Mk4 handles like a boat

[thatwillis]

Changing the shocks makes a massive difference!

[Adam]

Rear ARB will make a difference apparently.

[shaft69]

Was reading a whiteline arb test said mk4 only need rear arb to tranform its handling.

[Ant1981]

Driver ability.

My MK4 has standard suspension and I nail it in the twisties with no compaints.

[symsymma]

Fitted a whiteline rear arb on mine and it does make it a lot better imo

[redevo1]

Standard 306 GTI6 vs a standard 1.8t the GTI6 will leave it for dead around corners far more adjusable on the limit I've owned both. But Uprated ARB front and rear make a huge difference plus a Re map taking it up to 190bhp ish+ make the Golf slightly quicker in a straight line. Would cost an arm and a leg to get the GTI6 up to 190bhp.
  

[Kus]

Your right there I'm sure you've heard about supercharged gti-6s

[rockmonkey69]

I found the mk4 to handle pretty awful compared to a standard civic type r (ep3), keeping in mind this is another hot hatch that the golf gti was meant to compete with. I would say mine is alright now as it is currently setup but I have fitted quite a few handling mods:

Nex 4 piston calipers
330mm x 28mm vented, grooved two piece floating discs
Braided brake lines
ATE Superblue brake fluid
cooling ducts for the brakes
Solid top mounts
Bilstein pss9 adjustable dampening coilovers, front dampening: 2, rear dampening: 4
Neuspeed 28mm rear antiroll bar
Rear upper strut brace
Front upper strut brace
Lower s3 strut brace
Powerflex rear axle bushes
Powerflex dog bone bush
Super pro dog bone bush
Super pro castor wishbone bush
Super pro front wishbone bush
tt mk1 droplinks
Goodyear eagle f1 225/40 18" all around
Battery and other components relocated to the rear for better weight distribution
Completely stripped out interior and under carriage, now weighs in at 1140kg +/-20kg (5 door) with standard glass windows and standard fuel tank.
Hawk eye aligned with the front at 1.6 degrees of camber, over 7 degrees of castor and the rear 2 degrees of camber

I still need a set of lightweight wheels but feel that in order to make it handle a decent a proper limited slip differential is a must if to be taken seriously at all.

[Scott D]

^^ that's a fair decent setup

how much of a difference did the bushes make?

[rockmonkey69]

I would say bushes make alot of difference given their price, definitely one of the most under-rated mods of all time and overlooked all too often. My passengers notice a difference without me telling them it's been changed. I would say it's more noticeable than the rear antiroll bar because unless your on the ragged edge of the car's traction then the rear antiroll bar isn't very noticeable - to me the rear arb helps with when and how it breaks traction so can be setup to the driver's preference whereas the with bushes are you will notice them even when driving normally. You feel changes in road surface, the axles and wishbones feel more tight and firmer to the body. Bushes - or atleast the front wishbone bushes are definitely worth doing even if comfort is an important agenda, it doesn't make the ride any more crashy but just takes up the slack and bounce.