mbaker8v

Guys, Had a flick through the search but could not find the answer to this. I have a "new" second hand mirror to fit to my car after some git broke mine at Xmas. The new mirror I have has two big screws that are rattling around inside the housing which I assume go through the mirror base and into captive nuts inside the door cavity? Is that right? If so, how do I get the the top ofthe screws to screw them in? Do the mirrors twist around the base where they fit onto the door, as these ones seem really tight and I dont want to break it!! Cheers, Mark

Check you have a really good clean earth on your sub amp and your head unit earth too... a big proportion of feedback problems are due ot dodgy earths.

Guys, I have a problem wit hthe passenger side headlight on my car. Basically the earth wire has corroded through inside the connector that plugs onto the headlight, i.e. the connector thats wired onto the loom, not the one on the back of the headlight itself. You dont seem to be able to open up the connectors, does anyone know if they can be reapired or where / how much for new connectors?? Cheers, Mark

175k in my 8 valver.... I bought it with 48k on it, so |I have covered 127k miles in this car in 10 years of ownership.... plus the car is on its original engine and gearbox, and as far as i know is still on its original engine mounts, clutch and front wheel bearings... Mark

I had one of those solar chargers from Maplins, dont waste your money!!! lol.. the one i had was worswe than useless...

Good to see an easy and cheap fix... Just one comment, if your going to leave your car for weeks at a time without using it you need to either a) disconnect the battery so it doesnt go flat, or b) get a trickle charger and leave it plugged into the battery to keep it charged. If you leave it to go flat and then recharge it, it will not be long before the new battery is kanckered too. Mark

If the battery voltage is low, the immobiliser wont work, my old landrover did the same when the battery died...

How many times have you flattened your battery? If your radio goes off when you turn the lights on theres a fair chance your battery is knackered, car batteries are not good at being flattened, then charged... Charge your battery, put it in the car and put a multi meter over the terminals, you should get around 12-12.5 volts. now turn on the lights and check again. If theres an appreciable drop in voltage you need a new battery.

OK, firstly my dampers were not leaking.... And I have never claimed they felt like new, as usual because i dont agree with you I am obviously wrong. As I stated, the coilovers have ALWAYS been way too hard for road use, as have all other coilover equipped vehicles I have driven or ridden in. But as I have said also, thats my personal opinion, and one I passed on as purpley-corrado-dude was looking for a good ride from his suspension. I would recommend anyone considering buying coilovers to get a ride in the same model car, fitted wit hthe coilover kit you areconsidering buying. Its no use riding in a car on KW coilovers if your thinking of getting Konis, and its no use riding in a VR with Konis if you have a G60 that you want Konis on, they are different due to the aded weight of the VR engine in the nose. How is that for narrow minded??

No... I am comparing a £300 Sachs kit against how the coilovers have always felt. They were way too hard and crashy since they were fitted. And the same goes for every other car I have been in that has coilovers fitted.

Try the front shocks as soft as they will go... Generally for front wheel drive you want the front softer than the back for a starting place. If it still feels too hard and crashy, that set up is not for you. Then you can wind up the shocks half a turn at a time and see if you notice any difference. Mark

I have just been through replacingt my coilovers as they were knackered.... My advice would be if you want ride comfort, do not go for coilovers. My FK Konigsports were way too hard for normal roads and actually compromised the handling on a normal road as they didnt ride over the bumps.... I now have a Sachs lowered kit fitted which is non adjustable and its a revelation. The car now site about 30mm higher than I had it set on the coilovers, but still probably 50mm lower than standard, and it rides brillaintly. Does not crash through pot holes, rides over speed humps properly... brillaint ) It cost me £300 plus vat for hte kit from www.ricci-concept.com Mark

Just saw your in essex... depending where you are, ELITE tyres did a very very good job of aligning my car last time i bought tyres from htem and not too expensive. They are in Rainham.... www.elitedirect.com Mark

You dont need to go to stealth to get a proper 4 wheel alignment, any good accident repair body ship should be able to do it... The thing with the quick fit type garages is that they dont check that the central line of the front wheels lines up wit hthe thrust line from the rears.... Go get it checked properly... I would be surprised if it didnt fix all the problems your describing.

Nice looking 8v... Rare to see one with a sunrrof though.. ) What engine code is it? Mine has the 2E engine, yours looks different though a mine has an ISV between the rocker cover and inlet manifold i.e. immediately above the VW logo on the rocker cover..... I also had mine rechipped at AMD, made a massive difference to the pull of the engine and also improved the fuel economy... on a fast A road cruise I can average 42 mPG over 60 miles now... )

I would not get coilovers myself ever again after replacing FK Konigsports with a Sachs fixed kit. Your car should not be that unbalanced front to rear though. Who fitted the kit? Did they 4 wheel align the kit? You could spend £800 on a coilover kit but if they are not fitted correctly with new top mounts, bearings etc and the geometry set up correctly it will still handle like a box of bolts. Before you spend any more, check the mounts and bearings and get the geometry set.

Who fitted the coilovers? Did you have the suspension aligned when it was fitted and you had the ride height set where you wanted it. That sounds exactly like my car did between having the coilovers fitted and the alignment done. Mark

I may be completely wrong but I would not have thought the settling of the coilovers would make enough suspension geometry difference to make the car handle like a bag of poo in the wet and to give enough toe out to destroy your tyres. How many miles was it since you last checked the tyres..??? I am just wonmdering if the improvements you have felt are down to the different wheels and tyres rather than the change to the coilovers? Are the new wheels the same size? Tyres the same size? What tyres were you running before? Mark

Quick update guys..... Have had my knackered FK's replaced with a Sachs sports kit with fixed rate dampers and lowered springs. The difference is amazing!! The car is about the same height as before but soo much more supple!! It no longer feels like your going to hit your head on the ceiling any more, and no reason to plan my routes around town to avoid cack patches of road or speed bumps... Wish i had put this in instead of the coilovers!!! Handling seems to be just as good as the coilovers, and seems to have a bit more feel now the shocks are absorbing some bumps and doing what they are meant to, but thats just initial impression after 15 miles. Sachs gets my thumbs up.. )

If it was fully aligned you should have taken it back on the old tyres to get them to sort the problem as it obviously ws not right.....

Its not just wheel re-alignment, you need a full 4 wheel suspension alignment carried out, but before you do you need to be sure your happy with your ride height as if you do change it again you will have to have the alignemnt checked again. Any good accident repair show should have a 4 wheel jig, as well as any good quality performance garage.. Dont go to kwik fit or similar. If the handling is that bad and your tyres are scrubbed out too, I would say your geometry was miles out. Mark

Are you sure its bouncy and not just over hard? When i first had my FK's fitted the rears were set on their hardest setting which made the back of the car bounce like hell....... Have you tried bouncing the back of the car with your hand? My FK's are so hard that even on the softest setting you cant really move the back of it by hand. As for the handling, have you had a full suspension geometry set up done since the coilovers were fitted. The car should handle much better than a focus, but if the geometry has not been set it will handle like a bag of bolts. And you need a full set up, not just tracking.... Any good quality car repair place should have a full jig, will probably cost you between £50 and 80... But it is vital if you have new suspension. Mark

Thats garbage Neil who ever told you that doesnt know what they are talking about.. My FK's were around 5 years old and the replacements from venom fit perfectly..... Mark

Neil, you can buy new adjusters / spring seats from venom..... They are not especially expensive and fit perfectly... Seems to be quite common on FK coilovers. Mark

Hi Steve, Mine are the Konigsports on a 2 litre 8v, which will fit anything apart from the VR6. They have been on the car for about 5 years now, and I have never adjusted them after I initially set the height and had the suspension geometry set up, but as far as I know they are not seized up.... I had new spring seat rings put on one of the front struts a few months ago as one of the rings had split and the garage seemed to fit the new ones easily enough... There does not seem to be anything wrong wit hthe rear shocks at all, no noise from there at all.