Coilovers or spring and damper set?

[VR6Nat 9]

Hey Ray,

Basically for the first 8 months i ran it through summer on standard bushes (that were shot), standard top mounts and standard ARBs and 17" summer wheels, the damping is adjustable so i set it to how i felt comfortable, then made it stiffer bit by bit til i was happy...

Then a few months ago i stuck my 15" winter wheels on and have changed my wishbone bushes to the poly ones... the rest remains standard...

I found the ride feels quite a bit stiffer on the front with the poly bushes, but i havent softened off the suspension as i dont want to have too much travel on the front, but i like it, its firm so that you know its lowered, but you arent being knocked about when just driving through town at 30, (i am going with poly rear bushes soon too)

When i had the standard bushes that were shot it was wallowy at the front and was rebounding more than it needed to... i am happy with the set up i have now... i am about 2/3 towards the stiffest setting on the front i think, and it feels nice... tight when driving normally and at fast speed it starts to loosen up and soften which is what you would expect, not too much roll... going at normal speeds im more than comfy too... the rear, i cant remember how ive got that, but i fiddled a bit and have got that nice too. It just takes time for you to set it to how you drive, but you can go from having it set like a sponge cake to a brick...

In no way am i an expert when it comes to suspension, i had a clio that was lowered 60mm on springs and it was shocking, i have been in probably 20 odd cars in the last few years of all types on all sorts of suspension and i think mine is the most comfortable by a mile... some of them was like riding on wood... i get comments too on how nice it feels.

The other good thing is that its easily adjustable so you could get to a track day and add a few clicks front and rear without having to jack the car up. Then take it back to normal before you come home.

Jim Potter uses the same as me, and he runs a turbo vr that he takes to the ring and constantly does 1/4 miles in... his is set stiffer than mine, but still isnt the worst ride ive been in, but might be worth asking him about the track driving side of mine as i am yet to have the balls to take my baby out on one!! lol.

Sorry for the long reply, just trying to tell ya what i have found with mine... hope it helps!! :)

Natalie

[Dragon Dave 1]

A friend of mine said he might be able to get me a good deal on some Koni coilovers. I will get these if I can afford it. I'm just waiting for a price from him.

I'm going to change the bushes and top mounts too.

I see a lot of comments about standard top mounts not lasting very long (some people reporting 20 or 30 miles!!!!!), I guess this is when the car is lowered to the floor. I will lower the car about 40mm, Is it a good idea to upgrade them to the Supersport top mounts?

[Rayhoop 0]

thanks for the detailed reply Natalie - it was just what I was after! I think Im sold on the GAZ kit now. Just need to figure out what spring rates I want them built with.

I could be wrong Dave, but I believe Aminder from Cgti is running standard Vag top mounts with his coilovers and has not had any issues. I would have guessed they would be ok. I didnt have any issues with my mk1, but that is a featherweight in comparison.

Im going to poly my wishbone and rear axle bushes, but leave the rest as VAG.

Spring rates wise. Im not going to strip my car out, so it will still be heavy, and the front arb is likely to remain standard. i might have a custom rear item coming my way tho. I'll see what the guys at Gaz suggest I run, and will be trying to get a ride in Aminder' VR to see how his setup feels with his spring rates. Im very lucky in the sense I have some close friends on cgti who have spent a lot of time investigating how different suspension settings effect handling... So a lot of the work has already been done - but there are always variables e.g. Budget, car use reqs, car/engine variations.

Fingers crossed the setup will come out riding and handeling nice!