I wanted to lower my Mk1 172 a little bit to get rid of the 4x4 look it comes with as standard. Searching through the forum Id heard nothing but praise for the Eibach kits but there also seemed to be some confusion around them as they do two different models, so heres a brief summary for anyone else who got confused (like me).
For starters, K-Tec (http://www.k-tecracing.comwww.k-tecracing.com) seem to be the best source of reliable information on the subject. Eibachs brochures list the springs but have the approximate drop listed for all models of Clio, whereas the 172 is actually lower to start with, so ignore the Eibach brochure figures!...
- The Sportline springs are red and lower the 172 by 30mm front and back (K-Tecs website figures, but I assume they are correct).
- The Pro Kit contains black springs which lower the 172 by 20mm front and 15mm rear as suggested on K-Tecs website. I have also measured this drop on my own car and can confirm this to be the case. The box unhelpfully says things like Sportliche Sicherheit so I can understand why some people are getting them confused with the Sportline springs.
Impressions: I decided to go for the Pro Kit springs. The car seemed a bit lower, but nothing dramatic - it still looks like it was designed this way (rather than being slammed with alloys inside the arches) but generally seems to have a more purposeful stance. I wondered whether to go for the Sportline kit or not and Im still not sure, but was put off by the potential amount of lowering at the back and my need to occasionally carry lots of passengers. Maybe Ill get some coilovers in a year or so? Anyhow, after fitting I drove slowly back home (lots of standing water and wanted to let things bed-in first) and noticed the ride was slightly firmer (not much) and it felt more perky, alert and responsive even on the low grip roads. I went out today and on dry roads the car felt truly awesome round the bends: Deliberately piling into a corner with too much speed, I was stunned when it just loaded up and went round tightly, where it would previously have begun to wash wide. Ive only driven about 50 miles with them but Im well chuffed so far.
Heres some before and after pics for reference (sorry about the size)
Side Before Lowering:http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1076014901__SideBefore.jpg
Side After Lowering:http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1076014994__Side.jpg
Front Before Lowering: http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1076014317__FrontBefore.jpg
Front After Lowering:http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1076014524__Front.jpg
Rear Before Lowering:http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1076014786__RearBefore.jpg
Rear After Lowering:http://erc.qmuc.ac.uk/cliosport/gallery/full/1076014653__Rear.jpg
Matt
