Advice on car mods...

snips86x

snips86x

snips86x

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I'm looking to get a full set of 30mm lowering springs for my MK4 Mondeo 2.5T and while I'm not looking to replace the wheels just yet, I wanted to check if there would be any issues with using these springs alongside the 17" alloys. I aim to get a set of 18" Tit X Sport alloys eventually but not in a hurry yet.

This is what I've been looking at:

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/perfo...owering-spring-kit-lowers-front-and-rear-30mm

I'm also looking at replacing the front disks for some drilled/slotted rotas before I get my remap done in January. I'm considering these:

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/perfo...bi-brake-discs-rear-pair-302x11mm-solid-discs

Would they be OK?

Any input would be appreciated, thanks :)
 
Can't comment on the springs but i'd avoid drilled discs as i've seen quite a lot of them crack, granted these were all ones used on track but i'd much rather have just slotted discs. But again saying that grooved ones can make a weird swooshing sound on some cars depending on how many groves/size of pad which could get annoying on a daily driver. My missus had some random grooved discs on her Clio 197 and it made a noticeable swooshing noise on light brake application, however i've had grooved discs on my scooby and they made no weird noises at all but they were better quality discs so probably had some actual engineering thought put into them!
 
sovietspybob said:
Can't comment on the springs but i'd avoid drilled discs as i've seen quite a lot of them crack, granted these were all ones used on track but i'd much rather have just slotted discs. But again saying that grooved ones can make a weird swooshing sound on some cars depending on how many groves/size of pad which could get annoying on a daily driver. My missus had some random grooved discs on her Clio 197 and it made a noticeable swooshing noise on light brake application, however i've had grooved discs on my scooby and they made no weird noises at all but they were better quality discs so probably had some actual engineering thought put into them!
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Thanks & a good point. I'm actually looking for more stopping power and I understand rotas won't make a massive difference unless its hard repetitive braking so looking at YellowStuffs pads to go with my stock rotas.

Anyone comment on the springs? Foresee an issue with stock 17" alloys?
 
I really don't like any of the EBC pads personally, yellowstuff always felt very wooden until there was some heat in them which isn't ideal on an everyday car and they don't last very well when being used hard (on track anyway). Orangestuff was a tad better but still pretty naff for the price you pay when you can get 'proper' pads for the likes of Carbon Lorraine, Ferrodo, PF etc for the same cash.
 
sovietspybob said:
I really don't like any of the EBC pads personally, yellowstuff always felt very wooden until there was some heat in them which isn't ideal on an everyday car and they don't last very well when being used hard (on track anyway). Orangestuff was a tad better but still pretty naff for the price you pay when you can get 'proper' pads for the likes of Carbon Lorraine, Ferrodo, PF etc for the same cash.
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Thanks for that, do you have any links to recommendations?
 
Other than the pads, the only real way at increasing stopping power is through bigger diameter discs, and traction (so better tyres).

To be honest, unless you're tracking the car though, most of it's just a waste of money. Lowering springs are good for looks, but will do little for helping cornering on their own. If you want serious performance increases, you need to spend more money than a set of springs.

Aesthetically though, fill your boots. Lowered cars on nice wheels clearly look better. And nice big brakes, drilled and grooved look good behind big open wheels. But if it's performance gains you're looking for, save more money.
 
xs2man said:
Other than the pads, the only real way at increasing stopping power is through bigger diameter discs, and traction (so better tyres).

To be honest, unless you're tracking the car though, most of it's just a waste of money. Lowering springs are good for looks, but will do little for helping cornering on their own. If you want serious performance increases, you need to spend more money than a set of springs.

Aesthetically though, fill your boots. Lowered cars on nice wheels clearly look better. And nice big brakes, drilled and grooved look good behind big open wheels. But if it's performance gains you're looking for, save more money.
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I've got an intercooler coming and a remap planned for Jan as that's when my warranty expires. My brother lowered his and its made a nice difference with body roll and cornering. I've got no issues with the way the car drives currently, but if I can reduce the body roll, that would be great.
 
Look in to front/rear anti-roll bars, you may find you already have one, in which case you could upgrade to a thicker (and adjustable) one.
 
snips86x said:
I've got an intercooler coming and a remap planned for Jan as that's when my warranty expires. My brother lowered his and its made a nice difference with body roll and cornering. I've got no issues with the way the car drives currently, but if I can reduce the body roll, that would be great.
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A lot of that is placebo effect though. The car is lower, and stiffer, so it feels much quicker round the corners. Or at least more capable. As said above, it's the ARB's that actually tighten up the body roll more (hence anti-roll bars). You really need to be going to adjustable coilovers to make any serious headway in improving cornering, and to avoid the crashiest of rides, you need to be spending proper money on such things.

Admittedly, Eibach is where I would be spending my money too, if I was wanting it to look nicer.

Best bang per buck by far and away is the remap. Knowing what I now know, I pretty much would do nothing else to a car. Intercoolers are okay, if they are actually the restriction in the engine, but they don't actually add BHP, just restrict BHP if not man enough for the job. I went through a number chasing phase with my old 1.8T golf GTI. And spent thousands on the engine. In the end, it was a nice quick example, and had among the biggest numbers in the UK on a k03s turbo, at the time at least.

But it was easy to get carried away, chasing the next 5 bhp. In the end, it didn't really have the traction, and I lost pretty much all the money when I sold it as it wasn't worth any more really than it would have been standard. I then decided that any car I bought for fun, from then on, if I couldn't achieve the power I wanted from a remap, I would just go for a faster car.

Wheels and spring for aesthetics though. I can absolutely get on board with that. But I don't expect any significant performance gains for such a set-up.
 
Thanks for your comments, it really helps work out what I need to be looking at. I don't want to be throwing money away but I have every intention of keeping this car for at least 5 years - seeing as its only done 27k, 17.5k when i bought it in Jan - so I want to enjoy the ride.

At the moment, I'm suffering with heat soak which is why the replacement intercooler is to be ordered and I think I would have more of a problem with this once the remap has been done.
 
snips86x said:
Thanks for your comments, it really helps work out what I need to be looking at. I don't want to be throwing money away but I have every intention of keeping this car for at least 5 years - seeing as its only done 27k, 17.5k when i bought it in Jan - so I want to enjoy the ride.

At the moment, I'm suffering with heat soak which is why the replacement intercooler is to be ordered and I think I would have more of a problem with this once the remap has been done.
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If your keeping the car might as well get some updated shocks too. Standard shocks don't like uprated springs much
 
Cheap drilled can crack, I've also hear others concerned about "popping" noises when in use as air passes over the holes, put me off tbh.

I'd also avoid MTEC Discs with the coloured coatings
 
~Divine~Wind~ said:
I'd also avoid MTEC Discs with the coloured coatings
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Could I ask why? The coating they use would seem like a good way of avoiding rust on the parts of the disc that aren't contacted by the pads. This is somethig my Civic has suffered from and I am considering new discs to tidy things up.
 
Some reports of bad squeeling ont he mazda forums
Black coating causing the pads to pretty much bond to the discs on a number of occasions.
To the pint where people ended up considering haveng the black coating lathed off!
One lad drove around all day until the black coating had gone lol

At the end of the day MTEC are nowt special anyway, they just buy OEM's and drill/groove them themselves.
 
Interesting and certainly something I will bear in mind.

MTEC seem to be well regarded on the Civinfo forum that's specific to my car.
 
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