i dont have it filled with speed zappin passengers!

 

[MAXIBOY]

renault didn,t have our choice they had to make it right for everyone. if you have a purpose in mind you can greatley improve upon standard. coilovers let you set it up as and when. road track fat mates.also adjustable shocks

 

[Clio16vPaul]

Quote: Originally posted by weight on 28 December 2003


fair enough, but mine is 30mm lower and i have no problems

but then i dont have it filled with speed zappin passengers!

my missus is thin but tall, so shes a main bit hefty, but its ok unless i have people in the back.... I regret now what i did for fashion because its a dick for practicality... and when i first got it lowered i couldnt park on my drive cos it was so low. id say a 30mm drop is perfect/



This message was brought to yopu in association with stella.

 

[weight]

lol

 

[Dean]

lol

id just slam it

proper bo i tell thee



end off the day your not cup racing on the road!

 

[Bubbles]

Slam it.. but do it right.. and slam it on 15s!! keep the speed, and have great handling

 

[Clio16vPaul]

listen to the lady...

 

[MAXIBOY]

just not on standard shocks

 

[Dean]

200mm on 19s for the real racer look

if you do go for a big pimped out slam job then get the shortend shocks 2!

 

[16 valver]

You cant go too low on a 16V, the driveshafts will start rubbing on the chassis. Thats the exact same problem I had.

At the rear you cant go too low either or the rear axle will bang at every bump on the chassis.

But those problems are only noticeable when youve got it lowerded with more than 60mm.

 

[Ben H]

I used to have my old 16V lowered about 40mm on original Phase2 wheels and at the time I thought it rocked. The grip was amazing and I made sure that there was still a tendency to oversteer because the front was still lower than the rear.

Since then, Ive acquired a totally standard Willy and the suspension is just amazing. For most people driving on urban roads, grip is good. But I think people often confuse grip with handling. Theres no doubt that the Willy I have now handles better than the Valver did down twisty B-roads. In my case, the extra suspension travel that the stock setup offers is a lot better for what I need and makes the car faster. This is also in part to using the original 185/55 tyre profile: more absorption of bumps again.

 

[u33db]

Hmm...still undecided!

At the moment ive got it down 30mm on k-tec springs on new front OE shocks as this was the best i could afford at the time. The car has actually done about 130k but although ive got it lowered it still doesnt feel 100% to me - the back end really drops when i hit the gas and the car moves about in a sidewind more than my last 3 lowered cars. The car is on its phase 1 15"s as well...

Ive got a trackday in june and i mainly do main road driving etc so im thinking a bigger drop on coilovers and fairly stiff. Going by what people say 50mm on the front and slightly higher on the back seems best - any lower and it may feck the camber by the looks of it...

The cup style look was similar to this >

http://membres.lycos.fr/assopaddock/hpbimg/clio1.jpg

 

[MAXIBOY]

look at the leda stuff its fantastic quality. just right for your motor

 

[u33db]

Cheers!