Trackday coilovers

[AaronGS]

Did you get B14s or B16s? That is very cheap for B16s, even old stock.

[PT82]

B16's. I tried to get the other set for same price and they werent having any of it, god knows how he got them thats cheap. They want 1k for the other set

[Paul86S2]

B16's. I tried to get the other set for same price and they werent having any of it, god knows how he got them thats cheap. They want 1k for the other set

Definately b16's, they arrived within 2 days and are now fitted. Total price for supply and delivery was £813.98.

They said they were from a dealers bankrupt stock from the Bilstein Rep so they got them cheap. This seems to be verified by the original shipping address on the box. I offered them £800 on ebay and they said it would need to be £864 to cover their sellers costs on ebay so I contacted them direct and did the deal for £800 plus p&p. They had 2 sets on ebay but only one of them may have been cheap stock.

Anyway all fitted, the coilovers look very good quality but are slightly thicker than the ones I had on. They are very close to the 195 tyres and i also run 205 tyres so I need to fit some spacers and then get the alignment done.
Initial with both on second from softest setting looks encouraging, its the first time the car has been comfortable on the road. A quick drive last night with both on the hardest setting nearly loosened my teeth. So somewhere in between will be a good track setting.

Paul

[AaronGS]

Thats a brilliant deal. Did you notice much low speed difference (under 20mph) after adjusting them?

[Paul86S2]

Thats a brilliant deal. Did you notice much low speed difference (under 20mph) after adjusting them?

Not really played with them to that extent to be honest. Ride height needs adjusting and alignment needs sorting. Just a quick drive up the ring road to see if they work.
Will get it all sorted and have a good play with the settings.
Got a trackday booked at Pembrey at the end of next month so it needs to be sorted to give them a good try out then.

Paul

[AaronGS]

Cool. Hope they are good. I have a set of B14s on the way - couldn't justify the extra cost of b16s plus i'm not gonna do a huge amount of trackdays. Hope Bilstein get the damping right!

[Paul86S2]

Spent the day finishing off the suspension today.

Lowered the rear down to an acceptable level, and then had to remove one and refit to stop it squeeking. Had to refit the Flo flex top mounts because they are made wrong. The hole through the centre above the bearing was / is too small and the nut grips the top mount. Had to drill out the hole with a hole saw and then refit. Luckily I didn't have to remove the whole strut. Fitted some new threaded bushes above the bearing because the nuts just didn't look right.

Found at that the garage that fitted my previous coilovers had fitted them wrong. They had put a nut below the bearing and the bearings were sitting on the nuts and not the spring caps and weren't working properly and were now broken. Useless tossers.

Just need the alignment set now.

Quick drive this evening and all is good, ride is very comfortable on the low settings and steering feel is good. Should be spot on when I get the alignment done next week.

Cant wait for Pembrey trackday next month - should have been doing an airfield day tomorrow but there was too much else going on this week.

Paul

[12.8litres]

An interesting thread this. I've just bought another GTi, my third one, for very occasional trackday/Ring trip stuff and fun road use. I've just started selling my old M3 track/sprint/drift car and can happily confirm that there is a significant difference in modification costs between the Golfs and M3's. It's one thing for road use but for track use, the costs quickly spiral. Still; it did me proud for three years

I share a similar line of thought to Paul; it seems strange to spend so much on one component of a car compared to the purchase cost. As one of the chaps mentioned, is new OE shocks and springs an option? How do mk3 OE shocks and springs differ from mk2 ones?

[Paul86S2]

Mk2 shocks and springs should be interchangeable, at some stage the "pig tails" spring tops changed size but they all should fit.

My thoughts on the cost of the parts was because I wasn't sure whether I was into the Golf for the long term. The purchase cost of the car is I suppose irrelevant especially considering how much fun it has given me.  I bought the Golf because it was a cheaper way to carry on with trackdays. It has almost become an obsession and I'm glad the parts are cheaper on the Golf than the M3 I was considering buying.

Paul

[Paul86S2]

Ok never made it to Pembrey because we got stuck in Tenerife with the volcanic ash cloud - its a hard life!

Went to Hullavington today. The differance in the suspension is like the differance in night and day. After a few sessions we settled on the fronts set on 4 and the rears set on 3 (1 is hardest, 9 softest). The airfield surface is smooth in places and rough in others. A few surface changes from concrete to tarmac and some loose material around some minor surface irregularities, quite a few camber changes so a rock hard setting would be no good.

The car now feels balanced from front to rear, the rear is now predictable whereas before it would let go without much notice when it went beyond the limits. The car now feels like it drives smoothly around the tight hairpin corners where before it felt like it was hopping around the corner and hanging on for its life. The grip is a lot better and you don't feel like your running out of track in the tight places and feel like you can nail it and the grip is available.

Previously it had TA Technix coilovers which I thought were ok on the track but pretty awful on the road. Now I know why the Bilsteins are expensive, they are definately worth every penny. On a good surface track like Combe etc we will be able to stiffen up the suspension some more.

Roll on Combe next month .

Paul