Sorting out Handling

[ZippyVR6 0]

Right after two years of saying I want to keep the car standard, I got outdone on the twisties yesterday by a Ford Puma on a road I know and love.

 

It seems I need to spend some cash on making the car handle like it should. Herin lies the problem. I know nothing about what I need to do.

 

Sounds like a refurbishment of sorts is needed, and I have a sympathetic mechanic who isnt too expensive but where do I start. If coilovers are the way to go then, do I need bushes too? and what else would sharpen up the wobblies?

 

Oh yeah, I can only really afford about a grand,

 

thanks for any ideas,

[Andy T 0]

Driving Course? how bad is your suspension?

[ZippyVR6 0]

Cheeky buggah, :D

 

It is a little on the saggy side. and it seems to wallow on twisty sections more than it should. but I always put this down to the huge engine , the car I was chasing seemed to change direction much more positivly than mine.

[JMC 0]

Set of KW Variant 1's would be a good start Rog. You should be able to get those for under £600. I got mine done by Darren and it transformed the car (had Gmax -40mm shocks and springs previously, and the Variant 1's are streets ahead in terms of quality). Lower it 40mm(ish) as a start and enjoy the improvement. If you're still struggling after that then you may want to go own the uprated ARB route, but that can be done easily later if needed.

[Jim Bowen 1]

how many miles has it done, could just be wear on all the other components, not just shocks and springs

[Dub_nut_g60 0]

When my old coilies were dying/dead it didnt handle too well, not very positive and a fair bit of body roll. Once they were changed it felt like a different car.

 

Had the same thing on my old mk2 and even new standard shocks sharpened up the handling on that. so can deffinatelty recommend getting the suspension changed!

 

Havent got them myself but maybe strut braces and ARB would also help

[Neil VR6 0]

Having owned both a Corrado and a Puma I can say that on a tight twisty road the Puma takes some beating! A recent trip to the Highlands in the Puma had me grining from ear to ear and that was with worn suspension bushes (typical Ford quality after only 45K miles). My Corrado had it's suspension completely rebuilt with new balljoints, wishbones and bushes with some FK Highsports and I think the Puma would still have the edge on it. However, the Highsports I found a bit bouncy but I've only heard good things about FK Konigsports and anything from the KW stable. Don't forget to budget in for a laser alignment session to make sure all your hard earned isn't wasted by your wheels pointing in the wrong direction! However, the Corrado weighs a lot more than what is essentially a Fiesta so it's not going to change direction as quickly no matter how much money you throw at it. I found with my 200SX too that with suspension, you really do get what you pay for and it's worth doing properly first time round and make sure you've got some decent tyes. I've had budget tyres which were mis-shapen from new which ruined the Puma for a while until the problem was diagnosed.

[herisites 0]

Change all suspension bushes regardless of how they look as rubber gives with age, change ball joints as discovered by Kev they make a world of difference especially over bumpy roads (im getting mine done soon :D), coilovers (the more you spend the better they will obviously be) and top mounts (again rubber!) and maybe a Neuspeed rear ARB and it will handle like its on rails :wink:

[Dr_Redz 0]

Neil G60,

 

Don't now about that I've never had puma push me round the twistys definitely not :roll: and my best mate has one of those pump up steroid racing puma's very nice car though! My mates RS focus felt blinding to drive to really felt planted when we put the Corrado and RS back to back there was nothing init.. although I have got a ATB diff.

 

Andy

[Neil VR6 0]

I'm just going on my experience of having driven both for thousands of miles. The Racing Puma's are very stiff and probably less suited to British roads than the 1.7- Small car, 205 tyres, 17 inch wheels, stiff Bilstein suspension - Not great in the bumpy and under-invested-in roads of this country. The Puma is a lot easier to hustle and place on the road and the controls are very light- I found the Corrado generally more "German" is that it was more mechanical feeling and heavier. Not necessarily in a bad way but it felt like a lot more car and with the G60 you could always feel the front wheel fighting. That's a lot to contend with for any suspension. The standard Puma may have a shedload of ugly space in the wheelarches but you appreciate that suspension travel and the compliancy it brings when you hit a pothole at 60mph.

[Dr_Redz 0]

Neil G60,

 

Your probably right, but I think it has alot to do with personal preference IMO.

Just letting you know my experience.. Hahh ahaa I love my raddo

[Neil VR6 0]

Absolutely- I loved and still do love my old Rado. My gf hated it which made me love it even more! It's just not viable with a 50 mile/day commute :(

[Andy T 0]

:) If you are still wanting to keep it standard, fitting coilovers is a bit of a leap. New standard shocks, springs & bushes will make a massive improvement, no need to uprate unless you want to lower to improve looks. Or you could go halfway house with Bilstein sport shocks and some 30/40mm H&R or Eibach springs, that way you'll maintain most of the ride quality, any coilover'd VW i've been in has been too hard for most of our twisty roads.

[davidwort 0]

... any coilover'd VW i've been in has been too hard for most of our twisty roads.

 

I know it's personal preference to some extent, but I've been in a C with Koni coilovers set to soft and the ride was pretty good, even lowered right down.

[ZippyVR6 0]

:) If you are still wanting to keep it standard, fitting coilovers is a bit of a leap. New standard shocks, springs & bushes will make a massive improvement,

 

thats an interesting point and not one Id thought about.

 

any ideas what the costing for something like that would be?

[Niges16V 0]

I've changed all my bushes and use FK konigs but on a conservative drop and find it a world away from how it was a year ago with the original kit on. The most surprising change was the rear axle bushes which really did make a difference, only £40 or so to buy but alot more to fit!!

 

Zippy, if you are going to the south coast meet again next month then you are welcome to take mine for a trundle down the road. I now have the TT seats bolted down properly and the stereo as it should be!

[ZippyVR6 0]

Cheers Nige, But Im not going to be able to get to that one, Im out of the country that weekend.

 

so to recap. it seems that replacement springs and shocks & bushes are what is required to do the job properly. anything else?

[DEL VR6 0]

Hi mate. Long time!!

 

I recently had Vince fit a set of Eibach ARB's and changed the springs to H&R's

 

After that was done, the car feels just right. Ironically its off the road at the moment cos it wont change gear unless its warm. Still Not Sorted!!

 

You're more than welcome to take my VR for a spin if you wanna see what that feels like once the car is up and running again.

[Yandards 0]

Rog, I would try to get some drives in a few cars with different set-ups.

 

Now obviously things like bigger rims will also make a car feel different but I went through a set of collies (FK-Kongisports) that were supposted to be good but not too harsh and a set of 16v/G60 springs before I ended up where I am now.

 

Have a chat to some of the guys at No-rice next meet and see if some of them will let you go for a spin so you can get a feel for different set-ups.

 

As for what to change, at 10+ years and a good few miles, especially on a sports chassis, your handling will be vastly improved by changing all the rubber bits connected with suspension/steering. Don't just do a few of them or you will just get accelerated wear on the new bits.

 

I would go for complete new wishbones as these are not much money and save you hassle of finding someone to replace the bushes on the old ones.

 

Look to change the following:

2 x wishbones

2 x tie rod ends

Front ARB bushes

Rear beam bushes

Bottom ball joints

ARB link rubber bits (Technial term ;))

Top mounts front and rear

 

I would also budget for a bit of extra work when removing the rear beam, the bolts don't come out the VR's because of the brake compensator, getting that off is a PITA due to allen head bolts (New ones from VAG are now hex head)

 

Good time to do some goodridge brake hoses as the rear beam off will mean you need to disconnect the brakes.

 

Dampers are not too expensive from VW but springs are a complete rip-off, as a package I can say that Koni TA's and H&R springs represent good value for money and don't make too many compromises on ride quality whilst giving a good increase in handling.

 

As for getting all that in on budget and using genuine bits (don't go GSF you will regret it) it will be tight but you have PM about an option.

[ZippyVR6 0]

Nice one Yan. Many thanks. Thats exactly the sort of info I was looking for.

[Andy T 0]

Cheers Nige, But Im not going to be able to get to that one, Im out of the country that weekend.

 

so to recap. it seems that replacement springs and shocks & bushes are what is required to do the job properly. anything else?

 

I'd concentrate on front end wishbones/balljoints/bushes, and just do the springs & shocks at the rear at first, including any other worn bits in the spring/shock assembly, then see how it feels, doing the rear axle bushes is an expensive job and might not be needed yet especially as your c has not been lowered before. I've not had a problem with rear axle bushes yet on my last two corrado's, they usually start to wear when lowering springs have been fitted without first slackening off the rear axle bolts and re-torqueing with the wheels on the ground. If this isn't done the bushes are under alot of stress.

[iow_corrado_g60 0]

hi zip you could get the h&r dampners and koni springs or the other way round only lower it a little also do the bushes etc its still gonna look factory as supsension doesnt really stick out. as who looks also the other thing when/if you come to sell i know i'd rather have some 2year old koni/hr suspension on the car that 11 year old factory.