Andy-R

****New thread split from Original 'Pic of 16" alloys thread' ****



Get yourself kitted out with a set of coilovers, your ride will be far superior & you wont have to change your wheels

Pricey but well worth it!

radiant red

why do they improve the drive, in what way.

Andy-R

The advantages of running coilover's which usualy enable seperate height and preload adjustments allow for optimal adjustment whether that be for road or track.

In my opinion 17's on an RST are a comprimise to handeling/comfort but looks wise are bang on.

I found that with Konis -25 and 17's that my car skipped about the road and was to harsh.

I then changed to 16's better in handeling/comfort but compromising on looks.

It wasnt untill I changed to coilovers running 17's that I realised that coilovers are'nt just all about having a great track setup....they are fantastic on the road.

Ive now got 235/40/17 and the ride is a lot better than any previous setup, no skipping about the road, no knocking your fillings out on pot holes/severe changes in road surfaces etc..................................

Am blethering now anyhow hopefully you get the idea

vroooom ptssssh

Exactly as B8 Describes them above! ive experienced all set ups in B8's car and can safely say the coilovers were extremely welcomed!! not only does the car feel allot more stable on the road at speed, (feels 100times better from std/konis with 16's or 17's etc)
it dosnt bounce around after a bump/pot hole, nor does it crack bones when hitting large pot holes or bumps, i was VERY surprised how well it soaked them up, as with the konis you actually felt worried if any damage was done on simmilar conditions!

All round coilovers are probably the best suspension upgrade you can choose, cant stress how much you would notice the difference and feel your money is well spent!

radiant red

sounds like its good value for money then, there is nothing more scary than skipping at 100+. Can you reccomend a kit.

Thanks lads

James Raby

iTrader: (1)

U know a decent set of coilovers starts at Ł600

Andy-R

James: Ł600? Ł1200? Ł1800? what price do you put on having a propperly sorted package?

I suppose the answer; its a matter of prioritys, I recon if more people grasped the concept of how they transform or can transform your car, then we'd see a lot more people using them on RS's.

James Raby

iTrader: (1)

Andy, I know mate
Just it's a 'Do I? Don't I' kind of thing, we're happy to spend thousands on an engine, but what good is that if the thing can't hold the road lol

vroooom ptssssh

check out MEF they do bilstein coilovers

https://passionford.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=107112

Andy-R

So true James! I suppose untill people know where the benefits lie, they wont spend the cash, vicious circle really

DazC

iTrader: (1)

I am suffering with a tram lining effect on my car at the moment which doesn't inspire confidence when trying to use it's power. I seriously doubt it's the coilovers though but more to do with castor/camber.

My ride isn't harsh except for the most severe of bumps and I am running gravel spec dampers with 250 front springs and 170 rears. I have a set of 275 springs to try on the front but I am not sure if I am going to yet.

wul young

what kind coilovers u runnin andy and what weight of springs?

Andy-R

Daz do you know what camber/castor you are running at the moment? Do you have adjustable bottom arms?

I know that prior to set up mine didnt feel the best! However after it was set up things changed!

Wul. Am on Leda's with 250lbs front and 150lbs rear. If I were to do it all again Id go for the MEF setup though, in addition to ledas being slightly dearer I also had to strenthen the rear, which leda recomended again adding to the cost.

wul young

cheers andy,what mods did u have to do to the rear? going to change to coilovers its just u here so many different opinions,never been in 1 with coilovers.

Scott R

I have fitted Leda coil overs to my S1, its mainly used on track so have a much higher rate spring that what some of you on here have said, i use 375 front and 275 rear, i had to strengthen the rears, which i did by removeing the old turrets completely and welding in new ones, bigger and stronger with a concentric top mount. its also had bracing added between the turrets and links to the roll cage.

but as has been said above, if i was to do it again i would definatley go for the MEF set-up. fits in with no modifications and is just as adjustable as any other coil over.

NUTS RuS

iTrader: (35)

Daz - take your car back and tell him your findings - he will alter again to suit as needed

Andy-R

Wul very similar to what Scott has done with his, with the exception that I dont have a roll cage

Robin

So the MEF coilovers require no mods to the rear to fit???

if so am deffo going to have a set

DazC

iTrader: (1)

I have adjustable everything. Not sure on settings to be honest.

vroooom ptssssh

DazC, Adjustable top mounts, wow

Do the MEF ones have adjustable damping? i dont think they do?

Robin, No they dont mate

DazC

iTrader: (1)

Apart from top mounts, but then again, why do you think that adjustable top mounts is impossible?

It certainly can be done that is for sure!

NUTS RuS

iTrader: (35)

Daz Im sure your aware but reducing the front camber will stop it tram lining a little.

MEF ones can come with adjustable damping if its requested. The insert changes from a Bilstein to the new style AVO. All the same strengthening components are used in the build kit so still no mods are required. I think it just adds around an extra Ł50 per unit.

Rick

can someone define tram lining for me?

Andy-R

Rick my definition of the word would be to describe the pull/push effect that comes through the steering/front end as a result of slight changes in road surface.

Almost a momentary change in direction that needs steering input to rectify.

Not quite as sever as torque steer, nor as sever as when 1 wheel aquaplane's(is this a word ) but similar effect!

I suppose a good example would be when 1 wheel is on a whiteline!

radiant red

I suppose you could say the car follows the contours of the road.

NUTS RuS

iTrader: (35)

Yep - as it will do it off throttle as well as on.

Usually it it noticed (or highlighted) more when wider wheels and worn out low profile tyres are fitted. Reducing tyre pressures sometimes will help too

adamS2RST

I'm thinking about seriously changing my suspension setup, I have some cheap PI stuff on the car right now and the ride is shite, in fact the car does not feel safe at certain times and it puts me off wanting to drive it

I was going to upgrade to konis or something....maybe coilovers would be better, although I always thought they were needed for droppin the car down etc......

Hmmm

DazC

iTrader: (1)

On bends, the car turns in really sharp, almost scarily sharp. It makes it nervous to drive and very sensetive to steering wheel movements. Once into the bend you can feel the g forces really pull on you. I have had the traction break away on 205 tyres on the rear.

On the straights, the car is nervous as described above. When driving along the car follows the road. Not too much of an issue when just cruising along but under power it is difficult to keep in a straight line, which is emphasised even more by the fact that the car is nervous and sudden wheel movements unsettle the car.

When powering round a sweeping bend, the car pulls into the bend and the ATB diff pulls it even tighter to the bend meaning you have to lift off the steering a little. This unsettles the car and causes a massive torque steering problem as the diff locks and unlocks (for want of a better word). It pulls to the left, then to the right and every time you try and correct it, the movement of the steering just causes a more violent pull to which ever side you turned to. Then you have to back off as you are seriously running out of tarmac either side of the car.

I have upped the spring rating from 130 to 170 on the rear and this has reduced the torque steering effect slightly. I have 275 springs that I might fit to the front to see if that helps. Before I try that though, I am going to fabricate some brackets to mount my rear anti-roll bar on to see if that helps. I may also try as Tony suggested, reducing the front camber slightly and also maybe adding a little tow in on the front and rear track.

On the konis and standard arms with poly bushes, I could nail it into a bend and it would just pull round the bend with no torque steer AT ALL. It wasn't nervous but it has always suffered from tram lining but not as bad because of the lack of nervousness.

Andy-R

Daz a fine art getting it just as you want it, aint it?

Im fortunate in that my current settings seem to be a pretty good in that straightline stability is 'just right' sweeping bends are 'sweet' however I recon I could do with a litte more initial turn in on tight bends.

I have on previous settings had turn in as you describe 'nice initial turn in' but a little unerving whilst powering through it. (with a little more front camber)

If it helps I'll give you my current settings, i recon between where your at with your settings and where Im at will mine will be 'the sweet spot' so to speak.

Stick with it M8

Scott R

Daz, it sounds like you have too much front camber, its great for the twistys but in a straight line at speed the car will be very twitchy.

Dial out some of the camber on the front and if you want the car to still turn in as quick add a little camber to the rear.

what have you got it all set to at the moment, if its all over the place the best place to start would be to set everything to standard settings and just tweak them till you achieve a decent ride. Straight out the box settings for the S1 is not that bad, its the torque steer that kills it, which can be dialled out reasonably easily. Once you start making major changes to teh cars settings, if its wrong it seems to take ages to get it back to being a nice drive.

MEF

Daz,

I know all these suggestions might be confusing/contradicting, but I would think you might require more castor angle on the front to reduce the nervousness, ie shorten the tension struts to bring the wheels further forward in the arches. This will make the self centreing action of the steering stronger, the downside is that it will also make the steering heavier.

Fitting a rear anti-roll bar will only promote oversteer ie make it turn in even more sharply and hence more nervously.

You should have about 15minutes of toe-in on each of the rear wheels, this promotes straight line stability so check that out too.

Hope this helps,

Martin

NUTS RuS

iTrader: (35)

May help if we knew the settings that are currently on it

DazC

iTrader: (1)

I don't know the setting it is currently set at as I never got any from when Paul set it up a few weeks ago.

I will try a few of the suggested adjustents and see where I stand with it.

I NEED to get it set up and also braking properly before I am prepared to change over to my new engine management as I don't want my chosen mappers to torque steer off into a ditch the first time they open it up.

MEF

OK Daz,

You should have asked Paul for a printout of the "before and after" settings, he normally does supply this, I dont know why he didn't offer you a copy.

If you make any changes, try to kep the adjustments recorded. Put a chalk line on the rods so you can count the turns, that way you can get back to Pauls settings. Make sure you do both sides identically to keep symetry.

Martin

NUTS RuS

iTrader: (35)

I think the settings will be stored in his PC If I wasn't away next week I would go and get them for you

DazC

iTrader: (1)

I shortened the front tie rods last night by 3 full turns either side. I didn't do a lot of driving, but from what I did I can tell the car is slightly less nervous at low speed but is still quite nervous at "motorway" speeds.

It doesn't appear to be quite as bad with torque steer but I haven't really tried it properly when exiting a bend. This may be down to the fact I am not having to correct it quite as much and unsettling the front of the car?!

CliffRS4

iTrader: (1)

I have AVO Coilovers on the front and MEF Bilsteins on the front along with the track control arms MEF supply along with a 6 point Safety Devices Cage including the door bars.

The car was corner weighted by Field Motorsport in Essex and weighed in at 960kg.
The combination of all these things completely changed the car for me and is probably the best money I have spent on the car.

Needless to say the driver of a Ferrari 348 felt the wrath of my cars handling as it got blue flagged by the marshalls and told to let me past as he was holding me up

I will post some pictures up later once i have dug them out

Andy-R

Class Cliff!

DazC

iTrader: (1)

I never thought to ask for a print out of the before and after. He did say he adjusted quite a bit....

CliffRS4

iTrader: (1)

As promised. The Pics

The front part of the cage


Back part of the cage with the essential tow bar behind the seats


The Ferrari I whooped . When I came back in from my warm down lap I got
my digital camera out and went to take a pic of his car. He seemed all
pleased when I appeared with my camera. He changed his mind when I
told him that it was me that had passed him the mk3 escort.




The MEF Adjustable tca's


The Bilstein rear coilovers supplied by MEF Motorsport that don't need any
modifications to fit.


Me out on track


Coming back in


Putting Coilovers on the car have made such a difference.
No scrubbage with 17's on and no arch mods either. Not a hint of a scrub and I manged to get the car on 3 wheels too