Looking at buying a set of coilovers for my s1 build never had coilovers ever so not really up on then, the avo set iv seen comes with normal spring and shock at rear and the gaz set use coilover all round and state the rear shock mount will need seam welding which isnt a problem for me, what are peoples views on this suspension upgrade

 

my opinion..... avo's are shit, every set ive had leak in a matter of months and and rears always need abit of work to stop them knocking

gaz coilovers seem pretty good for fords, simsytall on here fitted them too his s1 and loves them, says they made his steering so light he says it feels like it has power steering, plus no leaking problems

i had a set of a escort cosworth and thought they were great but i had the gaz golds

 

Ive got no experience with GAZ, other than i know they seize alot.
My AVOs leaked, got em re-built and they have been fine since!

 

On an RS Turbo I'm pretty sure you're supposed to modify the rear mounts into the shell. To be honest I've always stuck with a traditional uprated spring and damper set up and it's always delivered the goods

 

Don't waste your money on coilovers I had gaz on mine and after a year they were seized. Ride was a joke as well. Replaced them with Koni shocks and cobra springs. Car feels a million times better to drive now.

 

the decent ones will be leda or bilstein inserts,both will be hard to find

 

^^^ This, the rear turrets need seam welding and strengthening as the original design will inevitably crack/split the metal. They are not designed with coilovers in mind

 

No you don't have to^^^

But it won't hurt if you do seam weld them.

 

Got gaz golds on mine, just need to grease the threads to stop them rusting

 

There is no such thing as best unless you state what you want to do with the car.

If its a road car then a set of konis with decent springs that are stiffer not lower is perfect for ride, braking and steering.

The best suspension for the S1 is RS16i billys with the cup for the std springs cut off and converted to coliovers by taking them apart and then welding on the sleeves and adjusters that burtons sell for about Ł50. This is better suited to a high power fast road or track car. This is what the race version on the S1 and RS16i would have done/used.

Next option is Ł2k+ which i doubt many people would want to fit. So i wont waste the time typing.

 

Rs16i came with orange Konis not billys

Agree that unless a pure circuit car coilovers ruin an escort, it will be awful to drive on the road

 

some did yes but some had billys pal. As per my converted legs on my own car.

 

I'll take your word for it

I have been part of the rsoc for well over 10 years and have never seen oem billys on an original 16i

Always Koni's apart from the odd set of monroes oddly enough


I have however seen a few with 909 tarmac billys but these were never oem fit

I do have a complete motorsport rs16i to build up when i get round to it, currently stored in a crate, this has tarmac billy's and a few other ford motorsport trick bits, but thats another story

 

just gone from fixed platform leda to proflex coilovers on the front. Ride wise its pretty much the same, but the traction with the proflex is much better.

 

btw, nobody has talked about spring rates yet?

 

Any suggestions on spring rates. Might make life easier as on changing now

I know it's driver preference

 

same here had to bin my brothers on his es cos 5 months after fitting them changed them for bilsteins fast road jobbies never looked back but i dont know if bilstein still do set for rsts if they do i am binning my spax which also leaking from being fitted in 2009 judgin from receipts for them as they ave got 40mm lowering springs on which means unless you crawl your floor pan gets to know every speed bump in town

 

its not just spring rates but the valving they use inside the shocks

 

think i will be chatting to black art design soon

 

Lets just say its a minefield
The trouble with buying any off the shelf kit ie gaz or whatever is they all come with a 250 lb spring front and rear..
So basically if you buy a kit for a ka or you buy a kit for any escos they all come with the same spring rate..now im not Adrian newey by any means but that dont sound right to me?
I think they just think that if they can get you to belive if your cars rattling you teeth out then it must be handling great..this is not the case...

 

If they were on the black NMS car you had they were just standard Gaz's (still gold in colour though).
I drove the car the day they were fitted and was very impressed with them though,Not sure what spring rates they put on though.

Apologies if if I have the wrong person/car though

 

Has anyone had any dealings with KW on RSTs??

 

I have kw's on my fiesta st, they are okay, but mine need a rebuild after around 25k

 

To throw in some more confusion!

I have Avo coil overs on the front of mine with avo adjustable shocks with normal type springs on the back. As standard the AVO rear spring rates were far too high for fast road. I virtually halved them and bought rally design standard height (which are actually 15mm lower than oem standard I found) springs for under 40 pounds a pair.

This for me gave a really nice setup on my S2. The Avo's leaked but were rebuilt for a very reasonable price and haven't given any trouble since. The rears take a few bumps to pump up though.

I believe this is a good setup mostly because of the hardly lowered from oem height. Have a look at the old 1600i touring cars, for a really low setup they moved the rear arm pivot point up and lowered the steering rack amongst other things. Low cars cause real problems with bump steer, roll steer, torque steer and the rear brake bias.

Rob,

 

Interesting. I know what peoe are saying about spring rates. There really isn't a lot of info out there for a 'base setting' for a track or fast road car. However, when I bought my springs I spoke to Tony (nuts_rs) who does Tarmac rally in an RS1600i and he recommended, for a stripped out RS Turbo, on Leda coil overs, 8 inch 275lb front springs and 8 inch 180lb rear springs. This is far softer than any off the shelf spring kit, and the rear end felt light on the RST for the short time it was on the road. However, I can't help but think Tony of all people, would know what he's talking about, so is a softer spring better? I've heard of people running anywhere between 300-600lbs! And that's for track, not even drag!

I was aware of the raised rear suspension pick up points on the race cars. The pictures of the Brooklyn RSi show them clearly. Raised 25mm IIRC.

 

Oh, and to confuse the matter then more this is what the Brooklyn RSi runs.

"The current spring poundage is 1000 on the rear and 350 on the front, in the spares there are 16 sets ranging from 250 lbs to 1200 lbs for both front and rear, 16 wheels with different rims (offset), 12 suspension struts (LEDA)."

 

I have what tony recommended and it doesn't suit me

Far too soft

Still not changed yet but will be going a lot stiffer

Hr also said that there was no need for a arb
I have adjustable one mine and that will be going slightly stiffer also

As said above tho. It really is down to driving styles and what you / how you like your car to react

 

What did he recommend for your car, Gus? I remember him saying he doesn't run ARB's.

 

What you mentioned above

Way to soft for me

 

Bear in mind Tony's was a Rally Car and needed to cope with rough surfaces.

I drove it once, was great fun

 

as said horses for courses

 

I changed my spring ratings on the back 4 times now. Happy with the front but rears when the car is so light does need more messing than the front. Im back to wishbones on the rear which is much better suited to the way i drive. Having a 6 link setup on the rear requires really clean driving style which is boring.

 

i'm up to 350 on the rears with my billies and isn't to bad was on 200 on the fronts but was too soft got 250's to try next plus i run nearly all solid mounts no not much rubber left and is suprisingly comfy on the road