New Suspension, steering out??

[Matt 8v]

 
I have just fitted new shocks and springs all round to my 1998 R reg golf.
The kit was made by fk and lowered it by 40mm.
Finished the job today and couldnt wait to take it out for a spin to see how it handled.
(still had the originals on and were definateley passed there best!!)
Went down the road a short distance and noticed the steering wheel is now out of line,
going straight and it sits down to the left quite a bit.
I never touched the tracking so any body got any ideas of what is going on, or what ive done wrong.
Any suggestions would be of great help.
Thanks.

Matt.

[rubjonny]

If you swap about front suspention parts there is a good chance you'll throw out the steering geometry, as you have now found out
You need to leave it a week or so to settle before you can get the tracking corrected also!  I'm not sure if the front hubs have any adjustment on them, but if they do have the wheels off and double check the strut->hub bolts are in the same position they were in before.  If you cant tell, just set the fronts to max camber on both sides (pull the bottom of the hub out, push the top in and tighten)  This should get both sides the same for now

[Len]

After its settled take it to a specialist no yer Kwik Fits! A place where they will check all the geometry and give you a read out of all the data. Best approx £60 you will spend.

[Matt 8v]

Will try what you said.
Will mess with it today then leave to settle.
Cheers.

[monkeyalan]

yup, what Len said, best £60 i spent having it all set up after being lowered, 

[boneybradley]

I had mine lowered on saturday and am waiting a week or two to settle... keep driving it and be as rough on the suspension as possible to help it bed in quicker and like everbody states get it properly tracked... Find a few fat mates as this also help's!!!


before.....far too high (as bought!!!)



on it's way down...

[Matt 8v]

Its nice to have suspension as the ones I took off were totally shot!!

Something else I've noticed today is that the o/s wheel sits further out than
the n/s side, you can fit your fingers up between the wheel and the arch
on the n/s but theres no gap on the other.
Will drive it and let it settle in for a week or two then get the tracking done.

Cheers.

[vwagain]

yup, what Len said, best £60 i spent having it all set up after being lowered, 

Hello mate, where in sheff did you get yours done? As mine needs doing asap!! Its hard to keep it in a straight line and both front wheels seem to face outwards   The last owner of this car was a right cowboy, the amount of things i have had to put right makes me want to cry


Stu

[monkeyalan]

Hawleys on Holme Lane in Hillsborough. 0114 2322676

they have a branch on Sharrow vale rd aswell but i'm not sure if they have all the equipment there.
2686640

 

[Len]

Matt even when its settled and sorted (tracked etc.) you may still have different gaps.
This maily due to road camber as cars get used to not being on totally flat surfaces and develop leans. So ride heights do vary by up to 5mm at each corner and that is normal. More than that and you should look for other problems