[moved] My VR6 handles like sh*t

[scott8629 0]

I have had my VR6 for a few months now (97 P reg), I think the hadling is very poor, the previous owner lowerd it but with springs but never toutched the shocks.

It has a very harsh ride. The wheels are the standard 15" BBS.

So what is the best way to make my golf handle well?

Thanks in advance!

Scott

[acf8181 0]

well i have just springs on mine and it handles quite nicely and doesn't have a harsh ride.

are the springs on yours extreme lowering? (i.e. -60mm plus)

if you want ultimate handling you wanna forget ride quality and get very stiffly set coil overs, but from the sound of it you want a nice balance.

personally i'd go for eibach -35mm spings with koni adjustable shocks (£400), or bilstein streetline shocks/springs (£350), then mate them to an uprated set of anti roll bars (eibach £200, neuspeed £350). the bushes are probably also in need of replacing (£70), along with top mounts (20) and bump stops (£20).

or if you're on a budget but want good ride quality, get a gmax kit for about £200, and add the other stuff later. gmax are the best for ride comfort IMO.

[Guest Olly_K]

i've got koni coilovers, but the ride i must admit is a bit harsh.....but i like it.......car gives me lots of feedback !

[patrick green 0]

if you're not worried about the ride-height, you can keep OEM springs & stiffer shocks (Koni/Bilstein). This will give good handling & a comfortable ride tho not much street-cred!

[tommy 0]

I have had my VR6 for a few months now (97 P reg)' date=' I think the hadling is very poor, the previous owner lowerd it but with springs but never toutched the shocks.

It has a very harsh ride. The wheels are the standard 15" BBS.

So what is the best way to make my golf handle well?

Thanks in advance!

Scott

[/quote']

Has all the car geometry been set up since its been lowered...if no.....you will need to have this done....it may sort things or like the other guys say you may need to get new shocks...what?s the mileage of the vr...if its high the shocks may be worn out....or you may have worn bushes....all of this can cause problems with handling!!!

[Guest couzens]

Are koni a German company; sorry if this is a stupid question and are the non-adjustable koni's a harsh ride? I was going to go for eibach and koni non-adjustable set-up. I had H&R on my MK2 which admittedly was Bilstein stocks and was a nice ride. Is this the same for Koni or should I look at H&R again?

[binliner 0]

mismatched springs & shocks isnt a good idea & will wear the standard shocks out quicker .... if you want a compromise Id agree with acf8181

couzens yes theyre german

[acf8181 0]

well, my shocks haven't got any worse with just lowering springs binliner!

thats an old wives tale that just using springs will wear out the shocks.

all vr6 o.e. shocks have a fairly short lifespan tho.

i'm considering going fo rthis set up in the future, powerflex bushes, new o.e. top mounts/bumpstops, then adding neuspeed 25/28 adjustable arb's...that way i can have very good ride quality and have some handling adjustment for track days.

just to add to tommy's post...camber set up is very critical. if you have too little you'll turn into corners ok, but the front will give up mid-bend and send you into a big understeer (i know as when i put my springs on when i first got the car i didn't know there was camber adjustment). on o.e. camber i still destroy the outside edges of the front tyres (yes, i drive quite hard), so i now run about 2degrees of camber (the max o.e. shocks allow), this can give the car mid corner oversteer...but thats the way i like it!

scott - when you say your car handles like sh*t, in what way? can you be more precise?

[ Edited Sun Mar 07 2004, 11:56AM ]

[mina 0]

Need to get my geometry checked - the steering feels light when turning left for some reason - turning right is fine. Had the tracking recently done - can't see how that would affect it though?

[acf8181 0]

oh, yeah, i forgot to add to the above post...the most critical thing is to have both sides have the same settings.

mina...could be ttrcaking making it do that, but could also be camber. get them both checked a decent place...most places can't do camber accuratly, tho they may tell you otherwise. if you're near london, feltham tyre are supposed to be the best.

[binliner 0]

well' date=' my shocks haven't got any worse with just lowering springs binliner!

thats an old wives tale that just using springs will wear out the shocks.[/quote']

mine did ... normally the car was fine but if you hit a dip at any speed the shocks were too soft to cope and it was like a pogo stick... I changed the shocks a few weeks after the springs and it felt a million times better! thats my experience anyway

[acf8181 0]

well, yes, it does do that if you hit a few really big bumps one after another, but that doesn't mean they're worn out or will wear out quicker. it'll pogo on standard springs/shocks too!

i'm not sayin its better to do just springs, than springs and shocks, it's obviously not...i'm just tryin to let it be knownthat it won't wear out your shocks quicker.

[scott8629 0]

Well I say it hadles like sh*t im coming from a clio Cup to my VR6.

It seems to wallow in the corners, long fast sweepers are ok but tight fast roundabouts are a nightmare, I seem to have no feed back on what the tyre's are doing at all.

With My Clio I could feel the road.

The VR has only done 65K miles.

Im not botherd about a harsh ride all I want is some feed back on whats going on.

At the moment I have no confidence in its tight cornering abilty.

Scott

[acf8181 0]

ok, will never handle as well as a clio, they're great handling cars, but i reckon get (if you can afford it)...

eibach '35mm springs/koni adjustable shocks or a set of fk coil overs,

a set of eibach or neuspeed adjustable anti roll bars,

powerflex wishbone and rear beam bushes,

new top mounts and bump stops,

get camber set up and add a bit over standard (you'll have to decide whats right for you - go on tyre wear, i run about 2 degrees, but thats a lot 1.5 may be better)

thats about the best you can do. the only advantage of the coilovers (over the koni/eibach setup) is ride height adjustment, both setups have rebound damping adjustments. i like the neuspeed bars over the eibachs as they come with all the fittings and the rear bar is adjustable, but they cost a fair bit more.

everyone else agree?

[acf8181 0]

how much do i wish i had the cash to do all of the above to mine!

[mina 0]

Hi Scott

At the end of the day, the weight distribution of a loaded VR6 is cr@p compared to a stripped out Clio Cup!! The engine makes the car very nose heavy - especially in tight bends. You're just fightling the laws of physics - you want to turn, but your car wants to go straight on!!

ARB's will definitely reduce understeer. I also strongly recommend a front upper strut brace to reduce flexing between the suspension top mounts. I'd recommend you try that first - and then start messing around with springs/shocks/ride height.

Cheers

Mina

[acf8181 0]

clio's also have torsion bar rear suspension, which is always gives superb turn in.

i've driven the 1.6 16v new shape clio, and the clio cup race car, but not driven a cup road car...but goin on the 1.6 16v its a very pointy car (race car has no comparison to anything road derived), very similar to a pug 306 actually...you have to hold the rear on the throttle...golfs simply dont have that good a front end. shame really.

[scott8629 0]

Yeah understood,

I think I will have to replace the shocks soon as the near side rear is starting to leak.

The Koni eibach set up sounds good to start with all the rubber mounts and bump stops.

How much do you think this will cost approx??

Cheers lads what a great site

Scott

[acf8181 0]

£400 is the cheapest you get the kit for, then i'd say about £10 per corner on the bump stops/top mounts...just go for standard stuff.

[VR6Steve 0]

My car has an upper strut brace, lowered suspension and Eibach arb's and would say it handles quite well. Haddi's has lowered suspension and a lower strut brace. She reckons the strut brace made a huge difference to the cars handling when it was fitted.

[acf8181 0]

really, i heard strut braces didn't really do much on mkII and mkIII golfs as they had quite a stiff front end. heard they made a world of difference on a mkI tho.

[VR6Steve 0]

Well the word she first used was go-kart like.

[mina 0]

Front srut brace makes a massive difference on a lowered Mk3 - best £120 I ever spent on a VR6!

[dubloke 4]

they certainly do on a mk. 1 i can verify that, but i've been told by many a tuning firm that a mk.3 benefits significantly from the aid of an upper front brace once its been lowered! just fitted one and can confirm it is more stable thru' the bends (at speed) than it was b4!

[ Edited Wed Mar 10 2004, 12:14PM ]

[acf8181 0]

be another thing to add to my wishlist then!