R4 Suspension Upgrades

[Dave Z]

Has any one tried to fit adjustable dampers similar to coilover types but still using the torsian bars. That would enable better setup on the suspension.

 

[David M]

Yes and No

A long time ago.

I had a set of Bisteins on a Renault 5.
Not the same car but a similar suspension design.
I had them machined to take coil- overs.
They did improve the turn in but the roll at the rear was always a limiting factor.
The car would swap ends very rapidly on wet roads, off camber roads or gravel roads. Of course you have to drive briskly to achieve this outcome. And you can, as I did, regularly.

Still a long time in the past,

I have since learned via a R4 fourgonette that the solution that you seek will come from anti roll bars. The 'gette handled like it was on rails despite its high architecture.
It had a rear anti roll bar as skinny as the front one. Think, the diameter of your little finger. What a difference it made.

Momentum is everything with only 850cc's.
Brakes are applied as a last thought as the corner or a gap in the traffic approaches.
The quick response to a turn always brought a smile to my face and a gasp of exhilaration from the passengers. I could actually aim for the apex of a 90 degree corner and then "accelerate" away!

The 'gette hadled so much better that my standard R4. It was like the van was "lower" to the road than the standard car. Of course it wasn't, but that is the way that it felt.

So, do some research and spend a handful of pence.

Ps the rear trailing arms of my 1968 van were drilled to take the two bolts to locate the tabs to locate the anti roll bar.

 

[Dave Z]

Hi David

can you remember how far along the trailing arms they were fitted.

Thanks

 

[malcolm]

You can see the anti-roll bar in this photo held by 2 clamps to the suspension arms. It was fitted to vans and rough road spec cars and the front anti-roll bar fitted to those vehicles was a couple of mm bigger too.

 

[Bobble]

I've had and still have GTL's and just a few months ago refurbished my F6 and i can confirm that the anti roll bar that's fitted to the rear of the van's does make them handle as if they are on rails, it just does'nt seem to move and surprises so many others when you come to a corner and don't slow down, well worth giving them a try .

 

[Piet]

I agree- I put the fatter (16mm instead of 12mm dia) front antiroll bar and the van rear antiroll bar on and it made a huge difference. Part nos were 7700717922 for the front and 7700554727 for the rear. The part nos for the four brackets for the rear are 7700525240. Also the deCarbon shocks "sport" version. It's still soft compared to a modern car but a lot less scarey than originally. The suspension basic geometry is the same as the R5 Mk 1 (although rear shocker type and location is different and front lower arms are different, but same geometry), and that car can certainly be made to hustle.

 

[mr-reno-139]

Owning a nodded 4 myself which was originally 850 left hand drive van
i have got 5 gordini front shock absorbers on along with the anti roll bar from the same vehicle which bolt straight on
the maximum length extended of both 4 and 5 shocks is 14 inch
recent research has discovered gordini turbo front shocks are 25 millimetres shorter on full extension and would probably suit a lowered r4 better
i know mine has got thicker torsion bars then some car models have worth checking diameters out

 

[David M]

Owning a nodded 4 myself which was originally 850 left hand drive van
i have got 5 gordini front shock absorbers on along with the anti roll bar from the same vehicle which bolt straight on
the maximum length extended of both 4 and 5 shocks is 14 inch
recent research has discovered gordini turbo front shocks are 25 millimetres shorter on full extension and would probably suit a lowered r4 better
i know mine has got thicker torsion bars then some car models have worth checking diameters outView attachment 10648

OK,
Thinking out loud.
Willing to be shot down or proven wrong.

Here's how I read your post.
Your car is a Renault 4 with R5 Gordini thicker torsion bars at the front. (Probably not 850cc now if it's modded)
I assume that any given bump in the road would produce less vertical movement at the front wheel.
The shock absorbers would not be required to have as much travel therefore those shocks would be OK.
This seems a very firm arrangement but quite attractive.

Would original, longer stroke (on the rebound) shock absorbers give better damping and control?

What have you done at the rear?

Do you experience "roll - oversteer"

The way that I read your post is that your R4 is very stiff (awesome) at the front.
I'm thinking that a corresponding amount of stiffness at the rear may help, including stronger rebound on the rear shocks.

But I'm just guessing from a long way away.

David

 

[Dave Z]

Sorry i seem to have hijacked this thread!

Malcom, can it be copied to a new Thread so the original Project can be left. Thanks

Mr Reno, do you have any part nos for those shorter shocks.

 

[mr-reno-139]

i'm sure there are some photos of my car on here somewhere but not posted recently as much so some of you may not be aware that my car i have had since 1985 and it now has 1647 engine and 5 speedgordini gearbox
mine was an R 2109 which has got thicker torsion bars then a standard 850 car i have fitted gordini front hubs to take the drive shaft with the bigger brakes
rears are simply heavy duty shocks i found on the back of a van i scrapped one daywith the standard anti roll bar and torsion bars on the back seems to work ok photos on request if you can't find any that i may have posted on here before