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5 GT Turbo Torsion bar thickness

Brigsy

Media Mogul. Instagram legend.
Looking for a cheeky upgrade to try on the back of the van and wondering if anything is available out of the renault parts bin.

Anybody know the spec of clio 16v, clio williams, 19 16v etc? Bar thickness and length.
 
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11 is 24mm, 19 16v is 26mm. Both aren't bolt on items though. Maybe clio 16v/Williams is the one to go for?
Van dampers are already the stiffer oe choice.
 
Damping wise is sorted as i have gaz gold rear shockers.

Do you know how long the bars are ? I was just thinking about fitting the bars into my current beam if they will go? I have a clio 16v beam here to check.
 
I dont think many people have looked into rear torsion bar upgrades. I can remember a company selling thicker bars but a small fortune possibly mecaparts ? I want a cheaper option :D

Ill have the van out tomorrow so going to mic up the 16v torsion bars and see whats what. Them 30mm 11t bars would be nice though if they will go.

Its mad to think the saxo's etc have a massive range of torsion bars and available off the shelf cheap and hardly nothing for the gtt!
 
Are you converting to rear discs too? Would have thought the van would have the stiffer bars for less twist as it should be capable of carrying more load?
 
I looked into this many moons ago, the quickest/easiest way to help the rear beam would be to adapt something similar to the photo.
Or you could turret the rear of the van and make your own fully independent rear suspension?! :drinks.gif:

balancemotorsport.co.uk_media_catalog_product_cache_1_small_im727aa58cbe0adfbb91b91e0d69133fc5.webp
 
There are a LOT of different options for the 4 bar open beam on the clio, all that is missing is the community to organize nad list them.

I've went with the R5 GTT beam, and made adapters to retrofit the stock drum brakes. Used Express van (Rapid) bars. They were listed as the full on race option for the clio GpA ;)

I'll try to dig that info up again.

in the meanwhile the conversion can be seen here: project silver
 
I have measured the extra van bars today and they are 24mm stock on a 575kg payload version. Definitely room for improvement ?

I thought about arb @Spooky could be an idea.

@gigaz if you have any more info that would be awesome (y) i do not think the extra/rapid bars are that stiff to be honest.
 
This thread is worth a read regarding torsion bar sizes Torson bar dia ??? std vs uprated

It looks like i already have a slight upgrade over clio16v

Clio williams - group N/A ran 25.5 26.5 28.0 mm bars.

rally cars also ran an uprated anti roll bar.

again 21.6 23.2 24.5 mm

plus some cars ran an extra anti roll bar fitted externally to the axle beam.

not sure if these are still available..only place i've ever seen then is richard motorsport the german site..iirc..
 
just measured

GTT : 20.7mm Thick 59,2cm Length (torsion springs)
23.4mm Thick 50,7cm Length (ARB)

Express Van: (the ones I have in the car right now, too hard for two small kids in the back ;) )
23mm Thick 59.2cm Length
24.3mm Thick 50.7cm Length (ARB)

These measurements were made piercing the rubber protection so they might be a mm off.

So lengthwise, there are two axle widths (R19/megane and R5/R11/Clio)
and the bars are specific to those two variants and only fit the appropriate beam.

There is also a BIG difference that I've noticed that lies on the installation, the first time I've fitted mine it was nice and low, and too soft, it would hit the end stops.
Then tried to follow a repair guide and the result was the same height, but much nicer spring rate, only noticed hitting the endstops once with 5 blokes in the car, and an E7J lump+gearbox in the boot.
 
The torsion bars only go in on one spline. You cant adjust the spring rate by fitting differently imo. If you tried to load up one bar on one side i can imagine a lop sided vehicle. I recall renault saying remove one bar to set the rideheight but it never seems to work well in practise
 
The torsion bars only go in on one spline. You cant adjust the spring rate by fitting differently imo. If you tried to load up one bar on one side i can imagine a lop sided vehicle. I recall renault saying remove one bar to set the rideheight but it never seems to work well in practise

If the beam was correctly installed in the first place that is mostly true.
Spring rate is fixed, ride height can be adjusted by removing left and right torsion bars, setting the beam to the new position then reinstalling the bars, taking in account that there are only a few height values in that they can be inserted. (around 3cm steps I believe)

If it went all apart or mix-match parts like I did, then the ARB has to be indexed properly, and in that case the ARB can be installed in a few different spots, only one is correct.


I'll start dumping a few P/N so we can compile a nice list:

torsion:
????????????? 20.8mm R5 GTT/ Clio RSI and others with ABS
7700 804 336/7 21.6mm Clio 16V/Clio GrA
7700 758 855/6 23.2mm Express /Clio GrA/Clio GrN
7700 813 039/40 24.5mm Express Extra Load /Clio GrA/Clio GrN

ARB:
????????????? 22.5mm Clio RSI and others with ABS
????????????? 23.4mm Express (and R5 GTT)
????????????? 24.2mm Clio 16V/Williams
7711 126 160/1 25.5mm Williams GpA
7711 066 925/6 26.5mm clio 16S GrN/Williams GpA
 
Awesome info thanks (y) i wonder if the clio grp a parts are still available ? i imagine they are/were serious ££

That's exactly what i thought if the arb is left untouched the torsion bars can go in any position. you can usually adjust the rideheight in as little as 5-10mm increments in my experience with careful measuring.
 
After researching kangoos recently found out the rear beam is torsion bar and from a quick sniff round 26mm is available and not expensive new. If they will go (& chances are prob will) this might be the ultimate upgrade off the shelf ?! Measuring required
 
After researching kangoos recently found out the rear beam is torsion bar and from a quick sniff round 26mm is available and not expensive new. If they will go (& chances are prob will) this might be the ultimate upgrade off the shelf ?! Measuring required
I have a hammer.

What else do you need ?
 
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