(£500 Budget) Best 'Weekend Toy' Setup

2nd April 2010, 03:29

Ive recently started a job where i have use of a vehicle during the week, therefore my VTS will be used far less, so comfort isnt a priority.

Car will mostly see B-Road blasts and hopefully track 3/4 times a year.

Am i right in thinking that for £500 the Billie Group N route is best to go or can i get a decent set of Coilovers for that price 2nd hand?
Is buying 2nd hand suspension a false economy??

Any educated input appreciated

There are probably threads that have already covered this but none up to date so i dont care

2nd April 2010, 10:17

I'd say for what you want don't go too hard

group n dampers are fine but spring rate wise going super hard on a bumpy b road will be shit tbh

as for coilovers the only benefits are more readily available spring choices and hieght adjustment
both of which 90% of people won't change after fitting so there's not much point tbh unless you want very hard springs which tbh you don't

I'd look at something around 175/180lb which Faulkner do make to fit the saxo directly and I'd go that route

2nd April 2010, 10:40

If its mainly road use with the odd trackday then you cant go wrong with th Apex kit to be honest.

Gaz GHA's are in your budget if youre set on coilovers.

2nd April 2010, 10:45

Im very much going to side with Alex here, the Billie group N or even the B8's will be sufficient along with 175/180lb springs

If your main use is B roads that are potentially very bumpy then i wouldnt go any stiffer than that.

Although what i have fitted now is much stiffer and very good on decent roads, when it comes to bumpy roads it feels dog awful and i actually preferred my old Koni suspension.

You'd probably benefit most by getting the B8's with the Faulkner springs, im not sure if kamracing still sell this combination but it was around £400 if i remember correctly.

Put the extra £100 into upgrading your suspension bushes

2nd April 2010, 11:24

i cant say about the choice of suspension as im still pretty new to saxos, but i bought a set of used coilovers for my skyline from a reputable tuning firm that had been fitted to there time attack car, id not buy second hand suspension parts again...

2nd April 2010, 11:31

Stinky i have a good suspension set up i may sell for the right price..

Was planning on fitting it to my car but..

200lb Faulkners, with Group N shocks front and back.

As said though, might be abit stiff for b-roads. More trackdays/the ring set up.

2nd April 2010, 11:45

I'd go for:

Apex or Spax kit = £200 - £300
Polybushes = £100
Upper and lower strut braces = £100
Group N topmounts = £100

Their rough prices i know and a little over budget, but some of it you could pick up second hand for a lot less (mainly strut braces and suspension kit), but would give you a good handling car that will be stiff enough for track days but soft enough to take the bumps of the B roads

James

2nd April 2010, 11:59

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

okay, general concensus is that spring wise; I don't want to go too stiff.

Will I see a noticeable advantage having B8's over the Spax psx dampers?
I have the Psx kit sitting here, shall I just fit that and stop fannying around?

cheers, sorry for being a tard.

Ps run out of 'thanks'

2nd April 2010, 12:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by stinkycheese

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

okay, general concensus is that spring wise; I don't want to go too stiff.

Will I see a noticeable advantage having B8's over the Spax psx dampers?
I have the Psx kit sitting here, shall I just fit that and stop fannying around?

cheers, sorry for being a tard.

Ps run out of 'thanks'

Yes.

2nd April 2010, 12:31

Spax kit and then bushes braces if you have them
there will be ideal

I have an apex kit and fully bushed and it is good spesh on b roads

something harder like said may benefit on track but tbh the spax will still hold up well

2nd April 2010, 12:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexB

Spax kit and then bushes braces if you have them
there will be ideal

I have an apex kit and fully bushed and it is good spesh on b roads

something harder like said may benefit on track but tbh the spax will still hold up well

Okay, thats that sorted then

Ill keep Spax kit and spend extra on braces, bushes etc

2nd April 2010, 15:11

And any left over put towards brakes lol

2nd April 2010, 15:39

You can get brand new GAZ coilovers for less than £500, quality is very good.

I think the Saxo ones come with 300lb springs which is a bit hard but coilover springs only cost £10/15 so you can get different ones for different road surfaces.

2nd April 2010, 15:51

However rock hard suspension and standard bushes will just make the suspension move in unwanted directions rather than compress the spring and if you fit softer springs to them you'll be over damping them

I would forget coilovers tbh
I have over 500 quid on my apex kit and love it

it's not all about having the highest spec bits
stuff like gaz is designed purely for track use

2nd April 2010, 16:28

Spend it on rubber & brakes.

2nd April 2010, 19:46

personally i have got the apex kit and i think its to bumpy for b roads, so if i was you i would go for the gaz kit and just adjust it to how you want/ for different conditions i.e track or road

2nd April 2010, 19:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickkwak07

personally i have got the apex kit and i think its to bumpy for b roads, so if i was you i would go for the gaz kit and just adjust it to how you want/ for different conditions i.e track or road

so you think 300 lb solid suspension over 140lb for maily road use??

thats a tad fail imo
plus the only adjustment unless you spend a lot more on gazs is the ride height

2nd April 2010, 20:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexB

so you think 300 lb solid suspension over 140lb for maily road use??

thats a tad fail imo
plus the only adjustment unless you spend a lot more on gazs is the ride height

im sure gaz do a kit under £500 that is adjustable ofther than height

2nd April 2010, 20:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickkwak07

im sure gaz do a kit under £500 that is adjustable ofther than height

it wont be much adjustment
the ones with adjustment that are worth the price are the golds
and there circa 900 quid iirc

tbh a lot of people seem to think coilovers are the best thing for handeling hands down in all circumstances

simple answer irs there not a lot of the time there quite pointless as the car doesnt get the use (i know of 3 cars fitted with coilovers off my head that wont see anything more than occasional track use and tbh they would get on very well with something like my car is fitted with and i have mentioned)

mine i would confidently take on track i know it behave and it gives good feedback
solid stuff grips and grips to the limit then just lets go and it not very forgiving
the softer stuff you can balance the car easier and if it does let go you can controll it a bit easier like

ive driven woth 285lb spung h&r coilovers and the apex kit is faaaaaar less bouncy on the rough stuff and i preferred it for the road
the h&rs would be epic on track if you knew the car
but go a bit too hard and that limit is very fine

plus anything over 200lb and you need to start looking at uprating the torsion bars to balance the car and there 400 quid at least so the budget goes out the window tbh
once the cars that hard the bushes will be under a lot more stress so will need uprating and you need to look at anti roll bars and tyres and stregthening the shell ect ect and tbh its just not going to happen for 500 quid