Thinking about better shock abosrbers

[GTIJNR]

Done your lower control arm rear bushes yet noone?
Rear sway bar make your front end work much harder => floating front end.

[insanekiwi]

Interesting thread as I am running same setup as noone.

I will hopefully be upgrading the shocks as well in the future. I heard there is Koni adaptive shocks (I can't recall the name), are there models available for our Polos?

The car does run a little too hard with H&R, 17inch, and stock shock setting. I need more comfort. I thought about going back to stock 16", but 17" just look so much better....

[noone]

No, my mechanic put me off installing the control arm bushes. It was mainly the cost, but he couldn't see the point of changing them for a item that did not change the caster (think there are whiteline ones that do).

It was mainly a cost thing, as was going to take a lot of $$$ in labor for installing cheap (I'm not doubting the quality) components.

Interesting what you say about the rear sway...

[seangti]

No, my mechanic put me off installing the control arm bushes. It was mainly the cost, but he couldn't see the point of changing them for a item that did not change the caster (think there are whiteline ones that do).

Absolutely agree that a castor kit would really improve our cars. The change in castor really improves the front end feel when tipping into corners. Now just need to find a kit for the right price.

[noone]

Whiteline does castor kit from memory.

Whiteline in Aus is cheap and fairly good product.

Also, noticed these: KW dampers only

For a ballpark of 500 plus fitting, may make the whole car settle. Then again, having the front stiff and the rear soft may make the whole car unbalanced.

insanekiwi; i don't think changing the shocks is going to make the ride softer, I don't think anything much can, but will help with the floatyness and general grip.

[GTIJNR]

There are caster kit avail in the state, but think of it this way, stiffer rear make the front tyres work much harder, then you've got that FRONT control arm rear bushes flexing n changing your steering angle L n R INDIVIDUALLY ALL the time at every corner...? I think that's your problem atm. Plus that std rear control arm bushes probably twisting itself atm due to your lower spring, it suppose to be straight when the car level on the ground, so even if u want to keep the bushes, its should be reset for the new ride height.
I tried this anti-lift kit from http://203.31.191.243/fulcrumCat/, great piece. However the inner bit of the bushes did fly off once during some heavy track work lol had to go look for it... press back in n all ok. I have h&r with stock shock same at your, handling not too bad with 17" quite heavy wheel. Then i put 312mm brake kit on => too much unsprung weight... sh&t handling but brake good, well, can't get all for nothing... but H&R quite soft, so with standard shocks & light weight wheel combo should be ok, on the budget level, provide solid bushes installed.

[mozzzy_2000]

Hey noone I was interested in your thoughts about the bounciness of your H&R springs. I have them matched up with a set of bilstein B8 struts and at first they were so bouncy it actually felt quite dangerous at high speeds but I kid you not, its taken more than a couple of months for the springs to 'settle' down and lose their bounciness and for them to really start performing how they should ie. super flat and super stiff.

Now more recently I have added a front strut brace and also fitted some 17" wheels with the lower profile 205/40 tyre and the car is so darn stiff and tight its pretty crazy. Seriously feels like a go cart and its quite an excillerating drive when you really push the car to its limits. I do feel that ride comfort is compromised slightly over stock but having said that, the car is essentially a sports car so its pretty tough to have both ride comfort and a stiffly sprung car in one. Its far from uncomfortable though but you do pretty much feel every single bump on the road especially when travelling less than about 70-80Kph. Its when you hit higher speeds it really comes into its own and the ride is very smooth even when travelling at stupidly high speeds. Another thing I have noticed is that those bone jarring thumps and wacks that the stock shocks wouldn't absorb are pretty well absorbed by the bilsteins. It also goes without saying that the ride is far softer with the stock wheels & tyres and going to the lower profile 17" wheels I have now has made it considerably more stiffer.

[vwthunder]

Then i put 312mm brake kit on => too much unsprung weight... sh&t handling but brake good, well, can't get all for nothing...

Did you really notice that much difference with the 312mm brakes

[noone]

Hey noone I was interested in your thoughts about the bounciness of your H&R springs. I have them matched up with a set of bilstein B8 struts and at first they were so bouncy it actually felt quite dangerous at high speeds but I kid you not, its taken more than a couple of months for the springs to 'settle' down and lose their bounciness and for them to really start performing how they should ie. super flat and super stiff.

Thanks Mozzzy,

I have found the H&R's to be good overall, I think that for the occasional fling around the streets, its quite good. With the RSB, its all much tighter and more rigid.

I think the issue is one of perception. I feel sometimes that my traction is severely reduced over rough road, which I seem to have plenty of around where I live.

I feel that without correct damping, My wheels are not spending enough time on the ground or being pushed into the ground, which is only really an issue when I'm pushing it (and I like to push it).

The floatyness is only an issue for me at high speed, its not the end of the world, but I do wonder what could happen if i'm taking a long corner at high speed (100kmph) and the surface disagrees with my spring / shock rate. Again, its not an issue for the cruize, but I think I'm letting the handling down with this compromise.

I've heard the Bilsten with H&R Combo works well, some have said it is too stiff for daily driver.

I'm pretty keen to get rid of the big bangs, last time I hit a big pothole/road resurfacing, I took out a Conti and felt like the suspension imploded. I'm not too keen on seeing how many of those my car will handle before doing some serious structural damage...

From what I've read, the AP's are going to be softer (well, won't know until I try both) and I'm pretty keen on being able to drop the toy and get some Dubb looking results.

I'm preferring my 17's over the stock 16's, could just be not having the conti's, but I've found the ride to be smoother if anything.

All in all, its only since being in Jamesatfish's Polo that I've been aware of its limitations. The way his suspension (and car as a whole) handled at Wakefield was in such contrast to what my car was doing, its really made me rethink...

Thanks for the input.

[noone]

you've got that FRONT control arm rear bushes flexing n changing your steering angle L n R INDIVIDUALLY ALL the time at every corner...? I think that's your problem atm. Plus that std rear control arm bushes probably twisting itself atm due to your lower spring, it suppose to be straight when the car level on the ground, so even if u want to keep the bushes, its should be reset for the new ride height.

I had heard a wheel aligner talk about the height of the control arms and the downside of not being flat, but how can you reset this?

I'm not really sure about the control arm bushes making such a big difference here, but as I've not installed, I can't say for sure. I think the difference in the angle of the wheels would be minimal impact compared to the imact of poor shock absorbers not keeping good traction on the road.

I tried this anti-lift kit from http://203.31.191.243/fulcrumCat/, great piece. However the inner bit of the bushes did fly off once during some heavy track work lol had to go look for it... press back in n all ok.

That sounds disturbing...

Can you explain what the kit does? I'm not really good with suspension (well, cars as a whole) so don't understand what the point is of replacing these.

Thanks for your input, always good to hear where others with similar setup have had success.

[noone]

Well, ordered the AP's, in some weeks I'll let you know how its gone.