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I posted this ages ago about my MK1 but it applies to MK2's as well.
There's been a lot written about how to make a MK1 handle and basically it’s get the car low with suspension mods that cut down the body roll. Add some decent tyres and you will have your car handling like a go-cart but how do you also give it a comfortable ride? That’s where the mystery and magic come in.
I like to use standard shocks with heavy duty springs. Standard shocks compress easy so when you hit a bump they don’t transmit much of the shudder through the car body. Sports shocks and coilovers are stiff (try compressing one by hand) and don’t contribute anything to lessening the body roll through corners. That’s the springs job. With this setup I can drive comfortably over speed bumps and country roads and still have lots of fun hassling other drivers who think their cars are quick through corners and roundabouts.
My first MK1 was bought way back in 1986. It was a 2-tone black/silver 2 door 1978 GLS for my wife that was quickly modded with a 2nd hand GTI front swaybar (also called anti roll bar) and a 16mm rear swaybar bought new from Lovells Suspension (not recommended). I also fitted heavy duty springs bought from Lovells (not recommended) and made up a lower front strut brace (highly recommended). Shocks were standard.
The new Lovells springs raised the car by about 5cm front and back and when I complained they said it returned the car to original height. I told them bullsh#t and to send me a set that lower the car as originally requested. I gave the springs back to them and after a week they sent back to me the same springs with 2 coils cut off the rears and 1 off the front. That's when I realised it's ok to run cut down springs (if the suspension experts can do it then why can’t I) as long as there’s no free movement when mounted to the shocks.
The Lovells rear swaybar was designed to be mounted on a couple of very weak tabs on the bodywork behind the rear beam, not fully inside the beam. After a few months the mounts ripped off so I started looking at the American VW magazines for an alternative. At the time the Yanks were selling a lot of aftermarket parts for MK1’s and 2’s and everyone was using Neuspeed swaybars but they weren’t cheap.
Instead I went to the local wreckers and found a Mazda Capella front swaybar could be made to fit if I welded on all the mounts to my rear beam. Half a day’s work later I had a 22mm rear swaybar which sat completely inside the rear beam and reduced the body roll a lot more than the pansy 16mm Lovells one. With 14 x 6 mag wheels fitted with 195x60x14 Bridgestone rubber the car was a weapon through corners. I used to bait Japanese cars going into roundabouts and freeway on/off ramps and always left them behind. I also raced this car at the Canberra hillclimb track a few times and it set decent times for its class.
About 6 months later I saw one of the end mounts for the front swaybar had unscrewed - it wasn’t even attached. I hadn’t noticed any difference to the handling but screwed it all back together anyway. It didn’t make any difference so after a couple of weeks I took the front bar off and sold it.
My 2nd MK1 was a 4 door GL bought in 1987 and I did the same to it but used a 22mm Mitsubishi Sigma front swaybar for the rear of the Golf and it handled better than the 2 door. This car was never fitted with a front bar and was so predictable in its handling I could push it to the limit through corners and set up a 4 wheel drift just with throttle control. Easily the best handling car I’ve ever had.
A couple of MK1’s later I bought an original 1981 GTI Campaign and didn’t modify anything during the year I had it. What a piece of crap that car was, a well driven SUV could outrun it through corners. For 1981 it might have been a great car but by 2002 it was severely outdated (and starting to rust). Because it was original I didn’t want to modify it so I sold it.
My current MK1 was setup by its previous owner to be a weekend toy and came with Wietec coilovers, camber adjustment plates, front and rear sway bars, upper and lower strut braces and 14’s with 60 profile tyres. Every rubber bush was replaced with plastic ones including the steering rack mounts. The suspension was so stiff that there was no movement when you push against the roof. Great setup for racing on smooth tracks but not for country roads. I’ve replaced the stiff Wietec coilovers with adjustable Koni shocks and springs from a mates VW Cabby. This raised the car a few inches (the Cabby is a much heavier car) so out came the anglegrinder. Hey, if it’s ok for Lovells to cut them this way then who am I to argue.
I like using stiffer springs with good shocks on my Golfs because the ride quality over rough roads is still good but the body roll (and cornering speed) is much improved over standard. My two MK2 GTI’s and my MK3 Golf were all modified this way and used as dailies, doing over 1000 k’s a week. I live 100 k’s from work (200ks there and back each day) driving on country NSW roads so stiff coilovers are definitely not for me. Because the MK2 uses a subframe it rode very well over the bumpy stuff and still cornered like it was on rails.
Cheers
Paul
There's been a lot written about how to make a MK1 handle and basically it’s get the car low with suspension mods that cut down the body roll. Add some decent tyres and you will have your car handling like a go-cart but how do you also give it a comfortable ride? That’s where the mystery and magic come in.
I like to use standard shocks with heavy duty springs. Standard shocks compress easy so when you hit a bump they don’t transmit much of the shudder through the car body. Sports shocks and coilovers are stiff (try compressing one by hand) and don’t contribute anything to lessening the body roll through corners. That’s the springs job. With this setup I can drive comfortably over speed bumps and country roads and still have lots of fun hassling other drivers who think their cars are quick through corners and roundabouts.
My first MK1 was bought way back in 1986. It was a 2-tone black/silver 2 door 1978 GLS for my wife that was quickly modded with a 2nd hand GTI front swaybar (also called anti roll bar) and a 16mm rear swaybar bought new from Lovells Suspension (not recommended). I also fitted heavy duty springs bought from Lovells (not recommended) and made up a lower front strut brace (highly recommended). Shocks were standard.
The new Lovells springs raised the car by about 5cm front and back and when I complained they said it returned the car to original height. I told them bullsh#t and to send me a set that lower the car as originally requested. I gave the springs back to them and after a week they sent back to me the same springs with 2 coils cut off the rears and 1 off the front. That's when I realised it's ok to run cut down springs (if the suspension experts can do it then why can’t I) as long as there’s no free movement when mounted to the shocks.
The Lovells rear swaybar was designed to be mounted on a couple of very weak tabs on the bodywork behind the rear beam, not fully inside the beam. After a few months the mounts ripped off so I started looking at the American VW magazines for an alternative. At the time the Yanks were selling a lot of aftermarket parts for MK1’s and 2’s and everyone was using Neuspeed swaybars but they weren’t cheap.
Instead I went to the local wreckers and found a Mazda Capella front swaybar could be made to fit if I welded on all the mounts to my rear beam. Half a day’s work later I had a 22mm rear swaybar which sat completely inside the rear beam and reduced the body roll a lot more than the pansy 16mm Lovells one. With 14 x 6 mag wheels fitted with 195x60x14 Bridgestone rubber the car was a weapon through corners. I used to bait Japanese cars going into roundabouts and freeway on/off ramps and always left them behind. I also raced this car at the Canberra hillclimb track a few times and it set decent times for its class.
About 6 months later I saw one of the end mounts for the front swaybar had unscrewed - it wasn’t even attached. I hadn’t noticed any difference to the handling but screwed it all back together anyway. It didn’t make any difference so after a couple of weeks I took the front bar off and sold it.
My 2nd MK1 was a 4 door GL bought in 1987 and I did the same to it but used a 22mm Mitsubishi Sigma front swaybar for the rear of the Golf and it handled better than the 2 door. This car was never fitted with a front bar and was so predictable in its handling I could push it to the limit through corners and set up a 4 wheel drift just with throttle control. Easily the best handling car I’ve ever had.
A couple of MK1’s later I bought an original 1981 GTI Campaign and didn’t modify anything during the year I had it. What a piece of crap that car was, a well driven SUV could outrun it through corners. For 1981 it might have been a great car but by 2002 it was severely outdated (and starting to rust). Because it was original I didn’t want to modify it so I sold it.
My current MK1 was setup by its previous owner to be a weekend toy and came with Wietec coilovers, camber adjustment plates, front and rear sway bars, upper and lower strut braces and 14’s with 60 profile tyres. Every rubber bush was replaced with plastic ones including the steering rack mounts. The suspension was so stiff that there was no movement when you push against the roof. Great setup for racing on smooth tracks but not for country roads. I’ve replaced the stiff Wietec coilovers with adjustable Koni shocks and springs from a mates VW Cabby. This raised the car a few inches (the Cabby is a much heavier car) so out came the anglegrinder. Hey, if it’s ok for Lovells to cut them this way then who am I to argue.
I like using stiffer springs with good shocks on my Golfs because the ride quality over rough roads is still good but the body roll (and cornering speed) is much improved over standard. My two MK2 GTI’s and my MK3 Golf were all modified this way and used as dailies, doing over 1000 k’s a week. I live 100 k’s from work (200ks there and back each day) driving on country NSW roads so stiff coilovers are definitely not for me. Because the MK2 uses a subframe it rode very well over the bumpy stuff and still cornered like it was on rails.
Cheers
Paul
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