BamaQLD's 'It's getting there' Polo build

[BamaQLD]

Hey fellow dubbers,

I thought it was about time to get my arse on this forum as I have been following for a while. I have owned my Polo for around 10 years now and was very cautious in the beginning towards changing anything as it was my first 'almost' new car. Stuck it out through the warranty period, then when that expired I started to look at what options are out there. I have always had a keen interest in 4cyl's. Grew up tinkering Ford escorts and mate's Gemini's, awesome fun compact RWDs. But now I have enjoyed moving into injected, turbo, FWD.

So over the years on a pretty tight budget I have added bits and pieces. First (of course) was the ECU. Can't remember why but I went with the BSR stage 1, turned out well although I have not experienced APR, CC etc to compare, and also realise there is no stage 2, which sucks. I then added K&N air intake on a Forge TIP, Red coil packs, 3"DP, SAI delete, N249 delete. Also threw a Whiteline rear swaybar on the back and on the cheap removed as much weight as I could think of. As I am fastidious about the sound quality my music I went for a pretty nice stezza as well, which clashes with my weight reduction.Love em or hate em, I imported LED headlights as I reckon it gives the 08 polo a modern look.

Which basically brings me to where I am now... Just moved back home (QLD) after spending 2 years in TAS and forgot how bad the heat soak is up here. FYI... The cool air in TAS is awesome for flogging your car in. So I decided to get a phenolic intake spacer and a FMIC. I know some people say there are better options than the forge one but I have my reasons. Spacer went on sweet, FMIC has had a couple of teething problems. 1. I cant get the front panel to slide on flush anymore and 2. the bottom pipe on the intake of the cooler has blown off a couple of times .

I have the clamps super tight now but thinking of using some sort of paste/cream/sticky sealant ****, as I don't like having the hose clamps super tight?

Anyway, any suggestions/previous experience with these dilemmas will be appreciated. Cheers. Added a few pictures of the progress and the size comparison (for the two people who haven't seen it before).

[seangti]

Hi and welcome back to QLD

1. I cant get the front panel to slide on flush anymore
Which panel are you referring to? It does require cutting a reasonable amount of the the back side of front bar and the low drivers side grill to fit it all back together. With some trimming it does allow it to all fit flish again.

2. the bottom pipe on the intake of the cooler has blown off a couple of times
Are you referring to the "L" bend one that runs along the lower side of the engine into the bottom of the FMIC?? I had this problem when I first got my car, once it got some heat into it, it'd pop off. I had the "L" pipe extended (made a new one) and lipped at the end. Alternatively, if you have silocone piping, use a longer section of pipe allowing the engine and piping to rock more. If I recall correctly, that L pipe is plastic from factory so you have a straight silicone pipe to connect to the FMIC, make that pipe longer allowing the "L" pipe to be more at right angles/parallel to the ground. It's the angle that's causing it, once that's sorted you don't need to go crazy on clamps or super tight.

When you put it a part, also be sure there's no oil residue in the pipe when making that connect, just use a degreaser and let it dry.

[BamaQLD]

Thanks for your reply seangti. The gap exists in the side of the front panel where it slides in against the guards, the drivers side is pretty good... The gap I am concerned with is on the passenger side. I managed to get a screw in to make it look decent but still a larger gap than there is meant to be. Might have to look at shaving some metal off. Is there any specific area on the bar eg middle, drivers side? With my situation it will most likely be the passenger side that needs a shave?


I think I sorted the pipe blow off issue. It was the lower pipe coming off the 'L' bend. Forge supply a silicon hose to join the metal pipes. I noticed that when I installed it the hose was not 50-50 over each metal pipe. I readjusted and have since had no further problems. Thanks for your advice anyway.

Got a few more bits come through the mail. Installed the short-shifter and one set of the metal bushes but didn't double check my order and the other set has only an 8mm hole instead of 10mm. Did a bit of backyard mechanics to file down the shaft so the 8mm pushed on. Not sure how long it will last but still felt pretty stable. Also installed the lower engine mount bush using the vw jack as a press. Still not too easy to get everything lined up, but after using two jacks and persevering everything lined up. Now get the expected vibrations when idling, nothing concerning, but made worse when running A/C. All good though.

Overall happy with the outcome. Get a little bit of expected lag now but seems to pull a bit harder through the top end with the FMIC. Shifter kit worked out alright. Had a bit of trouble selecting 1st when I first put it together but been a bit more relaxed when adjusting everything and now there are no issues.

Really need to get onto some coilovers, wheels and brakes. Then I think I'll be ready for stage 2.

[BamaQLD]

Hey, ordered some coil overs from Demontweeks. I was looking at the Bilstein B16 set but couldn't justify the price considering they sell for around $3000 here or shipped before GST and customs duty for around $2200. Noticed Demontweeks had up to 25% of Bilstein coilovers (of course the B16s were not available), and still do? So managed to get the B14 set up for $1100 shipped before GST etc. The money I saved by not going with B16s should help me set up brakes and possibly get the stage 2 remap.

But I miss out on adjustable damper. I have been watching Simons thread on caster/camber etc and there seems to be a few options to have adjustable camber/caster. The cheapest option for camber would be this..? SuperPro Trade .

Anyone had any experience with these bolts, any good, what length etc. The other option I am looking at are the Powerflex adjustable eccentric LCA front bushes mentioned by Sambb in Simons thread. Will this go alright with the anti-lift LCA rear bushes?

On the topic of bushes I am looking into replacing all the suspension bushes to Superpro or Powerflex. Any advice/experience with this will be appreciated. I still want a comfortable drive and I am a bit worried about it being too hard of a ride with excessive vibration.

Lastly any tips installing coilovers? I am looking at doing the job myself as it doesn't look too hard. Got a separator for the front shocks. Realise I will need professional alignment/adjustment once they are in. I assume it is okay to do a few kms to settle in before getting the pros to align/adjust?

Thanks in advance Dubbers.

[sambb]

B14's are excellent coilovers for the street. Those eccentric bolts don't actually fit our car. The ones you want are the front LCA bushes that I linked into the last few posts of simon K's build. They look to be new to the market. Do the rear LCA bushes at the same time. They wont make the ride harsher but they will make it ride/handle better. The only bush that will ride harder is the dogbone bush. You'll get more idle buzz from the engine into the cabin but the trade off is a much tighter driveline which you'll appreciate. There's plenty of instructional videos on you tube which will give you an idea of whats involved. You'll need a hub base separator bit and some know how and you will need an alignment. But I'd get yourself finalised on the ride height you want before you do that. For brakes, stock is fine. I've used mine in sprints and track day and they never faded once and that's mostly only on remsa pads. I used ferodo ds2500 on the track and they were fine. You can spend those dollars elsewhere eg dump pipe/cat and the stage 2 to go with it and that is money far better spent. It'll be a nippy little sled once you've done all that and absolutely on par with the current crop of hot hatches.

[simon k]

For brakes, stock is fine. I've used mine in sprints and track day and they never faded once and that's mostly only on remsa pads.

ditto on the standard brakes - they're excellent - I had an experienced mate sit next to me for a couple of sessions at the sprint I did the other week and he was very impressed. No idea what pads are in it, I expect they're something in the middle of the range - normal street type pads...

[BamaQLD]

Thanks Sambb, good to hear the standard brakes are alright. I have enquired about the Powerflex adjustables and should have them ordered by next week. I will be doing the rear LCA bushes with the Superpro anti-lift at the same time. Did the dogbone a few weeks back and have a 3"DP installed so probably look at getting the stage 2 map in the very near future.

Jumped in the car Friday night and the bloody roof lining was sagging. Thought I would have a go after seeing other forum members having success. First, removed the old lining and roof mould. Some of the panels and clips were a bit tricky but managed to slide the roof mould out without too much trouble. Next had to scrub the old foam/adhesive off using a deck scrubbing brush from Bunnings. Also picked up some sikabond sprayfix as the new adhesive which seemed to work well. Got the fabric from Spotlight and slapped it down in the mould. First time doing this so definitely some lessons learnt. Bit tedious trying to smooth it in and around the front of the mould where the visors and console light switch etc is. At the end of the day not a bad result, few tiny crease still trying to smooth out.

[simon k]

nice - is there a trick to getting the funny vent thing behind the interior light off? mine rattles and gives me the sh*ts...

[BamaQLD]

G'day Simon. There is no real trick it pops out/off if you wedge it out from the rear of the car end. I wasn't sure if I could include diagrams from the VW workshop manuals (copyright, reproduce??) But if you don't already know about Volkswagen Erwin... Sign up for a days subscription (around $5 from memory) and download all of the vw workshop manuals you desire. There is a specific one for the interior.

[BamaQLD]

Bilsteins arrived today, will be throwing them in over the weekend.. Got out of paying any customs fees as the threshold is on the goods only. B16's would have been nice but B14s $1100 landed.. all smiles here.

[Sydneykid]

Bilsteins arrived today, will be throwing them in over the weekend.. Got out of paying any customs fees as the threshold is on the goods only. B16's would have been nice but B14s $1100 landed.. all smiles here.

Best bang for buck choice, plus the B14's can be converted to damper adjustability at any time the funds become available. Either single adjuster (bump and rebound together), double adjustable (separate bump and rebound) or remote canister triple adjustable (separate high and low speed bump adjustment plus rebound adjustment).

Cheers
Gary

[BamaQLD]

Best bang for buck choice, plus the B14's can be converted to damper adjustability at any time the funds become available. Either single adjuster (bump and rebound together), double adjustable (separate bump and rebound) or remote canister triple adjustable (separate high and low speed bump adjustment plus rebound adjustment).

Cheers
Gary

Thanks Gary that is very good to know as I will be thinking about it in the future.

[BamaQLD]

Spent the long weekend in a wrestle with the car, removing and then installing the coilovers. Can't say it went smoothly or exactly as planned but a bit of improvising and persistence has hopefully paid off. Rears were pretty straight forward and did not encounter many issues. The fronts are a totally different story. Quite easy to prepare the passenger side but the coilover does not want to part with the hub. Did use improvised spreaders and chisels to spread the strut housing then bashed it with a rubber mallet which did bugger all, then purchased a mallet which worked much better. Got the OE coilover out but then had to improvise again to get the OE bearing and strut top/mount off using a 21m sparkplug socket with the allen key through the middle turning the socket with a shifter.

Not so easy getting it back in again but a bit more bashing with the mallet slowly but surely got it in far enough to do the bolt up. The coupling rods that come with the Bilsteins were a lot shorter than the OE ones and after thinking about it I rotated the sway bar upwards and everything lined up then. Can't see a problem with this???

Drivers side just would not pop off and then I realised the driveshaft was preventing the hub from moving down to release the original strut. After reading the workshop manual they suggest removing the shaft from the hub but you needed a 36mm socket. Long story short after watching a bit of you tube, you can undo the shaft from the gearbox end with 6 M8 12 spline bolts. So did that and removed the hub out from the swivel joint and it popped out and went back in a lot easier than the passenger side.

The car sits noticeably lower now and maybe a bit too low on the front. The front wheels are a bit wonky (not lined up with each other) and the steering wheel is not centered when the wheels are "straight". Probably being stupid but I needed to do some food shopping which is a 5 min drive so took the polo out. Feels scary on the road and I am hoping this is all to do with the alignment (I know you need one after doing coilovers/ride height etc). Just praying I have not bent anything in the steering. There is also a clang noise coming from the rear springs when going over speed bumps/driveways. I have re-inspected the rears as I thought the springs may not be aligned with the metal stop that usually prevents springs spinning. I had a pretty good look and did not notice any stops in the bottom spring seat? Pretty sure they are installed the correct way up as the installation guide said the printed text on the springs should be upright.

Not sure how to rotate pictures?? Will get better pictures when I can drive somewhere nicer.

[sambb]

Don't worry about rear spring stops. I thought the same thing when I had mine really low at the back too. I was expecting to find a cone shaped rubber stop on the beam somewhere that would hit the chassis before coil bind but there's not one. The rear bump stop is associated wirh the dampers. The standard OE dampers have a rubber stop sliding on the damper shaft. When I went to Bilstein B8's they told me not to fit those to the B8 dampers as they had an integral stop. Must admit I was dubious but did what they said and I never bottomed them out anyway. Might be worth a call to be double sure.
Re the fronts yeah the drivers side can be a nightmare till you work out whats happening. Its incredibly dodgy but I actually positioned a rod between the struts spring platform and a jack. If you can hold the strut upward just a smidge to stop the damper trying to extend into the hub while you bang it with a hammer it'll pop out. Don't worry re your steering - nothing will be broken. You just need to set your heights and once that's done go and get the tow alignment which will be out. I know that on a mates Clio that the B14 collars were set ridiculously low like an auto salon car and they needed to be raised a mile to get the wishbones more or less level which is what will get it handling well. It could be a similar situation with yours.

[Sydneykid]

I know that on a mates Clio that the B14 collars were set ridiculously low like an auto salon car and they needed to be raised a mile to get the wishbones more or less level which is what will get it handling well. It could be a similar situation with yours.

That's normal out of the box, the idea being that there's no preload on the springs so the struts are easier to fit, no need for spring compressors. Then you wind them up to the desired height. If they were set at some "guess" height it most likely wouldn't be right anyway.

Cheers
Gary