Suspension setup

[BJD]

I've recently bought a 16v gti project and the guy that had it before, had new parts lying around. Anyway, what i have here is

- V-maxx coilovers
- OMP front upper strut brace
- OMP rear strut brace
- Eibach front and rear ARB

Just wondering what you guys/girls have on your golfs and what you recommend. Ive had a search through old threads, and it apparent that the Eibach ARB's are good. Only thing putting me off with the strut braces are i want to keep the car looking as standard as i can. Are the brace worth putting on or not? The cars going to be a daily. Whats everyone's opinion?

Heres a few pic:





Any advice very much appreciated 

[Horney]

Put the braces on, they do a good job. You can always body colour them to stealth them up a bit if you want.

Nick

[BJD]

Put the braces on, they do a good job. You can always body colour them to stealth them up a bit if you want.

Nick

So you recommend i fit them all, braces and ARBs? I dont fancy having to drill holes through the shell to fit the front upper strut brace?

[The Mighty Elvi]

She can take a good drilling.  Unlike other MK golfs the MK2 wont fall apart/rust into oblivion, afterwards.

[Wayne]

Put the braces on, they do a good job. You can always body colour them to stealth them up a bit if you want.

Nick

So you recommend i fit them all, braces and ARBs? I dont fancy having to drill holes through the shell to fit the front upper strut brace?

It will be fine to drill it

[OakeyDoak16v]

Get it all on mate. Thats a few hundred quids worth of gear.. Niiiccceee!! 

[rob.043]

The coilovers look a bit budget, and thus firm, but the beauty of having all the kit is that you can fit and see what you think, and return it to standard if you wish....

Ive heard front upper strut braces are good for stiffening the mk2 shell, but ive not tried one partly because I dont want to drill the holes!  With all those parts fitted you will be considerably stiffening the ride and handling of the car, which may be great on smooth race circuits, but be wary of removing too much of its playability for normal roads. Ive found the nice thing about the golf chassis is its ability to keep gripping in a tightening turn etc, i.e. its hard to unsettle it. Dont go too far and create a Peugeot handling golf (if your not going to track it)!

[weazgti]

I allways thought that upper braces did nowt aprt from make it look better and if you wanted to stiffen it you would need a lower one fitted. Is this not true?

[BJD]

Get it all on mate. Thats a few hundred quids worth of gear.. Niiiccceee!! 

Yes i know. 

The coilovers look a bit budget, and thus firm, but the beauty of having all the kit is that you can fit and see what you think, and return it to standard if you wish....

Ive heard front upper strut braces are good for stiffening the mk2 shell, but ive not tried one partly because I dont want to drill the holes!  With all those parts fitted you will be considerably stiffening the ride and handling of the car, which may be great on smooth race circuits, but be wary of removing too much of its playability for normal roads. Ive found the nice thing about the golf chassis is its ability to keep gripping in a tightening turn etc, i.e. its hard to unsettle it. Dont go too far and create a Peugeot handling golf (if your not going to track it)!

I wouldnt say they are budget coilovers, have an invoice here for nearly £500. Thats the thing, im not going to be tracking the car. So was wondering if the ARB's would be sufficient for daily use. Sell the strut braces as they are still in the packet and put that money towards something else.

I allways thought that upper braces did nowt aprt from make it look better and if you wanted to stiffen it you would need a lower one fitted. Is this not true?

Im no expert mate, but what ive been told the upper's stop the towers flexing. But a family friend who is a GT-R technician, said if you took it off the car without the owner knowing they would be none the wiser. I suppose they are more for track cars? Correct me if im wrong.

[DOA]

Personally I find that you only notice strut braces when you fit them, after that you get used to it pretty quickly but they certainly do help the way the car will respond to inputs (less slack). Considering they are there, I would fit them  .

As for the coilovers and the ARB's, I would definately fit the roll bars and see how they improve the handling and fit the coilovers seperately to see if they actually improve the handling or wreck it completely (I have had bad experiences with "budget" coilovers before), making the decision to leave them on or not only after that.