Coilover opinions...?

[Jacko90]

I know this comparison has been covered many of times but from all the posts I've read (using the underated search bar) but some seem to praise one set and vice versa. Which hasn't made me any closer to making my decision.
Unfortunately when I brought my 182, I wasn't aware of the lack of coilovers available for the 182 cup - damn bolt spacing!
I want to lower it onto a set of 15" wheels and they will only be used on the road. I know coilovers will compromise the ride comfort in some respects, but I do still want a bit of give in them.

Price wise I'm looking around the £400 mark and it really seems like the best options are the v-maxx kit and the k-tec kit.

Danny at 519 isn't far from me at all so I started bearing towards the v-maxx set as he supplies and fits them, but then I was offered a brand new set for £350 Inc vat from a local company, then I saw the k-tec group buy for £300 which seems a bargain seen as they come with a 2 year warranty.

So these options have thrown me right back into a caffuffle.

Can anyone help me out at all?

Personal experiences with these kits and pictures would be a great help.

Thanks, Jack.

 

[tom172cup]

I have the K tec coilover kit and for fast road i think there a good bit of kit. but personally im not that keen on them for track use tad to soft i think. but it all depends on what you want really

 

[Jekyll]

i can only speak from my experience but i was in exactly the same postion as you recently. wanted to go lower with 15s but only road driving. i came into the hands of some almost new vmaxx's and fitted them last week. first impressions were they did feel more bouncy than what i had on (sportlines) but still remained the comfort for daily driving. took my car out for a country blast yesterday and im really happy with the way they performed. not to hard where they shake your bones out. firm but comfortable. i have read that they are a bit too soft for track use, but road use is fine.

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?557144-My-Black-Carbon-2118-d-thread/page12

pics of mine with 15's and vmaxxs

 

[Toms_clio]

Jekyll stop showing off your car!!! Ha
I have k-tec s. Really nice on the road but not hard enough for track!

 

[Johnpacey1]

I have the K-tec coilovers too and agree with all 3 of the above posts. Fine on road but too soft on track.

 

[sideways danny]

avoid the ktec setup for 182 cup pack. You can't get enough camber. They're fine on other fitments for a budget setup, I'll supply and fit either, but for cup pack on a budget, vmaxx is the only option. TBH, save some more money and go for the spax setup. Night and day difference.

I put vmaxx on Dave88's car for 2 weeks for him to get it through the mot, and he was very happy after his aweful GAZ setup, then when the Spax were fitted he was literally jumping up and down

 

[Jacko90]

Thanks Danny. I would only need about -1degree camber tops really as I will only be using them on the road. The spax kit is lovely but it's just outside my price margin to be honest. I'm looking for comfort(ish), low and reliability. How much is it to fit a set of coilovers out of interest Danny? Pm me if you like. Will be booking in my car for a service this month too.

 

[sideways danny]

i couldn't get more than 0.5 deg on the cup pack ktec setup. My fitted price is in my traders section, and on my website, I wont fit new parts that I'm not supplying though. warranty implications. Let me know who's selling vmaxx that cheap....the distributor wont be happy as it undermines the product integrity

 

[one in a million]

Jekyll stop showing off your car!!! Ha
I have k-tec s. Really nice on the road but not hard enough for track!

ha ha ha i have noticed his heads getting bigger lately :rasp:

 

[Jacko90]

It's not the retail price, it's because I grew up with his other half, so I guess he gave me a reasonable discount?

Just can't decide between the k-tec's and v-maxx's!

Is the price difference worth it?

And what is a sensible road camber to run? Dont Want to be buying tyres too frequently lol.

 

[Jacko90]

Oh, apparently it's £450!! Great discount there! It's between Danny and k-tec's and fitting them with a friend...

 

[Kirky86]

Hi all, don't even own a clio (yet) but thought I'd weigh in as I have experienced the V-Maxx kit on a 182 before..

Drove a mates Trophy at Brands and Bedford on V-Maxx. They seemed really good value for money on the road, BUT the dampening was really bad on track. Coming from his standard Trophy setup to the V-Maxx coilovers, they crashed and banged really heavily over curbs in comparison to the original set-up. If you stick to the black stuff (well, dark grey stuff?) they're really good for the money - But if you're going to drive hard and bounce the curbs on trackdays, IMHO they aren't up to the task - be better off with Spax or something along those price lines.

Hope you find what you're after - Good luck with the fitting

Kirky

 

[jenic]

Hi all, don't even own a clio (yet) but thought I'd weigh in as I have experienced the V-Maxx kit on a 182 before..

Drove a mates Trophy at Brands and Bedford on V-Maxx. They seemed really good value for money on the road, BUT the dampening was really bad on track. Coming from his standard Trophy setup to the V-Maxx coilovers, they crashed and banged really heavily over curbs in comparison to the original set-up. If you stick to the black stuff (well, dark grey stuff?) they're really good for the money - But if you're going to drive hard and bounce the curbs on trackdays, IMHO they aren't up to the task - be better off with Spax or something along those price lines.

Hope you find what you're after - Good luck with the fitting

Kirky

V-maxx on a trophy!

 

[mr.pink87]

Decent coilovers are 700+ (especially for the cup packed 182s)...

 

[Kirky86]

V-maxx on a trophy!

lol, YES (But don't judge me, lol)!!!

There was a reason for this - it was a 'Test cheap coilovers and see how they perform' mission. The originals were luuuuuuuuverly hehe. Not tried any other sets though, so thats where my knowledge ends....!

Kirky

 

[sideways danny]

Oh, apparently it's £450!! Great discount there! It's between Danny and k-tec's and fitting them with a friend...

Retail on them is £420......
I do them for £469 fitted

 

[Sir_Dave]

V-maxx on a trophy!

Matt Wills.

If you just want lows, i dont think you can go far wrong with V-Maxx tbh.

 

[Kam.]

AP Coilovers are another budget brand worth considering. Better quality than the vmaxx/raceland/jamex stuff.

 

[mr.pink87]

^he´s got cup suspension!

 

[Kirky86]

^he´s got cup suspension!

Is there no tried & tested way to adapt the shock body bolt-holes to fit the other size? I wasnt sure if you could just grind out the hole into an 'elongated' shape to allow the wider bolt spacing to fit? Surely with one bolt perfect and physically unable to move, and another done up to the normal 'as tight as it can go' level, it'd be fine? I've never actually looked at the problem so I don't know if I'm talking utter rubbish - But I'm always up for a spot of grinding/welding/drilling

 

[mr.pink87]

AFAIK it´s not only a different bolt-hole-distance but also a differnt bracket width. Should be adaptable in some kind of way, but if you invest a bit more money you can get H&Rs for example which are great!

 

[Jacko90]

Just want the car to sit nicely over 15s and not to decrease the handling qualities in any way... They will only be used on the road. No track use at all.

 

[Kam.]

you can get a machine shop to elongate the holes

 

[Kirky86]

V-Maxx FTW in that case! Lol. I guess come the day you want to go near a track (and it will happen - You'll make the mistake of being a passenger, end up driving a few laps, and then be utterly addicted....lol) you can sell your V-Maxx second hand and put the money toward some proper kit

 

[sideways danny]

Is there no tried & tested way to adapt the shock body bolt-holes to fit the other size? I wasnt sure if you could just grind out the hole into an 'elongated' shape to allow the wider bolt spacing to fit? Surely with one bolt perfect and physically unable to move, and another done up to the normal 'as tight as it can go' level, it'd be fine? I've never actually looked at the problem so I don't know if I'm talking utter rubbish - But I'm always up for a spot of grinding/welding/drilling

the difference in hole spacing means that for the new hole to fit on the bracket, it has to be in such a place that throws the camber way out.
If it was that easy to get it right, I wouldn't have bothered spending months developing high quality cup fitment coilovers, I'd have got the die grinder out.

 

[Kirky86]

the difference in hole spacing means that for the new hole to fit on the bracket, it has to be in such a place that throws the camber way out.
If it was that easy to get it right, I wouldn't have bothered spending months developing high quality cup fitment coilovers, I'd have got the die grinder out.

You know what forums are like Danny - some people are afraid of a little shed engineering!

But I trust your knowledge entirely. Still, its a shame, die grinders are fun!

Kirky

 

[Bizzle]

My ap's are excellent, basically kw v1s. I drive my car hard every day and they have been well up to the task.

 

[Jacko90]

They don't come with 60mm hole spacing unfortunately, otherwise lots of other brands would come into play. Hence why I'm narrowed down to ktecs or vmaxxs. Mid range are GAZs which don't have a good reputation buy the sounds if it.