LG John

Right, I'm not up to speed on suspension but I hear this all too often on BBS's:

My 1.4 clio on coilovers easily outhandles my mates Evo 8 etc

So what are coilovers? How do they work and why are they so good?

Danbo

A standard set-up has a strut at each corner, with a damper and a coil spring fitted concentrically over it. This set-up is good but can have limitations. There is very little adjustment, ride height can only be changed by changing springs, damping cannot usually be altered and they are large and cumbersome and will not fit under some wheels.

A coilover is smaller, and allows different spring rates and larger tyres to be fitted without catching. The spring base has a threaded collar onto which the spring is mounted, allowing for ride height adjustment. You can also adjust damping rates.

StickyMicky

nothing, there complete ****e for uk roads IMO

Guinness

iTrader: (1)

Not if you get the right ones.

wheeler_dealer

Coil overs are much better than Torsion Bars. They are complete ****e if your on a bumpy road.

You can get easily caught out and have big accidents with torsion bars because they can spring too much and the bounce gets worse and worse when or very bad bumps

ajm

The main benfit (apart from the fact they are ususally very adjustable) is that the strut and spring are designed together for a particular car. Whilst mixing and matching e.g. Bilstein struts/ Eibach springs can be good, they are rarely as good as a properly matched spring/damper set. In reality however, I doubt many drivers would be able to explore the full additional potential!

highlander

Guinness is absolutely spot on!! I drove his car the other day and can honestly say that his suspension is the absolute dog's danglies!!!!
Has to be said the rest of the car is pretty awesome as well!!!

dome

One other advantage is that the springs are a uniform size(2 1/4 inch internal diameter I think) which is the universal size used in motorsport. This means there is an almost infinite option in setting your car up as far as spring rates/lengths goes. This is great for motorsport use (that's what they are really meant for) but you'd have to be pretty serious to go this far for road use.
Any reputable kit should be set up with the opimum springs for the car, you can then twiddle to you hearts content...