JonL's 8v budget track toy - now going to be a race car! ;-)

[Horney]

For discs I recommend "Brembo Max" from GSF, I think they do the braided flexi lines as well. The mintex pads can be got from www.motorsportworld.co.uk for a very good price and very speedy delivery. Best to order via phone so you get the right pads for your calipers.

NIck

[VeeDubGTI16v]

http://www.vwspares.co.uk/

this site is good for bits

[JonLeeper]

Nice site!

Just been pricing up a few bits against GSF and they come out cheaper even with free delivery from GSF.  The only problem I can forsee is that I cannot go into the shop and actually physically compare the bits to ensure that I get the correct items.

As an example I costed:

VW Spares:

2 x wheel bearing kits, 2 x Ball joint kits, 2 x G60 strut mounts, 2 x wishbone bolt kits, 4 x lower shock nuts and bolts and 2 tie rod ends (LH & RH) and with delivery and VAT it came to £96.43.

GSF:

2 x wheel bearing kits, 2 x ball joint kits, 2 x G60 strut mounts and 2 x tie rod ends and the total was £93.73 with VAT and free delivery. 

So with out the additional bolts it is only £2.70 cheaper and I cannot save more by going and collecting myself!  I could not see any non-OEM discs, braided brake lines or polybushes though.  Does anyone know how difficult is it to exchange parts if they are not correct?

[VeeDubGTI16v]

they have always been spot on when ive ordered bits, so cant comment on returns.

oem discs will be good enough, its the pads that make the real difference

hold up on buying the goodridge hoses, i think i have a full set spare that ill sell if you want!

[JonLeeper]

they have always been spot on when ive ordered bits, so cant comment on returns.

oem discs will be good enough, its the pads that make the real difference

hold up on buying the goodridge hoses, i think i have a full set spare that ill sell if you want!

Roger that, I'll place an order later then.  Is there anyhting that I have missed from my list you can think of?  Reading other forums they seem to think that you need the track rods themselves not just the ends, is this the case?  I cannot seee VW using different rod but maybe.  As for the hoses I would definately be interested.

Jon

[VeeDubGTI16v]

ok ill have a dig through my bits and let you know

did you get the track rods off the passat? they will be fine with new rod ends unless they are bent!

your list look good for the front plus the poly bushes. its worth getting the front subframe bushes in poly as well, but you will have to get them seperately from powerflex. it wont really stiffen the chassis much, but stops the engine moving as much as the front engine mount is bolted to the subframe

[JonLeeper]

NO, I didn't get the track rods themselves.  I only got the ends.  Do I need the track rods and if so do I also need to buy new steering rack gaiters etc to fit?

[VeeDubGTI16v]

ah, yeah they are longer on the passat setup! euro car parts do them but they arent cheap, £30 each i remember. you can reuse the gaiters though

[JonLeeper]

It's just a threaded bar though, isn't it?  How is that £30 each side?

Just looked on the VW Spares site and the tie rods complete with ends for a Mk3 are £17.45 + VAT each.  The Passat ones are not listed but you can do the wide track conversion with Mk3 parts, I believe, so they should fit, shouldn't they?

[Diamond Hell]

It's a little more complicated than a bit of threaded bar.....

Not much more complicated, I'll grant you, but I wouldn't want to replace my track rod ends with some M12 threaded bar!