Do different offsets effect the handling?

[Cnut 0]

As above, if the wheels sat further in or out would this have an adverse effect on the handling?

[Riley 0]

in a word,yep.

edit:can go too far each way,but there is a point upto which the handling can be improved in certain areas,also depending on other factors.

 

eg:increasing the track by a fair amount can give you a stable car on fast sweeping corners,but yet tight bends may become understeery.

 

neil. :D

[Cnut 0]

I see, so would the track increase effect the accelaration or top speed at all?

[dr_mat 0]

handling != top speed

 

unrelated subjects.

[Riley 0]

I see, so would the track increase effect the accelaration or top speed at all?

 

nope :)

 

the rolling diameter of a wheel/tyre comination will.

 

what is it your trying/doing/thinking about m8? :)

[double-6s 0]

in a word,yep.

edit:can go too far each way,but there is a point upto which the handling can be improved in certain areas,also depending on other factors.

 

eg:increasing the track by a fair amount can give you a stable car on fast sweeping corners,but yet tight bends may become understeery.

 

neil. :D

 

absolutely. my front track has increased significantly and i definately notice more understeer in slower tighter corners. but it absolutely rocks on sweeping bends at way above the legal limit.

[Riley 0]

8)

 

my dads 944 used to be fun round roundabouts,with 50mm! :shock: spacers all round :lol: !

[Cnut 0]

I see, so would the track increase effect the accelaration or top speed at all?

 

nope :)

 

the rolling diameter of a wheel/tyre comination will.

 

what is it your trying/doing/thinking about m8? :)

 

I'm considering getting some 16" rims with an ET42 offset, I presume the VR6 has an offset of ET43?

 

I just don't want to mess up what I feel VW has perfected with the handling characteristics of the Corrado. Hence all the questions!

 

Unless there is an ideal offset/wheel/tyre size combination which is better than standard?!

[Cnut 0]

Also another thing which has been bothering me is how come the new Golf can get away with having 18" rims and yet still maintain a comfortable/usable ride and yet if you tried having the same rims on a Corrado it would be bone shakingly bad!

 

Sorry for all the questions!

[dr_mat 0]

The new Golf is a 1.5 tonne lardy git, and the suspension bushings are designed to work with the size and weight of an 18" wheel.

 

Plus, in fact using larger rolling radius gives you a better ride - the Golf with 18" wheels has a much higher profile tyre on it than a Corrado with the same size wheels. The Corrado would need, what?, 205/35/18 tyres? Insanely low profile...

[StuartFZR400 0]

205/30 would be closer Mat. It might as well be a solid rubber like the old Penny Farthings, lol

 

So is the VR offset 43 as standard?

 

Either way cnut, you're talking tiny little milliteres, so 5-/+ can't make much difference. Sheesh, just look how people run either 195 or 205 tyres, theres 5mm (inside & out) straight away.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The MK5 GTI is far from a 1.5 tonne lardy git, it's closer to 1300 kilos and it's an excellent handling car. It rides well on 18s because it's a brand new, torsionally stiff bodyshell with independant suspension all round.

 

Cnut, ET42 16s will be fine. Increasing track at the front improves handling quite nicely though. It won't increase understeer unless you go miles off standard ET or have very stiff suspension. Understeer can be completely killed with a rear ARB and more positive caster though.

[StuartFZR400 0]

Understeer can be completely killed with a rear ARB and more positive caster though.

Have you got this done? Is it worth doing?

 

- my wish list just gets bigger every week on herelol

[Cnut 0]

Thanks for the help guys, you learn something new everyday on this forum!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Understeer can be completely killed with a rear ARB and more positive caster though.

Have you got this done? Is it worth doing?

 

- my wish list just gets bigger every week on herelol

 

I suppose to answer this fully, a thread of it's own is required as suspension tweaking is such a huge topic and highly subjective :-)

 

But, as you asked, yeah I run more caster than standard and I run an Eibach rear ARB. I hate understeer, so have left the standard front bar on. My caster is +5 degrees, compared with just over 3 on a standard car. I wanted more but it would take a lot of work to achieve.

 

Caster is a meaty subject, so I'll try and keep it brief :-)

 

See the attached pics..... Standard is your normal rubber donut+bearing job which sits in the turret 'hat'. They do a nice job of smoothing out the primary ride but improvements can be made here.

 

MED_underside is a completely different top mount to standard and is solid alloy with an offset spherical bearing. MED_top shows you the view of it from above.

 

What you do is mount them inside the metal cap in the 'standard' pic and drill through and mount them with 3 bolts. The large selection of holes round the plate's circumference allows you to choose any caster/camber combination within the scope of the plate's adjustment range.

 

I simply wanted max caster, so I mounted the plate with the bearing as far back as it will go (15mm further back than standard) and used my H&R camber bolts to fine tune the camber.

 

Cornering is stupendously flat and uber grippy, the only thing that moves is the tyres. I need to change my rain tyres to something with a stiffer sidewall actually but I've hadn't had a chance to do that yet.

 

One thing you notice is how much lighter the steering is on a gentle turn, reason being the spherical bearings are vastly superior to the OE ones and take less effort to turn.

When you really load up the steering, it gets slightly heavier due to the extra caster trying to tip the wheels over, but the reward for that is much better self centering.

 

Braking is also much improved as the strut simply does not kick back (negative caster) like it does with the OE mounts.

 

My gear change has also improved too, which was an unexpected, but welcome side effect.

 

I really can't recommend them enough...... but only if you don't mind these two trade offs:-

 

1) Noise.

2) Frequent bearing replacement.

 

Being solid, they are very noisy, no damping at all, so primary ride will suffer. There is no vibration or physical clonking through the column, but you can hear it. Doesn't phase me. Secondary ride is the same as stock.

 

Spherical bearings don't last as long as roller bearings, so you'll be changing those out 2 or 3 times a year, depending on mileage. Only £10 a pair tho.