New dampers for Clio 197 not chassis cup

[sergiomeg]

Good morning

I want to replace my old dampers with 140 000 km but i don´t know which is the best setup for road. My clio is 197 (year 2007) with chassis standard

Could i put the cup dampers with stock springs?Does it work correctly?
Or the best option is replace with the standard dampers?

Thank you for your help

 

[Doogle]

That would work fine, 197 Cup dampers are slightly stiffer than regular dampers. Renault Parts Direct are always a good place to look.

 

[Dumdum]

Early 200 cup dampers will also fit I think as lowering springs are the same with early top mounts, so the bottom of the spring is the exact same shape... as would the top cap and the mounts are also the same...

Personally I’d put standard dampers back on with standard springs otherwise your dampers can be overdamped and the wheel won’t track the bumps as well as it should ie the stiffer damper won’t allow the spring to extend the damper and keep the contact patch decent...

It’s like when people say they wind dampers up for the track to make a car stiffer, it kinda works on a track as the track is smooth, but for the road, it will stiffen the ride up but may cost grip over bumps etc as the body of the car will attempt to stay still and the wheel will not track correctly due to too much rebound or the car will be pushed about more on bump...

 

[Doogle]

Thats no different to putting aftermarket springs on that are not necessarily tuned to the dampers. In reality theres not a massive difference between 197 regular dampers and 197 Cup dampers (7% stiffer?)

 

[Mez]

Should i change my standard 197 dampers since lowering the car??

 

[DS197]

Should i change my standard 197 dampers since lowering the car??

I would say yes and also suggest changing the front top mounts, but when you factor in the end cost, you'd probably not be far off a set of B14 coilovers.