MK5 Golf GTI
All Things Mk5 => Modifications & Technical Area => Performance Modifications => Topic started by: RussZS on April 27, 2011, 02:49:20 pm
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Coming from a Megane R26, I found the Golf on its test drive to have a fair bit of understeer, body roll and less overall grip than my Megane has.
I'm looking to address this as much as possible before going after big power, so what's the best stuff to go for?
Ideally within a £1000 budget.
I was thinking:
- KW V1's
- WALK
- ARB's
Am I along the right lines? Anything else I should look at instead?
Russ.
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That's on the right track, i and a lot of others have chosen to just replace the rear ARB, which will help a lot in reducing understeer. :drinking:
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Thank you :)
Is there anything else worth changing? Are the KW's a good choice? I'm not fussed about going mega low, just a bit lower and decent quality/handling
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Don't forget your brakes Russ. Standard ones are scary with power upgrades! :driver: :driver:
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I had Eibach coilovers on my old ED30, which use the KW V1 dampers. I got through two sets of dampers in less than 2 years. Personally I wouldn't have Eibach's again, so the same would be said of the KW's for me. :smiley:
I swapped to Bilstein PSS10's and they were much better. Cannot say if other Bilsteins would have the same resilience to my driving :laugh: but there you go. :wink:
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I had Eibach coilovers on my old ED30, which use the KW V1 dampers. I got through two sets of dampers in less than 2 years. Personally I wouldn't have Eibach's again, so the same would be said of the KW's for me. :smiley:
I swapped to Bilstein PSS10's and they were much better. Cannot say if other Bilsteins would have the same resilience to my driving :laugh: but there you go. :wink:
I must say i have the KW V3 and have run them for 2 years now, they are not bad, but the minute i get the chance to get Bilstein PSS10, i won't hesitate to get them on my car.
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Dont forget to add a decent set of tyres too... they make 'night and day' difference in terms of understeer.
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A UNIBrace is on my list of suspension mods!
Dom
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TT suspension arms are the best mod IMO. They add negative camber to front wheel and reduces understeer.
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Plans sound about right. As said though have a look at brakes if your going to up the power :happy2:
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How much are TT suspension arms please and where do I get them from?
Russ
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have a read
http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,27225.0.html
http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,28652.0.html
I am very happy with the final results
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Nice to see you making yourself at home here Russ!! :happy2:
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Hello Luke :)
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rear ARB, WALK, TT lower control arms, uprated pads, THS engine mounts and then you'll have a superior handling car in everyway but with zero change in the day to day driving comfort.
Whiteline Rear ARB £150
TT lower control arms £350
Pads £100
engine mounts £240
leaving you around £150 for fitting
Coilovers are the best part of £750+ for the cheapo bottom end KWs. then add you arb and you already creeping over the 1k region with fitting costs and less to show for it
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Spend more and become satified: :wink:
- WALK
- TT arms
- B12 or B14 or B16
- engine mounts or at least dog bone insert
- anti roll bars front & rear
- 8x18 rims with 235/40 Michelin PSS
:driver:
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I am wondering if I should have just bought a different car!
I was spoilt with my Megane handling wise, shame the rest of it was so unreliable.
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the extra mods do make a big difference.
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I am wondering if I should have just bought a different car!
I was spoilt with my Megane handling wise, shame the rest of it was so unreliable.
Dont be silly Russ. The Frenchies can only afford to make the cars handle well because the rest of it is so poorly made. I was utterly stunned when i looked under our Clio with 6k on the clock when the driveshafts were like rusty poles that had been left in the sea for 5 years, and the rear caliper carriers had not been coated with any kind of protection at all.
The extra peace of mind you get with the VAG car over the quality is worth the minor sacrifice, and its all things that can be sorted. :happy2:
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Spend more and become satified: :wink:
- WALK
- TT arms
- B12 or B14 or B16 SACHS RACE ENGINEERING PERFORMANCE COILOVER
- engine mounts or at least dog bone insert
- anti roll bars front & rear
- 8x18 rims with 235/40 Michelin PSS
:driver:
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I am wondering if I should have just bought a different car!
I was spoilt with my Megane handling wise, shame t he rest of it was so unreliable.
The basic Golf platform is relatively well built, but needs work to move it into the good for handling IMO, if you want a superb chassis you will need to look at other vehicles. I am nearly satisfied with
TT lower arms
WALK
Bilstien PSS10
Neuspeed ARB's
I have just had fitted the THS bottom engine mount which at present I hate !
I will stick with stage 2 upgrade the brakes and leave it at that spec
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I have kw dampers and springs on my bora been on there for five plus years and still going strong
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Well, so far my suspension upgrades have been relatively cheap. I have H&R super sport springs and 24mm rear sway bar.
I still am running the oem dampers and just about due for the FK dampers I've been looking at. Handling quality has been
more than I would have ever dreamed for though. I take quite a few curves exceeding 90 mph that are marked 35 mph and the car
just gets through them with such rewarding feedback and confidence. Lowering the gti, whether you go springs or "lifetime warranty'
coils and adding a rear sway bar really is what you need to handle just about anything the road can throw at you IMO.
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Which Rear ARB do you have please? That's my next purchase!
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I'd never be happy with springs + rear bar so it seems to be a question of taste and what to know. :wink:
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Which Rear ARB do you have please? That's my next purchase!
I have H&R, and it's set for the stiffest position.
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I'd never be happy with springs + rear bar so it seems to be a question of taste and what to know. :wink:
I have considered adding a front sway bar. Do you have experience with the mkv with just a rear sb versus both front and rear?
If so, what positions did you set them? Because I thought if I were to do this, I would set the front to the loose or mid setting with the rear
set to the stiffest position. I eliminated the understeer by adding the rear alone and wouldn't want to set the thing up if I were to add the front
where I might over cook every corner. Right now at high speed cornering I have to be very careful not to over cook it. I mean I just barely need
to give the wheel anything to make a corner without spinning the tail out. If there is an improvement to this, then I'm all ears. Meaning if the car
would and can actually perform better, corner flatter, and not scare the tscheidt out of me, I would definitely go for it. Everyone here that I've spoken with
tells me that unless I'm a very experienced race driver then stick with just the rear. Otherwise I'll be spinning the rear out from behind myself.
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I first fitted the rear bar and while happy at narrow corners I was
a bit feared a fast ones.
A few days later the front bar went in. Much better for my taste.
I went for front on soft and rear on hard for long period because
you can read everywhere this solves understeer.
But that' only half the story. I felt that my front was too soft and
so once upon a time I set it to hard as well. Even better !!
Quicker turn in, no more 'muddyness'.
So since then I run on both hard all the summer time (and both
soft in the winter).
But most obvious improvement still is my Sachs Performance
coilover which I had before the ARBs. I like the feeling of strong
dampers. No bouncing at all. Then the ALK and the the ARBs.
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That's good info. Thanks for that stuff.
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Sorry, ALK's? And...
If I go with a front ARB, suggestion would be 26mm or 28mm?
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Depends on a couple of things:
- taste: turn in vs. traction
- engine power: guess you have 300+ HP > traction needed
- LSD or not: guess not > you need traction
. camber, tyres and so on
Think you better go for a 'mild' front ARB, so solid 24 or 25 mm.
I'd have a look at the Whiteline.
Alternative: lightweight hollow tube type 27 mm, but I don't
trust the hollow bars since I saw pics of two cracked ones.
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A UNIBrace is on my list of suspension mods!
Dom
....I think you'll find that the Mk5 chassis won't benefit as much as the Mk4 did/does from adding a Unibrace. Surely other suspensions mods would be better done first - Particularly Anti Roll Bars.
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A UNIBrace is on my list of suspension mods!
Dom
....I think you'll find that the Mk5 chassis won't benefit as much as the Mk4 did/does from adding a Unibrace. Surely other suspensions mods would be better done first - Particularly Anti Roll Bars.
Well my Mk5 R32 benefited greatly from it, but as you say best to get arb's coilovers etc first(like i did), but once you have these, you will be putting more stress on the chassis, and the Unibrace really improves this, andyou will notice a difference. I am currenlty trying to get a group buy started with Bruce Levin, just waiting to hear back...
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Who does the unibrace? Available for MKII Leon Cupra?