Just after some advice by people who have coilovers and adjustable suspension fitted to there Series 2 RS Turbos/or people who have been in cars with the above fitted.

I've had a bonus from work and I'm contemplating spunking a bit of cash on the handling of my RST.

It currently has Spax Adjustables, -45mm Chassis Dynamic Springs, Polybushes in the front end, Strut Braces front and rear + a 6 point cage.

The handling is pretty good at the moment, but it always ends up understeering when pushed and the rear end never joins in the party

I'm thinking of going for the full MEF set-up:

Bilstein Coilovers All Round
Adjstable TCA's
Concentic Top Mounts
Adjustable rear end
Full geomtry set-up

Anyway the question is:

How will the car handle? How much difference will I notice? Will it transform the car? Is it worth the expense? [or should I just buy a car that handles well in the first place

n.b. The car is used for fun on the roads + track days.

 

The above stuff is Tony's parts?

If it handles anything like his RS1600i, then you'll be really really pleasantly surprised/shocked! It's like it is on rails

Put a post up for people who have been out / driven his RSi!

 

what about a front tie bar kit

 

coilovers will TRANSFORM the way it rides/handles. WELL worth it imo. been in B8's car with them fited and i was thoroughly impressed!

 

I have only looked at the MEF and Zoo website so far,

Any other options?

How important is the rear end kit? Will the rear adjustable suspension make a significant difference or is the front end kit the most important?

 

Looks very interesting, although I can't quite picture how it fits to the front of the car, how does the anti-roll bar connect to the other piece? Do you have any pictures of the kit fitted to a car?

I assume that is a picture of S2 tie bar ARB kit inc TCA's from your website.

What advantage does this set-up give over the use of Adjustable TCA's and a concentric top mount?

 

this kit transforms the front end of the car due to the standard roll bar design and them stupid plates that flex
i have fitted this kit to s1 as well due to the crap roll bar giving hardly any resistance in body roll due to the diameter being so small

 

Really good topic this!

Any pictures of the rear stuff?

Especially the tie bars.

 

BROM@ZOO


You got a price on this set up

 

 

tie bar kit £350
tcas £200
if ya buy the pair u get it for £450

 

 

Looks very interesting...

Brom, What coilovers do you recommend?

 

and what about getting this lot set up after its bn fitted? i live in the southen region 2hrs west of london!! could always go to kwickfit

 

i'm intrested in the setup fee aswell

 

hmmmmmmmm

 

fit and set up fee is £150
if you got coil overs add £150 to that aswell

 

seems well worth it

how much for a pair of adjustable lower arms

 

John, To answer that it fully relies on the geometery set up that you specify. Get it wrong and you will hate it, get it right and you will be blown away.

Don't ask me (or anyone) what's right or wrong setting wise - We are not you, and might have a completely different driving style. We can of course offer advice, but its down to you to progress it further on or off track.

With fully adjustable arms thats all easily possible.

Your more than welcome to have a test drive of a car with it fitted on to see what you think

Brom I think you will be busy

 

thats wot am doin to mine next i think coz iv got enuff power just now and with only havin a full G-Max lowerin kit dropppin the car bout 60mm i suffer from quite a bit of understeer off throttle. but its gettin someone up in scotland to set it up??? coz itll prob drink bout 450 in petrol to get down and back lol esp wi my drivin and tendency to race

 

In answer to John's original question of whether it will transform the car or not.... the answer is a resounding YES!

Until you drive a properly sorted Mk3 / 4 escort, you really dont know how bad the standard one is (and you might think its bad at the mo, but when you drive a properly sorted one, you realise its even worse than you thought!!!)

I've had the pleasure of 2 track days at Donington in Tony's RS1600i, and after the 1st time, the thought of tracking my S2 was a a little depressing to say the least as proper handling is what you want!

And like Tony says, the setup is personal preference to how you like it to behave!

 

Sorry to sound a little "sad", but that's one of the sexiest things I've ever seen on an RS Turbo!

 

So the general feeling is thats its worth every penny

I knew that was going to be the case, going to be an expensive month by the looks of it

Tony...I'll deffo make time to have a test drive at the next track day [if I've not already bought the lot ]

How important is the rear end adjustable kit?, alot of people above seem to just focus on the front end kit.

I assume the best thing to do is get it professionally set-up to some kind of neutral settings and then tailor it yourself as suits

 

Front end will aid with traction, rear end will aid with cornering / understeer and stability. Depends on what you want to improve first.

 

them kits from zoo look


looks like im gonna have to start saving?

 

Both

I want more traction to try and reduce understeer [as its very easy to reach the limit of traction on the front end],

A bit more initial turn in response would be nice as well

I want to make the damping/suspension less Crashy as at the moment on high speed sweeping bumpy bends it skips round. + Any kind of bump is quite crashy.

I would also like to make the car a little bit more lively at the rear [I.E. lift-off oversteer when provoked]

 

Have you tried different tyres for better grip ?

With rear arms adjusted you could effectivly make your car drive like a Mk2 round corners if you wanted to

 

These are also woth the money for those wanting to keep the standard rear end setup. combined with polybushes they should sort out the sloppy rear end.

http://www.hrsprings.com/site/products/triplec.html

 

Very interesting.....simple but effective

 

I've tried a few different tyres....I'm on Toyo Proxes at the mo which I rate quite highly but I may try F1's next.

To be honest it doesn't feel like its the tyres lack of grip but more like they are being forced into understeer due to poor geometry.

 

So your still on road tyres John? Get them off and take another positive step forward. I know it will mean another set of wheels but again you will find big gains to be had.

Camber adjustment bolts are standard on a lot of cars now. You can save lots of cash on them by visiting a local scrapyard

 

Yeah still on Road tyres....but don't forget I use it alot on the road as well. I really want to spend money that will improve it both on AND off track.

Maybe some road legal slicks?

Can you suggest any cars which have camber bolts? Or it a case of me going down there and just hunting around?

 

Subaru's will give you a good start John, and its satisfying stripping them

Get hold of a cheap set of rims and try some different rubber if you can