Best coilovers for application

[Blitzen]

Most of us have some sort of bracing already... As it stands, I have had my car for 3.5 years and 95k km. As far as suspension goes I have a front strut brace, rear sway bar, and Weitec lowered springs... My shocks are on their way out (rear shocks are weeping), so in the process of looking for new spring, I realized how cheap coiloves could be, so I went with them... I personally feel that other than a rear strut tower brace, under body bracing is a bit of a load of wank... If you are going to dedicate your car to the track, fair enough, but....it's your money to spend, so it's up to the person buying it to decide if they want or need it...

[kaanage]

The UNIbrace that I listed for EOI is not the underbody one - it's the one to stiffen the rear between the towers. Unlike every other rear brace that I've seen, it works mainly in tension rather than compression (most only add a single sided tension brace as an afterthought if at all)

The underbody brace bit was an enquiry passed on by the UNIbrace people - I don't intend to get one (unless I decide to build a race car)

Lower, stiffer springs with standard shocks? That's a recipe for poor performance on anything other than perfectly smooth roads.

[Blitzen]

Lower, stiffer springs with standard shocks? That's a recipe for poor performance on anything other than perfectly smooth roads (and a wank).

I have had lowered springs and standard shocks since 13k km, so well over 80k km now... The front shocks still pass the compression test, but are a bit soft for my liking... The rears still pass too, but are weeping, and need replacing...I personally love the UNIbrace, but can't be arsed getting one, modifying one to fit, then getting it properly engineered once installed...

[kaanage]

can't be arsed getting one, modifying one to fit, then getting it properly engineered once installed...

The whole point is if we can get them made to suit the 9N3, then there is no modifying or engineering (whatever you mean by that)

and I did remove the "wank" reference after thinking about things but you must have started your reply before I edited that out

[Smead]

I've been running Eibach springs on standard shocks since 80,000 odd kms (now roughly 140,000) with no problems too
got FK's on the way though.

[kaanage]

That your standard dampers are "OK" with the lowering springs doesn't make them a well engineered package. Apart from more body roll and less pose value, the standard springs work better when using the standard dampers.

[Smead]

Yeah I Know... But it just sits so high. Problem solved when I get the FKs

[s4mmie]

Unlike every other rear brace that I've seen, it works mainly in tension rather than compression (most only add a single sided tension brace as an afterthought if at all).

Can you please explain this a little further?
I'm thinking of knocking up a four point crossbrace and fixing it to similar points as a unibrace.
Would this have a similar effect?
I haven't had a chance to look at the rear towers, but another idea I have is to fab a simple tubular brace between the two towers with quick release fittings (ala bike wheels)
Would this have any positive effects, or turn out to be more of a 'wank' factor?

[Blitzen]

The whole point is if we can get them made to suit the 9N3, then there is no modifying or engineering (whatever you mean by that)

Ahh, ok then... I misunderstood what was being said in the UNI brace thread... I thought you were getting Mk4 ones in...

[kaanage]

Can you please explain this a little further?
I'm thinking of knocking up a four point crossbrace and fixing it to similar points as a unibrace.
Would this have a similar effect?
I haven't had a chance to look at the rear towers, but another idea I have is to fab a simple tubular brace between the two towers with quick release fittings (ala bike wheels)
Would this have any positive effects, or turn out to be more of a 'wank' factor?

Do you mean an X shaped brace across the 4 mount points and then a beam across the towers? That is basically what the UNIbrace does and would work well. The spindles for the quick releases would need to be quite strong and so would the mounts. I don't think it would be worth it vs just unbolting the beam.

I've been thinking along the lines of using adjustable steel cabling (ala yacht mast rigging) for the cross tensioning along with a beam across the 2 upper mounts to take the compression load to make a lighter and cheaper version of the UNIbrace but it would be nowhere near as pretty.

Ahh, ok then... I misunderstood what was being said in the UNI brace thread... I thought you were getting Mk4 ones in...

I'd love to meet more people at events as misunderstanding posts drives me spare (I do it all too often). Eg I think we both agree that good coilovers or cup kits are superior to just lowering springs.
Plus I think if someone has already bought good lowering springs and has failing dampers, then they should just buy good aftermarket dampers to suit the springs rather than throw the whole lot out with a set of coilovers (unless the height adjustment was the overriding requirement).

[Blitzen]

I'd love to meet more people at events as misunderstanding posts drives me spare (I do it all too often). Eg I think we both agree that good coilovers or cup kits are superior to just lowering springs.Plus I think if someone has already bought good lowering springs and has failing dampers, then they should just buy good aftermarket dampers to suit the springs rather than throw the whole lot out with a set of coilovers (unless the height adjustment was the overriding requirement).

Yeah, I know what's you are saying... That's why I try and get to as many meets as I can now that I live down here.I originally jumped online to replace the shocks as my rears were failing, mostly looking at Bilstein's or Koni's, but when I saw the prices for these as opposed to a set of coilovers, plus having the ability to go lower (my Weitecs only lowered my car 10mm), I decided to go for coilovers... After the price Smead and I got these for as a package, we couldn't pass it up, and after driving in his car yesterday, and feeling how they felt, I'm happy with the choice...

[kaanage]

If you got the coilovers at a comparable price to replacement dampers, that's fair enough. Surprises me, though.

[Blitzen]

If you got the coilovers at a comparable price to replacement dampers, that's fair enough. Surprises me, though.

A fair bit less actually...

[noone]

KW's or Weitec are damn cheap from the UK atm.

[noone]

The boot space of the Polo is quite shallow, I'm not sold on how much it's going to affect the Polo... I guess it's a case of wait and see, there is Merritt in the bracing, but if it makes as much difference as other handling mods will have to wait for testing.

I think it's a great idea, but the cash is too much for my perception of the benefit (all I have to go on for now).