GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk3 => Topic started by: seismic22 on 07 March 2009, 14:59
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Hi there,
Has anyone got any good advice on reducing body roll and improving handling on a mk3 gti with out making the ride rock solid?
Im on a massively tight budget but need to reduce the body roll, its pissing me off! Seems i have got plenty of grip just too much roll!
Thanks for any help!
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dropping it 40mm on some good lowering suspension would be your best bet if your a bit of an old fogey otherwise be a man and buy coilovers. oh and you get what you pay for quality wise :wink:
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Ha! cheers! I live in bristol and the roads are sh!te but travel back to devon where im from alot and the roads are even worse, i.e more potholes that fookin road. Cant decided whats best to do especially as im on such a tight budget. The dam thing just rolls wayyyyy too much.
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Ha! cheers! I live in bristol and the roads are sh!te but travel back to devon where im from alot and the roads are even worse, i.e more potholes that fookin road. Cant decided whats best to do especially as im on such a tight budget. The dam thing just rolls wayyyyy too much.
easy problem to solve.. A) drive slower round bends... B) buy a sports car.. :undecided:
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I would invest in thicker anti roll bars. I've 22mm H&R ones (thickest you can buy so i'm told) and fitted them before lowering and it really did help reduce body roll. Get one for the rear too as there isn't one on the rear as standard.
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Shepgti - ha ha good point but im afraid i can do neither, bends are more fun than straights and i can barely afford a gti let alone a sports car!
Bobbito - do they have any negative effects???
Cheers
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Ha! cheers! I live in bristol and the roads are sh!te but travel back to devon where im from alot and the roads are even worse, i.e more potholes that fookin road. Cant decided whats best to do especially as im on such a tight budget. The dam thing just rolls wayyyyy too much.
easy problem to solve.. A) drive slower round bends... B) buy a sports car.. :undecided:
B) buy a mk2
bigger arbs won't be the answer on soggy mk3 springs and shockies.
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Ha! cheers! I live in bristol and the roads are sh!te but travel back to devon where im from alot and the roads are even worse, i.e more potholes that fookin road. Cant decided whats best to do especially as im on such a tight budget. The dam thing just rolls wayyyyy too much.
easy problem to solve.. A) drive slower round bends... B) buy a sports car.. :undecided:
B) buy a mk2
bigger arbs won't be the answer on soggy mk3 springs and shockies.
pmsl i said sports car not a not a box with wheels..
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Ha! cheers! I live in bristol and the roads are sh!te but travel back to devon where im from alot and the roads are even worse, i.e more potholes that fookin road. Cant decided whats best to do especially as im on such a tight budget. The dam thing just rolls wayyyyy too much.
easy problem to solve.. A) drive slower round bends... B) buy a sports car.. :undecided:
B) buy a mk2
bigger arbs won't be the answer on soggy mk3 springs and shockies.
pmsl i said sports car not a not a box with wheels..
MGF then
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Its won't cure the problem but it does help....I found it helped quite a bit and sharpened up the handling. If you on a really tight budget, it would be better than buying springs with standard shocks which will kill your shocks relatively quickly costing more money.
Coilovers is the real answer though.
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Its won't cure the problem but it does help....I found it helped quite a bit and sharpened up the handling. If you on a really tight budget, it would be better than buying springs with standard shocks which will kill your shocks relatively quickly costing more money.
Coilovers is the real answer though.
decent springs and uprated shockies is the real answer for the op. coilovers are fine and well but more expensive for the same quality. ebay shockies will be awful.
check bushes too
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jamex shocks and springs. does everything you want for next to nothing.
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Coilovers, the ride will harsher but the handling will be loads better.
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Coilovers, the ride will harsher but the handling will be loads better.
not sure i agree; surely just because the ride is harsher dosnt mean the handling will be better? The jamex are firm and low without being too harsh and £35 ish cheaper- Probably a better choice for someone wanting less body roll for little £££'s
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the best kit you can get is eibach/boge set up but you pay £££ for them. but there worth it for comfort and handling :cool:
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Thanks for all the feedback guys, great!
There is obv some difference of opinions here but generally it seems most people believe coilovers will do the best jobs for handling but will compromise the ride quality considerably. My max budget is £130 really, so you can all see my problem. Ive been looking around and see that a jamex suspension kit is pretty near to my budget. What do people think of this? My other thoughts are compromising on ride quality in order to have better handling and go with some coilovers, either some cheap ones or try find some unused/ little use second hand slightly better ones.
It seems just putting lowering springs on may only help reduce roll a small amount and could actually decrease the life of the standard shocks.
What do you guys think?
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i wouldnt bother with the 2nd hand market if i was u- this is suspension we're talking about, its fairly important to your safety on the road!!!
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i would say save your money until you can afford something decent, and the whole coloies or normal setup is your choice... depends if you want it purley for handling or for looks aswell as coilies will look far better but the suspension kit may give better performance. :undecided:
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If you want good handling you gotta pay good money. it all dependson your funds.
For the same sort of money you can buy a very good spring and shock kit that will greatly improve handling and stability
or
you can buy decent coilovers that will allow you to adjust height to your own taste and will be reasonably good through the corners.
I had the £150 hottuning coilovers on my mk2 and the ride was firm but not too harsh. It cornered very well and very flat, they did loosen up after about 6 months though and became soft enough to have some body roll and make the car more comfortable.
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jamex shocks and springs. does everything you want for next to nothing.
^^^agreed.
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Coilovers, the ride will harsher but the handling will be loads better.
not sure i agree; surely just because the ride is harsher dosnt mean the handling will be better? The jamex are firm and low without being too harsh and £35 ish cheaper- Probably a better choice for someone wanting less body roll for little £££'s
Trust me the handling was loads better, the standard set up on the mk3 is crap.
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/\/\ x2
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i had the same prob with my mk3. bought some coilovers from hottuning for £160 delivered and there mint, not rock hard at all and they make it look so much better, good quality too
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If you are after improving your suspension the best idea is to find out what is wrong with what you have got first.
If you are in Bristol go to somewhere like Protyre and get them to do a free suspension check and tell you what is wrong.
Then decide where you need to spend the money.
A good home check for shock absorbers is to push down on the corner of your car (x4) and release, the corner should pop up and bounce once, if it bounces two or three times your shock absober will need replacing.
Changing anti roll bars will not cure problems with defective springs, shocks, or rubbers. Same goes for changing any of the other parts, if you change the wrong part it will not fix problems with other parts. Anything you change in the suspension will have an effect on the other parts of the suspension.
If you are after improving the suspension for the cheapest price, get it all checked and replace anything that needs replacing with standard parts. If you can afford more money first get it checked to see if anything needs replacing then go for the best suspension you can afford either coilovers or struts and springs. Remember the lower you go the harsher it will probably be.
Paul
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Thanks everyone! just the info and opinions i was looking for! Paul, i think your advice is spot on and good common sense and info i will bare in mind! Cheers!