MK3 - Coilover Advice

[jimmydub]

Well it's taken me sometime to respond to you guys, i must apologise!

I have to say i'm real glad i started this thread, as it gathered a fair bit of attention and responses. I know it's been discussed before on here, time and time again, on many a separate thread, but i couldn't find much in the way of info to aid my decision. so thanks to everyone for your input.

So, In a nutshell, after careful consideration i went for the JOM's. I was never gonna spend more than a monkey on the set-up, and budgets are what they are...

much of a muchness.

It seems to me theyr all much of a muchness

thanks for the input lads. i got them off ebay in the end dogbot but any info on your pals shop wouldnt go amiss for future reference! where abouts are you based mate?


So its been laborious to say the least! its taken three weekends to get them just about right, and if im honest i probably wouldn't go down the coily route again! being a novice i went into it blind and in a way im kinda glad because its a good learning curve, but if id have known then what i know now i would have just gone for springs i reckon.
I went for the coilys pretty much because of the drop, and because they are adjustable; but i didn't do my research. i didn't think about the fact that you have to get the alignment sorted every time they are adjusted, and i aint in the habit of throwing money away like that! so the reality is they're gonna stay put until i put some new wheels on her!
I also wasn't expecting the ride to be quite so tough. I've actually now lifted her a bit so that i don't need to wear a kidney belt for my daily commute! saying that, i dont know if springs would have been any better.

alas, she's low and slow;

I'll add photos and go into more detail about the fitting nightmare i had on my build thread.

thanks again all for the input.

[Gavv8]

They are purely for stance/looks, they do nothing for the ride and handling but i'm keeping mine purely because i think the mk3 looks silly all 'up in the air'.

[Gavv8]

Potholes will kill £155 joms or £800 bilsteins just the same...

I don't agree.
Quality dampers are made and finished to a better standard, have better seals and are generally valved better and offer better protection against bottoming out and blowing seals.
I tried cheap coilovers in the past, and burt them.

My current Konis have been on for 12 years...and they are still perfect...despite hitting the odd pothole hard enough to bend a wheel.

Yeah you do get what you pay for i suppose, the trouble is that quality coilovers are likely to cost more than most peoples mk3's are worth at the moment and everybody loves cheap low's.

[jimmydub]

just a quick copy and paste from my build thread, just want to double my chances of getting some advise:



As you can see I took her in for 'hawkeye' alignment.

they toed in both fronts. the rears are obviously fixed, so apparently they cant do anything about the misalignment there.  the positive camber and negative caster up front they also can't do anything about apparently.

So this is where i really need some advise from the forum. before fitting the coilys i had no issue with alignment. now i have, shes tracking to the left, pretty bad too (imo). i watched the guy sit the wheel straight and toe both sides in, but shes still pulling to the left; exactly as was before i paid them £36 quid for the pleasure.
They told me there must be a underlying problem, but like i say, there was no problem before i fitted the coilys.

is there a way i can sort this myself?

should all the coily's be sitting at the same height?

if so, how do i get the most accurate measurement?

how can i make sure each corner is mirroring the opposite? again, how do i get the ride height measurement? as i know this will affect the steering as well.

if i could just correct this tracking problem i'd be happy as Larry. my mate reckons the only way to do it is take it in for full four wheel alignment, but if im gonna do that, i might as well have just paid someone to do the whole lot. and if i take her in now id feel like a proper cheat.
please, if anyone can lend some help or advise it would be hugely appreciated. I am a proper novice at this stuff, which probably shows, but its the only way im gonna learn.


thanks all

[Len]

Potholes are more likely to burst a tyre or buckle a wheel before it does any damage to a decent set of shocks.

Unless you pay £500 or more for adjustables then you wont feel any difference in cheaper coilovers.

[Foreveryoungaus16v]

Potholes will kill £155 joms or £800 bilsteins just the same...

I don't agree.
Quality dampers are made and finished to a better standard, have better seals and are generally valved better and offer better protection against bottoming out and blowing seals.
I tried cheap coilovers in the past, and burt them.

My current Konis have been on for 12 years...and they are still perfect...despite hitting the odd pothole hard enough to bend a wheel.

Yeah you do get what you pay for i suppose, the trouble is that quality coilovers are likely to cost more than most peoples mk3's are worth at the moment and everybody loves cheap low's.

Very true.  Best set up is going to cost you £700+.  I plan to go Bistien B8's with H&R springs next.  I think

as well you pay for what you get, and I only want the best for my Mk3 which is coming along nicely

[Callum_K]

Take it somewhere better to be aligned if they say they cant do anything for the camber, as it only involves undoing the two shock mounting bolts....

A difference in camber will cause pulling to one side but it doesn't look too great of a difference from that printout.

[jimmydub]

Take it somewhere better to be aligned if they say they cant do anything for the camber, as it only involves undoing the two shock mounting bolts....

A difference in camber will cause pulling to one side but it doesn't look too great of a difference from that printout.

thanks for the reply mate. i myself know how to adjust the camber but have no way to measure/gauge each wheel. surely they can trolley jack the front end, release those two mount bolts and then adjust the camber using the 'hawkeye' laser?

but as you said, they aint far out anyway. so why is she pulling to the left so much? ride height??? again, how do i measure the ride height? how do i know everythings in the right place? its clearly not quite as simple as matching the two coilys.

nightmare..............

[thai-wronghorse]

Uneven coil over heights,  uneven tyre pressures,  out of shape tyre or wheel?  Or simply a combination of slightly misaligned suspension components.  For example if the ream beam or a stub axle is tweaked in one direction and the front end us tweaked in another it's destined to start crabbing down the road.

[jimmydub]

Uneven coil over heights,  uneven tyre pressures,  out of shape tyre or wheel?

coilys are the same height. (although a method for exact measurement would be a big help)
tyre pressures match and are correct.
tyre or wheel shape.... didnt have a problem until i fitted the coilys.

Or simply a combination of slightly misaligned suspension components.  For example if the ream beam or a stub axle is tweaked in one direction and the front end us tweaked in another it's destined to start crabbing down the road.

again i had no problem until fitting the coilys. i havent touched the rear beam, and you can see what the read out is above for both ends. advise on diagnosing the problem would be a huge help