Fergo308's My14 103TDI Pacific Tiguan

[fergo308]

That link was broken,but I found the part in the golf mk5/6 section of his site. That's a good price for an imported part.
The locally-made Super pro ones are comparable price-wise,with the SPF3365-70K retailing for $47.70.

Justin...

[fergo308]

My new Adjustable Super Pro Swaybars just arrived for the wife's Tiguan.
I'll be fitting them on Sunday when I give the car it's first service,so if anyone on here is interested in the rear 24mm adjustable bar that's coming off of the car,please let me know.




Justin...

[fergo308]

So,I've now done our Tig's first service at 7800km. It swallowed 4.5L of Castrol Edge FST 10w30 Synthetic and a genuine filter.
I should be getting a wholesale supplier for Motul oils shortly,so will likely switch to their product next time around as the Castrol stuff isn't cheap,and Motul do a 507-compliant VW specific oil.

I noticed two small oil leaks from what looks like a breather hose on the back of the engine,and from out of the flywheel area (rear main? ) which I will have to keep an eye on. I've cleaned up the splash tray and offending areas,so will see if they return...


I also swapped out the 24mm Super Pro Adjustable Rear Swaybar I'd previously fitted for their 26mm bar,and fitted their 24mm Adjustable Front Swaybar.

The front bar is NOT a simple job as it requires removal of pretty much the entire front end from the car due to the one piece cross-member design.
I'm a qualified mechanic,and doing this job on my own on the floor of my garage was NOT fun,nor simple like the rear bar is. The car will likely require a wheel alignment afterwards and there is the potential to damage wiring and the steering rack if you're not careful so I won't be posting a step-by-step DIY walk-through for this job. I will however post a required tools list,and some photos of the job as I went through it.

I got away with only requiring a minor front toe adjustment as I was VERY careful with how I marked the assembly's position prior to removal and made sure it went back into exactly the same spot. Getting the steering rack to sit in exactly the same spot on the cross-member isn't as easy however,so I needed a 1/4 turn on each tie rod afterwards to square the steering wheel back up.


Tools needed:
*Spanner - 18mm
*Sockets - 13,16,18 & 21mm
*Extensions - 3" & 8"
*Ratchet
*Torque Wrench
*Soft Hammer
*Scriber (to mark where the cross-member lines up on the floor)
*Torx - T25 & T45
*Multi Hex bit M6
*12" Lever bar
*Cable ties (to support the steering rack when you drop the cross member)

Compressed air and a impact gun are recommended also,but not essential.

The kit as supplied by Super Pro. Note the meaty new D bushing brackets. These ones aren't going to break,unlike some other brands,and you don't have to drill out your old brackets from your original bar either,which saves time and keeps your OEM parts intact.



New bar assembled and placed next to the original bar for comparison. The OEM bar is 1mm thinner than the Adjustable Super Pro bar at 23.5mm.



Cross-member & Front LCA assembly on the ground,with the new bar installed.



And back together.




So,the verdict? Worth the effort. The larger rear bar made the most difference,but even with the front bar on it's softer setting,the difference up front is noticeable. The car sits beautifully flat now on the quick punt around a few local roads I took it on after the job was done. Even on the stock 16's the car easily out-handles my Lexus.
I have a set of 18" Oz Canyons on their way over from Japan atm,but they won't go on until the 16" tyres are worn down.
I can't wait to get a set of Bilsteins and Super Pro's Soon-to-be-released Alloy Front LCA & Anti lift + Extra Caster kit into this thing!


Justin.

[tigger73]

Fergo308's My14 103TDI Pacific Tiguan

Nice work! Yes the front sway bar is definitely a workshop/qualified mechanic job.

I'd forgotten how much all the suspension work changes the handling until I took a demo car for a drive the other week.

Definitely a lot less body roll and the ALK sharpens up turn-in but does make the steering a bit heavier.

Be interested to see the final rests when the new wheels go on.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fergo308]

'Final' results for this car are a long way off unfortunately (unless a LOT more people start buying stuff from me now!),but it is progressing,and that's good.

To be honest,I reckon the car needs a bit more weight in the steering. It's quite direct already,and it handles very well out of the box,but the 'feel' feedback is a little lacking. That's no surprise though when you check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHerLYp3TC4

The stock rear LCA bush is shockingly soft. Good for a smooth ride,but not for performance!

As I don't plan on doing just half measures with this car,I'm waiting for Super Pro to release a new alloy arm kit specifically for the Tig,as the existing ALOY0001K kit for the Golf/Octy etc. isn't a straight bolt on due to the different bolt spacing on the rear brackets.
I have ALK bushings sitting on the shelf behind me as I type this,but I would prefer to fit the arms as well,and do the job once,so I'll wait until the new year when the kit is released. The guys at Super Pro offered to send me a kit with a custom set of bushings that I could press into my existing brackets a couple of months ago,but I felt it was better to wait for the complete kit and to preserve the OEM parts in case they're needed later when it's time to trade in.

My suspension plans are the Super Pro Alloy arm kit with anti lift & extra caster,Bilstein cup kit (lowered springs and matching dampers) and replacing the rest of the bushes in the car.
The wheels will go on somewhere in the middle of all of that.

Pic of the wheels from Japan:






Justin...

[fergo308]

Fitted some 'cool blue' park light globes,and a pair of Osram's 'Nightbreaker Unlimited' H7 headlight globes to our Tiguan yesterday afternoon.
They claim a 110% increase in light output compared to a normal globe,and in this case,the difference is immediately noticeable,much clearer light,and a better spread than the OEM globes (which are also from Osram BTW!).
These retail at $73.00 a pair (although I can supply them for better than that ).



New globe fitted on the right hand side...





I've spoken to Super Pro this week also,and was told that they're working on a new version of their Torque Arm insert bushings,and I've put my hand up to evaluate some samples. If I can get a few to test I'll offer them up here for you guys to check out also.

The Super Pro 'Supaloy' Anti-lift and extra caster kit with Alloy front lower control arms will be released for the Tiguan in early December also! I'll be getting a set of these as soon as they come out also,so watch this space. I've sold two sets of these to guys with Skoda Octavias this year,and the response was incredibly positive,so it'll be good to get the same handling benefit in our cars.


Regards,


Justin...

[fergo308]

Further proof of why the Tiguan is an awesome car for us: For our Hills district to Wagga Wagga trip yesterday,it averaged 6.0L/100km. 1100km round trip needed ONE refuelling stop.
TDI + 7spd DSG = Awesome savings!


Justin...

[fergo308]

Haven't updated this in a while,as I haven't done much to the car.

The stock tyres have finally worn down at the 40k km mark,so some Oz Racing Canyons in 18x8" +35 covered in Continental Sport Contact 5's in 235/50/R18 went on last week.




Some Super Pro alloy front LCA's with extra caster and anti-lift will be going in soon also.

Regards,

Justin.

[Melbourne_Tiggy]

Looking good! Have you considered some lowering springs or adjustable suspension ? I'm running with ST height adjustable suspension and they have been fantastic.

[fergo308]

I've definitely considered it,I just have other places to spend that cash first. I'm not one to go halfway with suspension,so it's Bilstein coilovers or it'll stay stock,so for now it stays stock.

Regards,

Justin.