MK5 Golf GTI

All Things Mk5 => Modifications & Technical Area => Technical Workshop => Topic started by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 10:48:08 am

Title: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 10:48:08 am
I had the alignment done and the fella told me i need two new rear lower arms.
i plan to refurb my suspension over the next few months,could this be the start ? I would like to go a bit better than oem but not too crashy if that makes sense. What do you recommend ?? All advice gratefully received
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: colesey on September 03, 2019, 11:18:12 am
Racingline sports springs / dampers are great oem+ solution for road use and are both better handling and more comfortable than stock.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: scopes on September 03, 2019, 11:25:07 am
Did he mean the arms that carry the springs?

If so could be a good time to superpro / Polybush your chassis.

Aks tuning should have them in stock !
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: colesey on September 03, 2019, 11:51:15 am
I’ve the road durometer superpro on alloy arms at the front and they are worthwhile. Am rather reluctant to do the rear as big labour costs and potential for noise getting amplified through the boot.

Smaller arbs are also a worthwhile addition, as are the superpro adjustable ball joints however the OP was looking for an OEM+ upgrade rather than full reworking!
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 12:10:20 pm
he showed me the arms that go from the middle out to the rear hubs,could be triangular ....I am no mechanic !!!
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: scopes on September 03, 2019, 12:35:03 pm
yes, the rear arms that carry the springs, think when you go to VW they like you to replace/buy the whole arm with bushes inserted.

Or

aftermarket parts/bushes can be bought separately and pressed into your old arm. Going this way, you probably won't ever have to worry about replacing bushes again. But as stated above it Labour costs can get expensive.

The Superpro bushes cost around £450, front to back.
start pricing the OEM replacements.... Once one bush goes others tend to follow.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 12:48:30 pm
the backs are gone so i think i will start there. While these are off is there anything else to replace at the same time ? To save taking this apart in the future
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: scopes on September 03, 2019, 12:49:12 pm
you might need new bolts...
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 01:42:33 pm
Do you know the proper name for them and the bolts
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: muff1991 on September 03, 2019, 01:54:48 pm
You more than likely will need new bolts.. especially for the inner part as they seize into the collar on the bush! The bolts are called eccentric bolts and the arm is the rear lower control arm. I wouldn’t think you’d need to replace much else if just replacing those arms.. maybe a drop link at the most. But if you want to replace every bush on the rear... it’s like a cluster of bushes and will be expensive.


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Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 02:15:48 pm
who do i go to for these bushes and bolts
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: colesey on September 03, 2019, 03:11:20 pm
Many would say RPS online however their correspondence with an order didn’t impress me however Gavin at VAG Bolts has been excellent.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: muff1991 on September 03, 2019, 03:11:26 pm
You can go to TPS for genuine replacements. But as mentioned you’ll need to press the new bushes in. If it was me (I did) I’d buy the bolts from TPS and then your choice of after market bushes (powerflex etc)


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Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 03:23:57 pm
does anybody sell the arms with aftermarket bushes fitted
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: scopes on September 03, 2019, 03:29:13 pm
Have a read here:- https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,121677.0/topicseen.html

This may help point you in the right direction. :happy2:
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 05:09:18 pm
just trying to find the complete arm.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: colesey on September 03, 2019, 06:08:09 pm
does anybody sell the arms with aftermarket bushes fitted

Try Ross at TDC. He is ex-TSR and a dealer for Superpro, works closely with his former TSR buddies at Retro Resus.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 06:32:07 pm
IS TDC the company name? I did google but nothing came up.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: colesey on September 03, 2019, 06:52:35 pm
TDC Automotive.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 03, 2019, 08:38:07 pm
ok thanks
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 04, 2019, 11:40:46 am
I have spoke to RPS this morning ...two complete arms £211.66
My mate who is going to fit them says just get the bushes. So do i go for polybushes ,will they generate more road noise?   
  Peoples thoughts ?
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: muff1991 on September 04, 2019, 11:58:06 am
I put powerflex black bushes on the rear of my touran (the inner rear toe bush) to stop wear of the rear tyres.. big issue on tourans coz of the weight. (touran is virtually the same chassis as the golf - is why I'm mentioning it).

I didn't notice a noisier rear end tbh but then it is slightly different to the golf as in the size and weight. If I was to fit bushes to my golf i'd go for either the super pro stuff or the powerflex purple which is designed for road use, the black series is for race/track use really.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 04, 2019, 12:18:20 pm
Powerflex black are they quite close to oem ?
Are Lemforder a quality make or do i leave them alone
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: muff1991 on September 04, 2019, 12:20:46 pm
Powerflex black are they quite close to oem ?
Are Lemforder a quality make or do i leave them alone
Powerflex black is proper hardened, and way stiffer than OEM. if you want an OEM feel then yes go for Lemforder or something like that, they aint too bad.

polybushes will last a lot longer but will also stiffen slightly.. thus losing comfort.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 04, 2019, 12:42:02 pm
The roads in the Forest of Dean as rough as hell so i was wanting to stay as near to oem as possible or only slightly stiffer. :driver:
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: muff1991 on September 04, 2019, 02:20:16 pm
Unless I’m mistaken, I think you could easily pop some purple PF in and be happy :-)


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Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 04, 2019, 08:26:33 pm
looking for a good deal, not much luck so far
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 08, 2019, 11:03:12 am
I have bought Superpro bushes from AKS I just hope I have ordered the right ones.
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: scopes on September 09, 2019, 03:47:28 pm
you made the right choice, the car will feel like new, it will take about 1000 miles for them to bed in, and never worry again....  :driver:
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: Dave Y on September 10, 2019, 09:37:40 am
i plan to replace all the bushes over the next few months then replace the springs and shocks
Title: Re: wheel alignment bad news ,advice please
Post by: colesey on September 10, 2019, 11:09:11 am
It’ll be cheaper to wait and do everything at once. Less labour and only one alignment session.