Technical Suspension, again (probably)

[Niles]

Righty ho guys and gals,

I think its about time i brought my '99 mia closer to the floor and got rid of some of that awful body roll.

I want a full suspension kit but don't know which one to go for.

To my understanding the suppliers are Spax, G-Max and Apex (and FK but I can't afford/warrant coilovers).

Does anyone have experience with any of these kits or heard anything about which is best.

I quite fancy the G-Max kit, my dad had one on his mk2 golf and it was quite impressive and (for anyone who reads PVW mag) the kits were recently recommended for project rat out (rat look mk1 golf running 2.0 16v mk3 motor for anyone not in the know) so I'm liking the sound of this kit.

Also if I do go for the G-Max kit, which should I go for 40mm or 60mm, I like the sound of 60mm but my car is only running the standard 13" steelies so im wondering if it will be too much.

Any help would be appritiated, as well as pics of anyone who has a car with one of the kits on.

Sorry if this has been brought up several times.

 

[rallycinq]

Sorry if this has been brought up several times.

Oh, you will be when the 'search' mob get online.

Sorry I can't help with the query.

Cheers

D

 

[custard]

you can go 60mm on 13's,im about that on 14's
people have different opinions on different kits
some say g max is a bit harsh

price may be a bigger deciding factor.ask yourself if you really need adjustable shox or not

 

[mase]

you can go 60mm on 13's,im about that on 14's
people have different opinions on different kits
some say g max is a bit harsh

price may be a bigger deciding factor.ask yourself if you really need adjustable shox or not

it is.... very!!!

ive got the g-max -60mm kit on mine with the 14's, and it is quite hard and knocky!

but when u look at my sig, u will realise 60mm is the only way to go

 

[custard]

another option for you
http://www.avouk.com/

 

[mase]

spax and cobra also make 60mm springs if your interested in goin for that sort of drop.

only problem will be ground clearence, i still scrape on speed bumps with my 14's, so couldnt imagine how bad it would be on 13's

 

[Luke]

no-ones mentioned the bilstein streetline kit yet, thats -40mm
Bilstein shocks and Ventura Springs - should be fitted mine soon

 

[J333EVO]

no-ones mentioned the bilstein streetline kit yet, thats -40mm
Bilstein shocks and Ventura Springs - should be fitted mine soon

I rate Bilstein very highly, they make some very good products, and on that note no one has mentioned Spax or Koni as well as another alternative.

60 or 40mm drop well it all depends on what you want looks but a harsh ride as the only way to stop the car bottoming out all the time is to firm up the springs and shocks & will in no way make the car handle well as there will not be enough suspension travel for the suspension to do what its meant to do unless on a smooth road or track or 40mm drop which will still look good but will have enough suspension travel to work properly and not risk bottoming out the suspension or scraping the underside of the car on speed bumps etc.

Aaron

 

[gaz.d]

i just gone for the spax -60mm adjustables, i will be running 13's aswell (175/50) as i wont use the car that often i can live with finding alternative routes around places

i had apex on my old sei, i couldnt fault them for the price

 

[Niles]

Thanks for all the advise guys, I think tbh the 40mm kit is probly the best option as i use the car everyday and the owrks car park is infested with stupidly high speed bumps, oh yeh and handling is a priority and i live on top of a mountain!

Have just ordered set from Vemon Motorsport so should be arriving in the next week or so...just gotta find somone to fit it now.

 

[Helz]

Not a Cento but I have an Apex kit on the Blancmange and no problems as yet (except for loss of an exhaust following an altercation with a speed bump!), it's stiffened up as it's settled and makes a world of difference (although I have nothing to compare it to except standard) on the open road

 

[Jamieboy]

I originally ordered the Apex kit too, but Balance Motorsport said that they no longer make a kit for the Cinq? But I'm not sure if this is a blatant lie - this was about a year ago now. They did the G-Max kit at the same price, as it should have been about £15 more expensive, as I had to wait a week or so extra.

Now with the G-Max kit on my 899 Cinq, I can't recommend it enough. I love it. I added sporting alloys & tyres and now it corners like it's on rails.

I was thinking about a strut brace and poly bushes, but I fear that it may lead to 2-wheel shenanigans....

 

[Jamieboy]

Edit: It was Larkspeed, not Balance Motorsport

 

[Niles]

I originally ordered the Apex kit too, but Balance Motorsport said that they no longer make a kit for the Cinq? But I'm not sure if this is a blatant lie - this was about a year ago now. They did the G-Max kit at the same price, as it should have been about £15 more expensive, as I had to wait a week or so extra.

Now with the G-Max kit on my 899 Cinq, I can't recommend it enough. I love it. I added sporting alloys & tyres and now it corners like it's on rails.

I was thinking about a strut brace and poly bushes, but I fear that it may lead to 2-wheel shenanigans....

Thats good news to my ears. Am a tad worried about the harshness but pretty sure it'll be fine. They should be arriving in the next week or so, so once fitted il let u guys no what its like...i am very excited, bit fed up of the inside front wheel spinning on hard cornering now so hopefully it'll go some way to curing it. May invest in an arb and wider wheels but will see what this is like first, one step at a time and all that...I just wanna be able to corner like my friends mini tbh.

to be continued...

 

[Jamieboy]

Thats good news to my ears. Am a tad worried about the harshness but pretty sure it'll be fine. They should be arriving in the next week or so, so once fitted il let u guys no what its like...i am very excited, bit fed up of the inside front wheel spinning on hard cornering now so hopefully it'll go some way to curing it. May invest in an arb and wider wheels but will see what this is like first, one step at a time and all that...I just wanna be able to corner like my friends mini tbh.

to be continued...

In terms or harshness - it's not too bad. If your kit has progressive rate springs (bee-hive looking) then that's a bit better for comfort, but still has the tighter coils for the performance aspect.

If you fit the new suspension kit and ARB, but leave the standard 899 steel wheels and tyres, be prepared for a fair bit of understeer on anything but dry cornering. Lift-off understeer while coming off roundabouts especially....

If you can afford too, I seriously recommend getting the Sporting wheels and tyres (remember the spacers). It makes the handling from 'good' to 'outstanding'.

As for a mini-beater, well, I had a 1340cc, with Spax and on Pirelli P7F 175/50/13 rubber (softer than soft) and my Cinq now handles easily as good and is more comfortable. So far the Cinq boot hasn't tried to kiss the bonnet yet...

 

[Horney]

I had the streetline kit on a MKII Golf Gti and rated it highly so I would imagine the kit for the cinq is as good.

As for beating mini's? Good luck. You can mod a standard cinq to beat a standard mini but a mini with a proper set up running on 10" rims will out corner pretty much anything.

Nick

 

[SeicentoS]

I've got Apex -40mm springs on my seicento S and I love the difference it has made, no more body roll although rough roads can be a bugger with all the bouncing about as the springs are very stiff.