K24R Offset Top Mounts

[Rusty]

Fitted today

Amazingly, they went straight on with no fuss.

Will get testing and when I'm happy, I'll run a batch. Need to recoup the £800+ that the 4 prototypes have cost

[Rusty]

Quick test drive shows a slight increase in harshness but not much. I have marked everything to assess if anything moves but so far so good. Steering is very positive and they fit the struts perfectly. Very chuffed so far. Only teething problem is that by moving the strut in the tower, the spring is just touching something on the driver's side - I think it may be a bracket holding the brake pipe, which is in a very will place...

[Rusty]

Pictures...

[Rusty]

Had an idea for some extreme versions of these...

[andy10v]

Looks good, is there plenty clearance inside the suspension turret with the strut moved back?

Had an idea for some extreme versions of these...

Do tell

[Rusty]

More offset... Means finding a new solution for the retaining nut though.

These are 7mm but up to 12mm may be possible using the same body design. The problem may be that the strut starts hitting stuff in the wheel well. Coilover users will be fine though...

[andy10v]

Could you use a threaded tube with the nut on the top?

Something like this?



Sounds like a good excuse for you to get coilovers then

[andy10v]

How far back did you calculate you wanted them for whatever castor you deemed desirable?

[Rusty]

The more the better; it's so low to start with...

I've thought about using a threaded spacer design but I'm a little concerned about damaging the bearing ball with a steel design whereas an alloy one is just too likely to strip or fail through cyclic loading to the collar. I think either a design based on the OE retaining collar or a reworked M12 half nut. Renault use a 17mm hex to retain the strut on the Clio but it a not weedy.

Current design works so I'm in a great position to develop it.

[Error404]

Sounds good :Cool:

Have you had chance to push it hard yet?
Is the steering any more positive?

[Rusty]

Handling benefits will not be felt until the 16s come off next April and the A048s go on... Got the offset subframe bushes to go on too, then it's full alignment time. Need to think about wishbone bushes too.

[Rusty]

Got the car up in the air again yesterday to see what was rubbing. As suspected, there is a very stupidly placed brake line holder and TBH, the positioning of the brake line left a lot to be desired IMO. Anyway, I've now removed the bracket and carefully relocated the brake line to a much better place, where it is far better protected and most importanty, not nearly touching the spring!

I also took the time to look at the clearance of the rest of the strut to wheel arch and I'm confident that any amount of offset, within the bounds of the stock top mount, will be fine.

When I've had chance to confirm that these do what they should, I'll get the design sorted out and post up an interest thread to get an idea of batch numbers. I'm hopeful that I can increase the offset a smidge, now that I have a real-world testbed to measure off, rathe than theory and a tiny R&D budget.

I'll also look in to a more extreme version with 10-12mm offset, rather than the normal 7.5mmm but these will not suit everyone, as there will be quite compromises and they will require height adjustable suspension to make up for the extra body thickness required for the design to clear the (stupid) strut towers.

[Greg_S]

The brake line position is daft. I rerouted mine when I fitted my AP's quite a few years back for this very reason

[Rusty]

So just toom the car for a proper drive. I'd love to say how far it was but as the odometer isn't working just now, I'll have to just say that it encompassed quite a few of my preferred driving roads in the greater Bristol areol

Anyway, I can now say that the extra harshness that I felt previously was just the spring hitting the brake bracket, as it's now just the same as it ever was Rough road surfaces, potholes and farm tracks didn't cause any noticeable increase in noise or vibration.

For a car that needs a full 4 wheel alignment, the handling was just fine and the steering felt positive and direct. It looks to be running a chunk of toe-out due to the struts moving relative to the steering arms but I'm on the winter rubber, so I'll not get it aligned before I install the front and rear subframe bushes, rear springs and a few other bits and bobs I'm sure...

So, overall, I'm very pleased still and I'll keep testing over the winter, where road conditions will be fairly harsh.

[Rusty]

These are officially OEM+ now.

Before:-



After:-