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Model specific boards => Golf mk3 => Topic started by: mattosmoknd on 21 November 2006, 09:59
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hi guys,
i have a mk3 2.0 8v agg.... when i am going say upto 60mph the handling is very good, but when your on the motorway doing 70-90 ish! the handling is cr@p, very wallowy and it really un-nerves you... it feels like the car isn't balanced... I have had the tracking done and it's made no difference,,,,is this common? does anyone have any ideas?
cheers,
matt
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:undecided:
:undecided:
:evil: Ahh f**k it, its a mk3 :grin:
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Mk3s are known for spongy handling.
I think it gets worse the older the car is too... My VR6 was godawful when I got it, but some coilovers soon sorted that out... :evil:
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Sounds to me as if you need to change your shocks!
Plus get the rear suspension bushes checked.
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this mk3 has really p!ssed me off now..... it's had £400 odd quid spent on it this month....... but i feel i either need to get this done or sell it as it feels very dangerous!!! thanks for all your replies... how much would this cost?
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Set of shocks is sometimes cheaper to buy a set of shocks and springs combined.
Depending on what you want but £300 upwards for both. Coilovers are more!
Rear bushes, I paid £60 but that was cheap! A normal garage would charge around £100 plus! Its a b@stard of a job apparrently!
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if you use polyflex bushes they are a lot better, higher cost but as they come in two halfs it is a lot easier to fit.
i found that (almost)the cheapest shocks were bilstein - stock ones.
but if your springs are uprated it will make the ride a little bouncy, not to a huge amount but it is there.
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when you say the handling is crap how exactly do you mean? If you have alloys that could be a problem possibably at that speed, i dont suppose the tireson it are only limited up to 60mph possibably?
Apart from that i haveno idea, my car handeled fine but then i got alloys and it was crap, realised there waas no plastic inserton them so got some of them and to cut a long story short it handles fine now, i can go nicely down country lanes however roundabouts still prove a problem at fast speeds.
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first thing to do is pop down your local garage and get your tire pressures checked :)
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the car is completely standard with the 15" alloys...
how much are polyflex bushes? anyone in newcastle want to fit them for cash?
i'll check the tyre rating,,,, but thats just wrong if they are 60!!!
any other ideas?
whats with the plastic on the alloys? i'll check this if you let me know what to look for...
cheers fro your replies
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Poly bushes should only be used to upgrade your suspension not cure something! They are ususally first added to the anti-roll bar and will make the ride very harsh!
By the sound of the problem with your car its probably age and tired components! Springs/shocks and maybe the rear suspension bushes which are located at the pivot point of the rear arms and are totally different from the poly bushes others are talking about.
Check your shocks first by bouncing each corner of the car in turn and see if the movement continues. If it continues to bounce up and down a little after you have stopped pushing it down then the shocks are gone.
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Well the plastic bits are to enable a better fit between the alloys and the bit they go on, if the alloys are standard i dont think you have to worry, mine arn't standard and they never came with it so i had to buy some more but without them on it happened all the time so i'm sure that isnt the problem on yours.
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cheers guys....
i think i will get some new bushes then to see if that helps for the mean time.... but it is not in my good books at the moment at all and the more i think about it the more i want to sell her and get a corrado!
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If the handling is a bad as you say its more likely to be shocks or perhaps a broken spring. Jack it up and have a good look around and bounce the car to test the shocks before you spend any money!
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hmmmmm corrado :cool:
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My mk3 handled like the rear wheel's wern't quite attathed somehow, and after relacing the rear shocker's all is now ok and this did pass the m.o.t and passed the bump test described earlier....just make sure you go for a decent quality shocker (like boge or bilstein) as cheaper so called sports one's make the rear stiff unless you like a bumpy ride!!!
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so is the best bet, to replace the rear bushes first and then see or to just get new shocks? :undecided:
cheers,
matt
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firstly Len, with all due respect, if its the bushes- wherever they are - that are faulty, replacing them with poly ones will cure and upgrade. why fit any non-standard part if that was the case, you surely would not advocate fitting a standard replacement part to cure then take it out again to upgrade with a better one :undecided:
Matt, you need to decide if the main problem is the bounce or the wandering, they sound like two different things to me. then go for the shocks if its bounce and the bushes if its wandering.
get a second opinion from a garage, even if it costs you 1/2 hr labour, it may help your decision.
a final point with the suspension.. i have a sierra 4x4, with avo coil overs, full poly bushes, uprated roll bars. it is hard but only really harsh when you swap the 60 series tyres for 17" 40 series. but its fun....
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have you checked the tire pressures yet? ;)
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^^^^^^ Yea it probably is something as silly as that!
nitro - as far as I know Powerflex dont make the bearing bush I am on about! But of course I stand to be corrected.
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Also, go somewhere and get your geometry checked. Mine felt a bit wallowy on high speeds before I had it done, and I had about 1 1/2 of positive camber on the front!! :grin: So when that was sorted it felt LOADS better. Cost me £50 though :sick:
Oh, and Mk1madj - F&^% off. :rolleyes:
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hi guys, sorry i've been manic this week...
my mechanic is going to have a look today.... i think it must be the bushes becasue it is more wandering than bouncy..... i will check the tyre pressures,,, by the look of the tyres they might be over inflated... i got some new tyres a few weeks ago,,, the monkeys could have put too much air in them!!! :undecided:
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my gti was bad for wandering at speed, turned out to be pressures. I had slow leaks in my front tires so they needed topping up every month or so!