The Suspension Discussion Thread

[dukest 0]

have merged this What Suspension thread into the main Suspension Discussion thread but also left an expiring redirect in the drivetrain thread since that is possible with the new forum software. hope no-one is too confused :)

[wy906 0]

What about Bilstein B4 OE Shocks if you’re looking for standard ride height? £70 each for the front and £43 each for the rear. Must be a lot cheaper than VW ones?

 

If I was to renew my car’s suspensions, I would be tempted to go with the B4s plus standard springs. Pat_McCrotch mentioned that standard springs are obsolete so what other options are there if I would like to replace the old springs but with intention to keep the standard ride height?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I'm going to switch from Michellin Pilots to Uniroyal rainsports over the next few months which I hope will give it even more comfort (the michellins are very hard).

 

I can heartily recommend the Conti Premium Contact 2 if you're on 15s still. A superb tyre for the money. Grippy, comfortable and very quiet and not as soggy as the rainsports when pushing on in the dry.

 

Oh Kev, controversial! It is all so subjective of course, but surely you must agree standard is more than good enough unless you are actually racing or 'competing' against a fellow road user? Or have double the power output in which case yes, upgrading is sensible

 

 

That said, I've got Koni T/a's, does that eliminate me from proper standard suspension chat?

 

He knows I'm only jerking his chain :D We constantly have conversations about which direction he wants to take his car in. He's very pro OE but I really cannot recommend the standard set up to him because I know he will ultimately be dissapointed with it.

 

It's not about racing or driving the car at 10/10ths at every given oppurtunity though. I found the standard setup is both too hard over bumps & broken tarmac and too soft on B roads, and not just at a spirited speeds. It doesn't do any one thing particularly well imo. The only thing on it's side is ample suspension travel and less chance of bottoming out the front spoiler :lol:

 

As Conker did, I also gave the standard suspension a chance and did exactly what he did, but it was such a minor improvement after a big outlay and the standard suspension's basic flaws were still there!! I blame the Boge dampers personally. I didn't want to pay for VW dampers at the time as it was cheaper to buy uprated ones. Which I did the 2nd time round. Konis and H&Rs. Still too hard and crashy over bumps, but waaaaaaaaay better over B roads and it really came alive the faster you went.

 

You're right, it is of course subjective ;) It's often a long journey finding the right suspension with many an excursion down the dark side of the force, but we get there eventually.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

What about Bilstein B4 OE Shocks if you’re looking for standard ride height? £70 each for the front and £43 each for the rear. Must be a lot cheaper than VW ones?

 

If I was to renew my car’s suspensions, I would be tempted to go with the B4s plus standard springs. Pat_McCrotch mentioned that standard springs are obsolete so what other options are there if I would like to replace the old springs but with intention to keep the standard ride height?

 

The OE dampers are SACHS and pretty expensive. Are those B4 fronts inserts or full struts? Inserts add additional labour costs, especially if things are siezed.

 

As for the springs, I suspect you'll need to look at the Golf parts bin. Early VR6s were soggy as hell, but I'm sure the very late run out VRs got a stiffer setup? I could be wrong. Alternatively, the MK3 16V was quite a sporty little number and might have spring rates similar to the VR6 Corrado?

[wy906 0]

Thanks Kev!

 

TBH I’m just going to leave everything as it is for now (until whatever breaks). I have spent over £2.5k on the car in 11-month ownership, excluding insurance, tax, fuel and parking permit, and that’s just way too much!

 

Driven just over 7,300 miles in 11 month and I don’t even use it as a ‘daily’. Loved (almost) every mile though; glad I ticked the ‘Corrado’ box.

 

Ps, not sure the B4 fronts are inserts or full struts; found them on motorsportworld.co.uk

[Kevin Bacon 5]

No worries and I'm glad you're still enjoying the Corrado :D

 

It does look like it's a full strut, which is great for the price. Here's Bilstein's full inventory for the VR6. They do springs too. http://web1.carparts-cat.com/default.aspx?32=1755&34=0,11&14=4&10=2121242441313550018004&12=110

 

Julian at balancemotorsport.co.uk was the guy who transformed my car with his suspension advice. He's a top bloke of the highest order and really knows his suspension!

 

Here's a glowing endorsement of the B4s from his site...

 

We fitted a pair of these dampers for charity to a 1987 Fiat Panda 4x4 which successfully completed a 8000 mile trip over the roughest terrain from UK to Mongolia. Many other parts of the car which had been recently replaced failed on the event, except the front dampers! We think they are the best original equipment specification dampers for the money you can buy.

[wy906 0]

Cheers Kev, looks like B4 would be good options when mine breaks.

 

The C really is a great all-rounder and mine shall remain that way! :-)

[16vStyle 0]

It time to get an uprated ARB and was just wondering what the general consenus on here was as to 'which is best'..

 

I've always had good experience with Eibach and am swaying in that direction but I just wanted to get some feedback on the H&R and Neuspeed ARBs.

 

Is there a vast differnce between the 22mm and 25mm bars from H&R?

 

They're all probably much of a muchness but does anyone have any experience with the different bars and how it affects the handling characteristics of the C?

 

Its for a 4cyl setup..

 

Many thanks

 

Simon

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The only ARB that differs from the norm is the Neuspeed one.

 

I would normally recommend it over the Eibach (I've used both) but not any more. Neuspeed have just pushed the price up a huge amount, so they no longer get my endorsement, the greedy feckers. And they've also obsoleted the 25mm bar, so 28mm is your only option.

 

22mm for a rear bar is a touch small imo. You should aim for 25mm really, or 28mm if you like a lively rear end :D

 

The Neuspeed has a beautiful multilink setup, but it does need regular maintenance (unsealed spherical bearings x 4) but the Eibach and H&R are good also with their single mounting points.

[16vStyle 0]

Great thanks,

 

I think I need to decide on the thickness of the bars..

 

Eibach F:22mm R:25mm

H&R F:22mm R:25mm

H&R F:25mm R:28mm

 

Have you any experience with the thicker H&R (25mm) front bar?

 

at the moment I'm thinking the eibach setup might be best..?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Eibach F:22mm R:25mm

H&R F:22mm R:25mm

 

I'd get which ever is cheaper of those two options personally. There really is nothing to seperate H&R and Eibach quality and performance wise. They're the right size bars for a forgiving fast road car imo.

 

H&R F:25mm R:28mm

 

Yeah I ran these sizes with Neuspeed bars and body roll was non-existent (not that it exists with the 22/25 combo) but very understeery in the wet. I quickly removed them and went back to the smaller bars. This is on a VR6 though. I can't guarantee the same would happen on a 4 cyl platform, but the same principals apply.

[16vStyle 0]

great thanks for your help Kev,

 

Just need to find a good deal on them now!

 

Simon

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

 

 

He knows I'm only jerking his chain :D We constantly have conversations about which direction he wants to take his car in. He's very pro OE but I really cannot recommend the standard set up to him because I know he will ultimately be dissapointed with it.

 

Haha :D Considering what i've been lumbered with by the previous owner I think in the short term it will do me fine :) It's all about experimenting anyway and safe to say no ones tried a 28mil rear roll bar with standard suspension, so will be a nice experiment. Unless I end up in a tree outside Ipswich Audi like dinkus though :D

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Haha :D Considering what i've been lumbered with by the previous owner I think in the short term it will do me fine :) It's all about experimenting anyway and safe to say no ones tried a 28mil rear roll bar with standard suspension, so will be a nice experiment. Unless I end up in a tree outside Ipswich Audi like dinkus though :D

 

:lol: That was mostly down to his Marangoni tyres I think!

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KW-Suspension-Variant-1-Coilover-Kit-VW-Corrado-G60%2fVR6_W0QQitemZ200564044749QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=218049098721&rvr_id=218049098721&cguid=bbf09c9f12c0a0e2021200a2ffd01f6f

 

is this the cheepest you can find? may be buying these in the next week or two....

 

Edit: Got to be the inox ones BTW :thumbleft:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I'd rather fit a Bilstein B12 kit than V1s.

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

I'd rather fit a Bilstein B12 kit than V1s.

I've driven bother and prefer the V1's thanks all the same kev, do those Bilstein B12's come galvanized as well? the KW's should last a little longer as well if they are... or do they have their own special coating?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Really? The B12s are sublime.... the V1s I tried were crashy and bloody horrible.

 

No the Billies are normal struts, so are painted.

 

Inox just means stainless steel, as opposed to the cheaper and more inferior zinc plated mild steel. The plating just gets stripped off by the adjusters, especially if made of metal. No such problems with stainless. As you've seen further back in the thread, the 'inox' comes up like new every time, no matter how caked in schitt they are. Very impressive.

[Pat_McCrotch 0]

Standard suspension back on and 28mil neuspeed rear bar fitted and it's actually pretty bloody good :) Benefits of a decent ride and handling combined with flat cornering and a progressive rear end. The only downside I can for-see is that it will be a little twitchy when it's wet and the tank is near empty. But even Kev seemed to give it a nod of approval when he drove it :razz:

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

Really? The B12s are sublime.... the V1s I tried were crashy and bloody horrible.

 

No the Billies are normal struts, so are painted.

 

Inox just means stainless steel, as opposed to the cheaper and more inferior zinc plated mild steel. The plating just gets stripped off by the adjusters, especially if made of metal. No such problems with stainless. As you've seen further back in the thread, the 'inox' comes up like new every time, no matter how caked in schitt they are. Very impressive.

Gotcha... that makes sense, stainless isn't likely to rust lol!.

I'd rather have a "fit and forget" set of coilovers, and the ride is fine by my standards. I may not have noticed the crashyness on mine but i'll not be using her as a daily. But it does need to sit on my drive lookin good for long periods of time :D

 

incidentally... is that the cheapest ill get those KW's for?

Edited March 16, 2011 by Alex_G60_Fanatic

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep, it's a nice setup indeed. As I say, the low speed bump is way to soft for my tastes but the high speed bump and rebound were well judged by those VW lot. I reckon some better dampers with the standard springs would give even better results. Shame about the ride height but such a lofty elevation has it's advantages.

 

---------- Post added at 09:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 AM ----------

 

Gotcha... that makes sense, stainless isn't likely to rust lol!.

I'd rather have a "fit and forget" set of coilovers, and the ride is fine by my standards. I may not have noticed the crashyness on mine but i'll not be using her as a daily. But it does need to sit on my drive lookin good for long periods of time :D

 

It's really good quality stainless too :D

The KWs aren't quite fit and forget because grit can jam the adjusters, but they don't sieze half as easily as other coilovers I've used.

[Alex_G60_Fanatic 0]

It's really good quality stainless too :D

The KWs aren't quite fit and forget because grit can jam the adjusters, but they don't sieze half as easily as other coilovers I've used.

 

That's the ticket! thanks Kev :)

[wy906 0]

Drove the car yesterday, the first time since having new VW rear shocks fitted. Does she ride so nicely!

 

Pat_McCrotch’s car must be pretty amazing with all the new VW kits.

 

Kev, I really need to pay you a visit when I’m back in Essex. (I know I’ve said it a million times before!)

[Bigbadger 0]

So what would be considered a "comfortable" suspension set up? The Bilstein sportline kit fitted about 5 years ago that lowered my car by about 40mm. Although the look was much improved on 15inch standard wheels, I have always found the ride uncomfortably hard on the pot holed roads which seem to be the normal these days. My local garage reckons I need new rear shocks, but everywhere I look on the net seems to sell kits that lower by 40mm again.

 

So, is the best bet going back to VW shocks and if so, what change do I get from £500?

 

Thanks,

 

Graham

[jamie_300 0]

Hi there guys, just a quick question, is there such thing as VR6 suspension, etc do all corrado coilovers fit each other?