Suspension Upgrades

[krankenshafter]

Right... spent the weekend binning old bushes, brakes etc and installing Eibach arb's front and rear, 16v 256 setup with master, new callipers and discs, powerflex bushes on wishbones, arb drop eye, and power rack, ripped out the old leaky rack - whoosh - Oh that's where all the fluid went...
Car is a '90 8V with a 4 yr old koni set on it - still OK - fitted new G60 top mounts and checked the shocks over. All new rod ends, joints etc.
Track and camber set up today at the local tyre centre.
It handles better - doesn't go 'Klonk' anymore. However it does feel like it is about to bite back very badly if I push a little harder round the twisties on the way home, and something is fouling on full lock when parking.
Any one else fitted a similar setup? Am I just being chicken? Any further mods you would suggest on the suspension front?
Ladies & Gentlemen your comments please

[Gambit]

i had something similar on my old 91 16v

eibach arb's front n rear, eibach springs, all bushes n mounts replaced

the back end will feel a bit more loose on damp n greasy roads, due to the back end now being stiffer with the arb

just takes a while getting use to it in damp, wet, greasy road conditions

in the dry it was unreal, you could just chuck it into anything and know that it would do as you expect!

as for the fouling, might just be something like mudlfaps - mine used to do it

[davidhawkins_78]

Unless the car is really outa shape or your driving like a 17 yr old on a death wish, if you push it that bit more it'll only understeer - it's what happens after / during that period u should be careful of!

You'll have alot more lift off oversteer to deal with - it REALLY caught me out the first time after my new suspension setup was given a 'test' - dam fun though!

I'm sure I posted this before, but I had to drive from Brigthon to Guildford one night to collect a CD player from an eBay purchase for my gf - we used to A25 and on the way back I had to stop as she was physically sick from abusing country lanes at high speed - I was loving it, I never though the handling would be so good!

With a setup like yours make sure you've got tyres up to the job too or it'll spoil the whole effect - roll on the handling challenge at Inters 2005 

[krankenshafter]

Drove in this morning, car feels stable and has lost all its body roll, but I recon you are spot on  - just takes some getting used to as the arb's have transformed the handling and the roads are damp. Also find myself weaving all over the road as the steering now works properly.
I will try pushing it a bit further when there is no one about and I have plenty of run off / spin / s**t yerself room.
Hopefully in my advanced years I am now mature enough not to crash it. As for the fouling I will investigate on my next sub car grovveling session.
Anyone polybushed the rear beam ? My mate and I have a set of bushes but are both waiting for the other to take the plunge for a swearing session. Waste of time or or a worthwhile exercise?

[VeeDubGTI16v]

i think your gonna notice the difference every time you replace rubber with polyurethane anyone seen any rear polyurethane topmounts for sale yet??

[...joe]

just what i've been told but...... poly rear bushes apparently make the rear end a bit unpredictable and you lose some of the passive steer which makes golf corner nicely. appaerntly one of the best upgrades is to use corrado rear bushes on your rear beam, as these were designed to have this passive steer. a local tumer did a test bed on a golf a while back and the difference was meant to be great!! i'll be tempted when mine need doing! but just to re-iterate this is just what i've been told!

oh and dave?

or your driving like a 17 yr old on a death wish,

you mean like fielder?! no offence fielder mate!?

[VeeDubGTI16v]

yeah theres porbably a reason why noone sells em

[krankenshafter]

You can definitely overdo it as far as stiffening suspension components goes. A few years back I put a Weitec kit on a Mk2 8V with new standard bump stops but no one told me to cut them down. The end result was a bit of unplanned offroading while negotiating a roundabout - gave the blokes behind in a van a good laugh. Once I discovered the back end was rock solid and sorted it out, it was fine.
Another improvement I made was to bin all the old gearchange bushes and replace them with new. If you haven't done this yet, I can reccomend it. Takes all the slack out especially if you treat yourself to a replacement rod kit with proper steel ends. The red bush sandwiched in the bracket attached to the rack is no problem - just drill out the rivets and replace with m5 cap heads and lock nuts. I managed to jetwash the rubber ball off its mounting a while back and I believe you are expected to buy the whole bracket to replace it. Find yourself a motorbike shop and pick up a new or preferably damaged (free) frame protector. These are made from a tough plastic resistant to heat and wear. Now find a mate with access to a lathe and turn down the bar to fit your gearchange bracket with about 1/2 mm clearance in the pressed steel U shape. The centre of the protectors have an ally tube in them which is usually a perfect fit on the spigot where your old rubber ball came from, if too small drill it out. Pop the whole lot back together and you have a nice positive gear shift with no front to rear slack on the gearstick.

[...joe]

good little tip there with the nylon motorbike thing, there was a whole thread about doing the bushes and i agree its transformed my shift. i just pushed out the red bush and pushed the new one in!

[rubjonny]

GSF sell em, they have a full kit - 99570= ? 39.75 + vat