Sachs appeal
Refitting the Trophy with its original Sachs remote reservoir dampers was on the top of my to-do list as soon as I’d taken delivery of it.
The previous owner used the car as a daily driver and had fitted it with Cup suspension, finding these more forgiving on our unkempt roads. Thankfully, he held onto the original dampers, though they were in a sorry state. Having succumbed to heavy corrosion by the time they were removed, he sent them to Sachs specialist BG Motorsport for a full refurb before selling the car to me.
The race-bred Sachs are serious bits of kit. The auxiliary oil and gas reservoir is attached to the side of the strut, allowing more room inside for the thicker, stiffer damper rod to travel.
They cost 10 times more than the Cup items and transformed the ride and handling of the Clio 182. Keen to get them back on the car, I paid a visit to Diamond Motors in Nottingham, where Mick had them fitted quicker than I could say ‘do you do a discount?’. The drive home was a revelation.
Given that the car was now lower and stiffer, I assumed it would be caught out by potholes and sharp edges, but the dampers are so sophisticated they shrugged off bumps or imperfection with ease.
The steering is scalpel-sharp and the front-end bite is simply off the charts. It rolls significantly less now, imbuing the Trophy with a taut, agile character through quick direction changes.
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