Coilover Questions

[burrellbloke]

I have acquired a set of Bilstein B14 coilovers for my Clio which have covered about 6,000 miles on a previous car.

I have had a quick look at the equipment and there are no obvious leaks or damage to the seals.

I am going to install the coilovers with @EthanMenace on my drive. I have watched countless videos on YouTube and the while process seems reasonably straight forward. From what i can see people have more problems getting off rusty bolts and dealing with seized threads than they do with actually installing the new equipment.

I have a few questions:

1. Is it worth getting a set of PowerFlex bushes for the rear shocks or just using the black rubber bushes that came with the B14s where the shock attaches to the Clio above the rear wheel arches?

2. The springs all have very slight surface rust in the middle section of the springs where they have been on the road. Whilst the springs are off the car is it worth rubbing down the affected areas and giving them a quick bit of primer and then another quick coat of paint just to put a layer of protection between the newly cleaned metal and the dirt that will end up on them? Or is that a pointless task as they will inevitably end up rusting at some point in the future?

3. What is the best product to clean the bare metal part of the front coilovers?

4. I have got some ACF-50 and when the coilovers are on the car I will give them a good spray to add some protection. Does anyone use coilover socks with their suspension, and do they help keep them protected?

 

[matt9566]

I have acquired a set of Bilstein B14 coilovers for my Clio which have covered about 6,000 miles on a previous car.

I have had a quick look at the equipment and there are no obvious leaks or damage to the seals.

I am going to install the coilovers with @EthanMenace on my drive. I have watched countless videos on YouTube and the while process seems reasonably straight forward. From what i can see people have more problems getting off rusty bolts and dealing with seized threads than they do with actually installing the new equipment.

I have a few questions:

1. Is it worth getting a set of PowerFlex bushes for the rear shocks or just using the black rubber bushes that came with the B14s where the shock attaches to the Clio above the rear wheel arches?

2. The springs all have very slight surface rust in the middle section of the springs where they have been on the road. Whilst the springs are off the car is it worth rubbing down the affected areas and giving them a quick bit of primer and then another quick coat of paint just to put a layer of protection between the newly cleaned metal and the dirt that will end up on them? Or is that a pointless task as they will inevitably end up rusting at some point in the future?

3. What is the best product to clean the bare metal part of the front coilovers?

4. I have got some ACF-50 and when the coilovers are on the car I will give them a good spray to add some protection. Does anyone use coilover socks with their suspension, and do they help keep them protected?

I can't help with the first question but I recently fitted a used set of B14's, so here's what I did:

They we're already cleaned up pretty well by the previous owner but when I got them home I spent some time using some All Purpose Cleaner (Surfex HD) to give them a good clean up.

Once dry I gave them a thorough coating of ACF-50 on all parts, especially on the parts with some surface rust to give some overall protection.

Giving them a coat of primer and some paint certainly won't hurt and will give the parts some extra protection - I had a few bits where the blue paint had peeled but I'm too impatient and didn't bother re-painting, the ACF stuff is meant to be very good so I will just top up when I do my yearly caliper strip and clean.

 

[suj]

@Addison what's your comments on the rear powerflex bushes? (Also you will need shorter rear nuts with them).

ACF-50 is great, i've never used the socks but it is something I have considered for the E36.

Bilsteins have terrible paint covering and corrosion resistance on the fronts too, it's crazy for the price of them new!

 

[burrellbloke]

I was thinking of coating the coilovers in ACF-50 to add an element of waterproofing, then adding some socks a bit like these to keep as much dirt out as possible:

TEGIWA COILOVER SUSPENSION SHOCK SOCKS COVERS 350MM

TEGIWA COILOVER SUSPENSION SHOCK SOCKS COVERS 350MM by Tegiwa from only £33.00

coilovers.co.uk

 

[suj]

I was thinking of coating the coilovers in ACF-50 to add an element of waterproofing, then adding some socks a bit like these to keep as much dirt out as possible:

TEGIWA COILOVER SUSPENSION SHOCK SOCKS COVERS 350MM

TEGIWA COILOVER SUSPENSION SHOCK SOCKS COVERS 350MM by Tegiwa from only £33.00

coilovers.co.uk

Yeah it's worth doing, you only need a pair (as rear have springs and dampers separate).

 

[Addison]

The powerflex bushes are a nice touch, they add a small amount of firmness to the rear. But nothing mind blowing, I'm happy with them nonetheless and it's definitely an upgrade worth doing especially for the cost and the fact you can't get new OEM bushes.

You do need use a different washer for the top side, I tried multiple nuts and couldn't get the right fitment and in fairness the lowest profile nut I got would've still only just touched the nyloc.

I got M10 washers in the end (10x50mm) to sit on the top and used the powerflex washers on the lower half. I decided it was best to stay with the original nyloc nuts too.

I couldn't give you much advice in terms of the B14's (although I am a touch jealous as I nearly bought them myself). But I did ACF coat my front and rear shocks and they've so far avoided being eaten by the elements, touch wood.

 

[burrellbloke]

Thanks.

 

[PITA]

Covers

I bought these for my coilies, he makes them himself to your custom length!

 

[PITA]

 

[burrellbloke]

Have the worked to keep general dirt grime off of the threads?

 

[PITA]

Have the worked to keep general dirt grime off of the threads?

Yes they’re prefect underneath, I coated them with a rust inhibitor as well though

 

[burrellbloke]

More questions. Whilst I am doing the coilovers I may as well replace the anti-rotation links and anti-roll bar links. Genuine Renault replacement parts are about £200 for the four items. Should I buy genuine Renault parts or go for TRW ones from Euro Car Parts who have a sale on at the moment?

If the car has a lower ride height is there any merit in getting adjustable drop links? If so can anyone recommend some?

 

[RSRowe]

TRW are a decent brand. Tis what I run on mine too

adjustable drop links don’t really offer any advantage other than being able to tune any preload out of the anti roll bar.

 

[suj]

I ran TRW for both ARB droplinks and anti-rotation, that I got from Autodoc, but they're mainland Europe, so deliveries are stopped / if they do come over you have to pay duty now, a few people have been stung!