The Definitive What Suspension Do You Have Thread...

[Willis]

Evening all all!!!

There's been an increasing number of people asking about aftermarket suspension options lately, so I thought it'd be interesting to get a bit of a Poll up and try and bring reviews/opinions and photographs of various setups together in one place. Hopefully it'll help new members or people new to modifying in general and can be a bit of an FAQ on the subject.

I'd like to ask if this can be kept on topic and can technical questions about alignmnet settings be kept to a minimum please as there are already several threads running relating to that, it's also a very subjective matter. However, if there's a particular reason you went for one setup over another then please let us know, likewise if you've any negative feedback to make about a particular setup etc..

Oh, and most importantly, get some photos up...

I'll get the ball rolling then.

My car (Nicole) is a 2007 non-Cup and I have to admit that I found the standard setup to be excellent. I did however feel that things could be firmed up a bit to try and reduce the pitch under hard braking and to dial out some of the bodyroll under hard cornering (which there wasn't a huge amount of to be fair). I looked at a few different options, including Coilovers, but finally settled on the following spec';

KYB 197 Cup Dampers
H&R -30mm/-40mm Grey/Black Springs

Which took her from sitting like this;





To settling down after about a week and sitting like this;





Note that in the first photo she's parked up next to Jonesys brute which I believe is on KW V1?

And here's a couple of pre/post fitting shots that might help, best I could do with limited Photoshop SKILLZ!!!





So the real question is, is it a good setup? I think so yeah, obviously I'm going to be a bit biased and I can't compare it to anything other than the standard setup, but it's done everything I hoped it would. Pitch under braking and acceleration has been vastly reduced as has bodyroll. It is a stiff setup, which isn't a problem to me but some people might not be as hardcore in their tastes. I don't find it crashy in the slightest but on bumpy B-Roads it can boing you up a little bit if pushing on... All in all, it's a good compromise for fast-road and occasional track use. I would maybe change to Coilovers in the future but I'd have to be convinced they'd be a another good step up again for me to justify the expense...

 

[A2ON]

Standard .?

 

[Willis]

Standard .?

N/A mate, everybody already knows what the standard setup is like so it wouldn't really help anybody telling them about what they already have fitted. It's something to try and help people out and reduce the ridiculous number of ''what springs'' threads that keep popping up on here because people aren't utilising the Search function...

Although in the interests of the Poll, I'll add it as it'd be interesting to see the numbers. :thumbsup:

 

[A2ON]

N/A mate, everybody already knows what the standard setup is like so it wouldn't really help anybody telling them about what they already have fitted. It's something to try and help people out and reduce the ridiculous number of ''what springs'' threads that keep popping up on here because people aren't utilising the Search function...

Although in the interests of the Poll, I'll add it as it'd be interesting to see the numbers. :thumbsup:

Yeh I agree I only wanted it for the numbers ratio

 

[Willis]

Yeh I agree I only wanted it for the numbers ratio

Updated.

Also, if anybody has a setup that isn't already on the list then let me know and I'll update it accordingly...

 

[N0ddie]

Currently running KW Clubsports on our little green one.

The car on standard Cup suspension was awesome, however these take the handling to another level (though they have to be fettled with the get them perfect).

So, pics:

Before on the standard black Speedlines:



After on the standard black Speedlines:



Before on the OZ Ultraleggeras:



After on the OZ Ultraleggeras:



And the obligatory track pic:

 

[Willis]

Le Frog does look well on the OZ's mate. :thumbsup:

 

[N0ddie]

I do like it.

Love the rain shot of Nicole on Oulton?

 

[Willis]

Cheers!!!

That place has it's own weather system, it can be lovely and warm in the village but p!ssing down at the track!!!

 

[N0ddie]

Sounds just like Knockhill lol.

 

[BenW]

I went from standard full fat:


To standard dampers with eibach springs, these sat perfectly in my opinion and really reduced the dive under braking. The reduced body roll a little bit and the ride was generally as good as standard, only difference was slightly harsher when hitting pot holes or big bumps.


Then I wanted something suitable for road and track, with the increased adjustability so went for the KW Varient 3 coilovers. These have adjustable compression and rebound damping as well as ride height meaning they can be softened for road and hardened for track. They ride pretty similarly to the eibachs on my road settings but they're so much sharper on turn in and allow a lot more speed to be carried, grip seems to be massively improved. I've run them at bedford autodrome and the nurburgring on harder settings, they performed flawlessly and couldn't have asked for any more.

Some track shots on the V3's

 

[mark_1873]

My first 197 way back in 2006 when it was the first site.

Standard set-up



Standard with Shadow Chrome Wheels



Then H&R springs with Gloss Black wheels & 25mm Eibach Spacers(the biggest drop as they were the only option at the time but i cant remember the distance, think it was 40mm),







Missed out the set-up I had on my 197 Cup :tongue_smilie:

AST Sportline II with Adjustable Top Mounts :001_tt1:

Heres a pic of my old Cup standard,




Coilovers fitted,





And finally being leaned on a touch round Knockhill's hairpin,

 

[Willis]

I'll update the list now Mark!!!

I knew there was another one, can you remember roughly what you paid?

Also, how do you find them compared to standard? Would you recommend them?

 

[Fernandez]

Apex springs for me, some people say lowering springs are crap and for chavs...I say yes they are crashy as fu#K on our roads but they lower the car nicely and on track they come into their own.

Having driven Donington on std cup set up then with the springs there are noticeable differences. The Apex springs being much firmer does produce less body roll and the car feels much better on track.

Overall I'm happy with them but I am considering coilovers just because I will be able to lower even more for the drive thu and more importantly because I can and want to.

 

[mark_1873]

I'll update the list now Mark!!!

I knew there was another one, can you remember roughly what you paid?

Also, how do you find them compared to standard? Would you recommend them?

H&R on Standard 197 Dampers: I got them from k-tec but i dont think they make the ones i had anymore. I loved the look of them but the car had a tendency to understeer earlier so i went for the spacers which sorted that out. A really good budget mod for the look without ruining the handling.


AST Sportline II: I got mine form Kam Racing...hence the pic :001_tt1: lol

http://www.kamracing.co.uk/car-tuni...k3-2-0-rs-197-ast-sportline-ii-coilovers.html

http://www.kamracing.co.uk/car-tuni...solid-top-mounts-renault-clio-mk3-rs-197.html

Id recommend them, they were amazing on the road and everything was heightened from the feel through the wheel to turn in speeds. Also they were very smooth at speed on a broken up B road, much the Cup suspension gets better/smoother the faster you go.

I used then at the softest setting on the road and a wet track as they could go extremely stiff. When it was a dry trackday they made the car feel like a different car.

 

[Willis]

They do look and sound good. Which set did you go for, ''Road'' or ''Track''? Is the difference between them just the spring rates I assume?

 

[mark_1873]

They do look and sound good. Which set did you go for, ''Road'' or ''Track''? Is the difference between them just the spring rates I assume?

I went for the track set-up, its just different spring settings. I had Eibach's on the front and AST standard springs on the rear.

The track set-up is 80n/mm front and 110n/mm rear
The road is 50n/mm all round.

 

[N0ddie]

Your 197 looked so good on those coilovers at that height. One day I'll be able to run that low.

 

[mini_dh]

Great wee thread about handling and spring rates and dampening and compression till I come along...... Lol yes it's prob too low and do I care.... No caus I love it lol so forget about body roll caus this baby is as stiff as it gets lol love chucking it into corners the ride hight doesn't affect my style I driving anyway lol

So I'm running kw V1s well what's left if them haha if you can still call them v1's lol

Fronts: helper spring and cup removed..... And them screwed down to the last thread.

Rears: kw cups with custom springs had to screw them up a few threads to lift the tyre off the arch was so close and constantly catching.

Also 20mm spacers all round for abit of stance would have gone 25 only I'm on the cup racer wheels which are 8"

 

[marshall]

I wish i fitted my V3s :'(