4 Motion Updates Required + Forum Help

2260 Views 27 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Filby1, Jan 6, 2011

Filby1

Discussion Starter · Jan 6, 2011

Had the old girl now for 4 years, the car itself a 2001 has only just coverd 72,000 miles, and runes great, However things are starting to wear out.

First to go where the Big lower Control are bushings which i replaced with the R32/LCR solid non void bushing.

Then came the ARB's just last year, it spat the bushes out all over the drive one morning when all the ARB retaining parts failed Including the droplink's being like noodels.

These where replaced with the H&R kit, which does work, and much recomended, if i take the drive at a funny angle, it being very steep the back wheels lift with the rigidity of the rear bar.

Now after 10 years 2 front snapped coil springs and 2 now dead Half there/Half not rear springs and 2 dead rear shocks its now time for a proper update.

So where to go? Very low not being an option and unwanted coilover care a No-no, i have come to the only rear option being a set of Eibach Pro springs sound ok so far right?

Next the shocks, do i go the fancy but largely untested FSD and spend a few Extra quids? or do i go the tried and tested Bilsteins with there beefy pistons but a more firm ride? given that both these set come in around the £500-£550 mark?

Or the other option which i had originaly made my mind up on was to go with VW OEM H&R R32 kit, i can get the kit new at £470 and then team with the Pro's?, at least then it would look OEM as the shocks are either silver/blue/black and would carry AW part numbers.

I must also add that for the time being at least or untill i can get some Fat-Five 17's im sticking with the standard 16" wheels with their 205/50 rubber, with the upgrade to the 17's i think then would be a 225/45 but i m be be wrong

Help would be great with this, im a little stuck, what i do know is anything would be better than what i have now, the kit was tired 5 years ago when i bought it let alone now its almost dead

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1 - 20 of 28 Posts

xs2man

· #2 · Jan 6, 2011

I put AP coilovers on my 4mo and the ride wasn't too bad at all. Was really good actually. Or Weitec make a good kit too.

Failing that, you could just go straight to the OEM R32 suspension? It is meant to be a reasonable set-up. As you say though, matching the H&R OEM with the Eibach springs would be good too.

Personally I would run the Weitec coils though. You don't need to make them that low, the ride will be not much worse than original, but a lot sharper, and will cost the same or less than other options you are mentioning.

jmc10y

· #3 · Jan 6, 2011

Or the other option which i had originaly made my mind up on was to go with VW OEM H&R R32 kit, i can get the kit new at £470 and then team with the Pro's?, at least then it would look OEM as the shocks are either silver/blue/black and would carry AW part numbers.

I am currently in the same boat mate, I am going for the R32 full set up with the ARBs and bushes, where can you/I pick up that kit for £470 mate?

I have still to price the parts from the dealers, and as far as I am aware its the only supplier.

Will be doing this at the end of Feb (away on buisness at the mo) so if you go for the OEM stuff can you give me feedback mate?

[Y]

Filby1

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 6, 2011

It aint gona be just yet im gona have to live with it untill May, but the OEM does sound a good setup,

And unless people want to go much lower i dont here of many people just swapping out OEM R32 for the FSD, but i do here of people opting to go with the Eibach Pro's on the OEM R32 struts

The ARB's from H&R are a good bit off kit and when first fitted where great, but as the suspension has fallen apart the system just aint running as it should

jmc10y

· #5 · Jan 6, 2011

Cheers mate, will let you know how I get on with mine, I have 30mm lowering springs at the moment, but with the snow we just had I made up my mind that my front end and sump are too low, got a mate sourcing parts/prices today so will keep you posted on how I get on.

Filby1

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 6, 2011

Im also gona give these Seat Leon Hard top mounts a try and get the ECS Dogbone in there as the standard's being on since new,

Later in the year im gona pop some spacers on the wheels to bring the standard wheels out to the same offset as the R32 Wheels ET 38 i think Via some 15mm Spacers in the rear and 10mm up front

rs32

· #7 · Jan 6, 2011

Currently looking at similar renewal/improvments - as per this post I'm hoping to combine Koni Sport yellow shocks with the OEM "Sport" springs to avoid anything more than a minor change in ride height.

Will also be going for the R32 ARBS [Y]

Filby1

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 6, 2011

Yeah, good option, The R is quite low anyway, and the yellows a tad more stiff than standard i would think, and is the original shocks are gone im sure that would be a good upgrade.

But why not the Bilsteins? or FSD? the Bilstiens have massive front Pistons, i loved them on my 106 GTI, and that put up a good ride Vs Comfort setting with the lower 30-35mm springs that came with the package running 45 profile tyres

bengie

· #9 · Jan 6, 2011

i'm confused about your concern about coil overs, what extra care? i've had coil overs on my octavia for years now and they have needed no extra care than standard suspension.

and as for weitech and AP coilovers? not a chance either of these would ever find their way onto a car of mine, even if they were free. they are cheap for a reason.

my octavia has KW coilovers, my brothers ibiza has H&R coilovers and they are both very good indeed.

i'm not saying coilovers are the only option, the eibachs are nice, the bilsteins are nice and i expect the standard R32 is nice but cheap coilovers are definitly not the way to go.

Filby1

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 6, 2011

No way, unless coily's are£750-1000+ there not init for the long term.

To be honest the shock/combo if the Eibac's + FSD/Bilstien are as good as it gets for standard setups and quite some cheeper than even KW V1, and there is the added worry of the threads becoming fooked, and im not really one for having the wheels off and looking after them yearly.

But sure i would like them

Filby1

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 6, 2011

Out of interest, whats in the Box if i was to buy KW V1? do all the kits have that fancy Anodised Spring seat? if so that could be an option anyway to keep the spring out of the water puddle it normally sits in that causes the rust.

Also, with you being able to adjust rear ride hight, what height does the spring start at in comparison to s standard spring?

Coilovers are new to me, if i was to buy i would need help from you guys and plenty of pics

bengie

· #12 · Jan 6, 2011

i have V2's that are ~8years old so can't help with whats in the box of a brand new set of V1's sorry but i think they do yeah, i don#t think there are cost options on KW coilovers, they are what they are.

http://www.kw-suspension.co.uk/ has all the info

bengie

· #13 · Jan 6, 2011

from memory the rear spring seats have around 40mm adjustment on them, but it has been a long time since i adjusted them.

rs32

· #14 · Jan 6, 2011

I spent about 45 minutes talking through the different suspension options with a reputable tuner that I know well.

They would quite happily sell me any kit but they warned against the KW V1 kit due to issues with faulty parts and warranty claims in recent months. I was surprised by this but they have had real issues with needing to honour the warranties with customers but KW not being interested in looking at returned products.

Additionally they said that unless you want to really lower the car 30mm+ it's just not worth going for coliovers or shocks/lowering springs as the trade off with looks vs ride quality vs compliance turns into a complicated game.

As far as I can tell the minimum drop using coilovers is between 30mm and 40mm.

So my feeling was that because I don't really want to lower the car any more than 10-20mm max, I would stick with the OEM springs and use a trusted shock like the Koni Yelllow (used on 3 previous cars).

I trust their advice and possibly my requirements are different to others but I don't see the need for coliovers on the 2.8 4Mo as it doesn't exactly set the world on fire when compared with R32 performance etc.

OEM+ is the way to go for me.

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bengie

· #15 · Jan 6, 2011

sorry but thats simply not right, my brother only recently fitted a set of H&R coilovers to his ibiza cupra TDi and if wanted they could have been set to about standard height but he chose for a drop of around 20mm and although they follow undulations in the road more than standard they are never crashy of bang around and if anything are actually more comfortable than the standard setup on his car. the only bad point is his coilovers cost something like £900.

rs32

· #16 · Jan 6, 2011

As I said, each to their own, I'd rather spend the difference between Koni's + OEM springs and £900 on renewing some of the more worn parts on the car but everyone has their own preferences.

I wasn't suggesting the ride quality would be poor, just that there's always a tradeoff and seting coilovers to a 20mm drop is never going to release the full handling potential - but I can see the logic in terms of quality of parts if you have the £££ to throw at it [Y]

bengie

· #17 · Jan 6, 2011

fair play, i took it like you were saying that coilovers = harsh [

]

but yeah the difference would pay for some bushes and things done at the same time.

Filby1

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jan 6, 2011

The KW V1 dont seam to have as tightly wound spring as the V2 am i wrong?

bengie

· #19 · Jan 6, 2011

its a completely different spring setup so you can't simply compare it like that sadly, the V1 has a single spring where the V2 has the main spring and a helper spring etc

Filby1

Discussion Starter · #20 · Jan 6, 2011

so the V1 is almost like a standard threaded shock body ?

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