Tightening suspension and steering

wattson

wattson

Hi all. I've recently bought a 2010 Clio Cup FF. It's on 75K miles and according to my very limited experience (150-200 miles) seems to be in pretty good condition. It'll be serviced next week where a few minor problems will be addressed.

I want to have the car as tight and fresh as possible within a realistic budget. It does drive well, grips very well but although far from loose, it doesn't have that tight, new car feeling, which is understandable considering it's mileage.

I'll have suspension and steering looked into and replace required components next week. I also want to have the bushes replaced with powerflex ones but I am not exactly sure which ones I should have covered? Basically I want to do this once and forget about it. So the question is, which bushes should be replaced?

Also what other components would I need to have a fast road / track geometry setup (eg. Adjustable camber bolts??)

Many thanks.
 
Somebody kindly posted this on a different thread to a similar question.

Hopefully is of some use.

Pure Motorsport do camber shims for the rear beam - http://www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/clio-3rs200/clio-3rs200-suspension/clio-3-rs-camber-toe-shim.html, and @tombate911 can do you a good deal on some Compbrake adjustable top mounts which will fit the B14's. Powerflex also do castor/anti-lift front bushes - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powerflex...00-/232174479830?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275. Couple these with the Powerflex torque mount bush, the gearbox mount, and the lower engine mount, and it tightens up the car so much. Upper engine mount can be done, but vibration increases quite a bit.

A good diff will also be a good additional for track, and tyres, obviously.
 
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Polyurethane isn't always your best option - as said it will introduce increased vibration and could lead to an overly harsh ride if used everyday. It all depends on your intended use. My car is pure track so I use Powerflex black bushes, which are great on track, but I can imagine would be useless on the road. If it's purely a road car I would be looking to replace with OEM or original, depending on price difference. You will also need to look at the condition of the ball joints, the arb drop links, and the anti-rotation links. Apparently these can make a huge difference also.

Good luck :smile:
 
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J90RDN said:
Polyurethane isn't always your best option - as said it will introduce increased vibration and could lead to an overly harsh ride if used everyday. It all depends on your intended use. My car is pure track so I use Powerflex black bushes, which are great on track, but I can imagine would be useless on the road. If it's purely a road car I would be looking to replace with OEM or original, depending on price difference. You will also need to look at the condition of the ball joints, the arb drop links, and the anti-rotation links. Apparently these can make a huge difference also.

Good luck :smile:
Click to expand...

Have to agree with this. I replaced all my bushes on my CRX VTEC with Polyutherane and it ruined the car, made it really bouncy and skittish. I'd never got Poly unless it was absolutely necessary and I certainly wouldn't if it was all the bushes being replaced. OEM for me too.
 
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Many thanks for the input guys. Looks like I'll go for OEM (unless super expensive) as I do fair bit of motorway driving for work and even the current state of ride feels very hard. I've had the car booked for a service next Friday, will report back once all work is done.
 
wattson said:
Many thanks for the input guys. Looks like I'll go for OEM (unless super expensive) as I do fair bit of motorway driving for work and even the current state of ride feels very hard. I've had the car booked for a service next Friday, will report back once all work is done.
Click to expand...

Good move mate, a lot of R&D will have gone into the suspension and even little things like rubber bushes. As above it ruined my CRX and I will never go uprated bushes again unless it was solely a track car.
 
Yiannis197 said:
Another shout for NOT going powerflex on a road car. Stick to OEM bushes as well as engine mounts.
Click to expand...

Well I said I'll stick to OEM but I'm changing the exhaust manifold to Toyosport (original is blowing) and investigating further, I've found several threads that advice use of uprated lower and upper engine mounts together with the manifold, to avoid manifold knocking the subframe. A little confused now... How about using OEM suspension bushes with uprated lower and upper engine mounts? Cheers.
 
Yes, the upper torque arm bush and lower engine mount need to be upgraded, but if you stick to OEM for all the suspension parts you should be fine.
 
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J90RDN said:
Yes, the upper torque arm bush and lower engine mount need to be upgraded, but if you stick to OEM for all the suspension parts you should be fine.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks for the info. One final question: Would that be enough to upgrade the insert and bush or will I need the mounts as a whole?

Powerflex sells as inserts and bushes like these:
1. https://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-se...Upper+Engine+Mount+Torque+Arm+Bush/11168.html
2. https://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/product-details/Upper+Engine+Mount+Insert/11257.html

While Ktec sells the whole mount, which works out a lot more expensive: http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=3955
 
You need this one
https://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-se...Upper+Engine+Mount+Torque+Arm+Bush/11168.html
It is an insert to the existing bush. Obviously make sure your existing bush isn't torn/damaged. I doubt it is.

You then need to look at your existing lower engine mount, and see which one you have (there are 2) (again, check condition of existing bush)
See this page
https://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/products/Clio+III+Sport+197-200+(2005+-+2012)-2881/1.html

Then depending on which existing bracket you have, you either need this
https://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/product-details/Lower+Engine+Mount+Insert/11148.html
or this
https://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/product-details/Rear+Lower+Engine+Mounting+Bush/11612.html

The KTEC kit you have linked above are good, but I would suggest that unless you are taking it on track a lot, would be overkill.
 
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