Perfect wheel alignment settings for the Polo??

[VWindahouse]

I know I may be asking a little much by wanting to find the perfect balance for a street/track car but here goes. All experience and opinions welcomed. Especially all the track whores out there.

So a few questions to start things off. I believe the ideal front camber settings for a FWD car are between 3-4 positive degrees as printed here Suspension Tuning Negative Camber - Sport Compact Car Magazine

Then there is front and rear toe and the Polo from factory is known for having around 7mm positive toe hence the Whiteline shims. So what would suggest as being the idea measurements?

Then to front and rear camber. Now I know everyone would give their left one to have a set up like Eddy's but for us mere mortals I believe there may be a tiny bit of adjustment here. My last alignment print out says;

Rear Camber
left -1,35
right -1,26

Front Camber
left -1,22
right -0,50

What are your thoughts on those?

Cheers yal!

[s4mmie]

I'm keen on this subject also Anyone?

I also was looking into making adjustable strut tops... might start another thread on it to see if there's much support.

[VWindahouse]

Did anyone manage to find their camber settings?

[nightphotographer]

Didn't want to start a brand new thread for this - I got an allignment done a few days ago, first one since changing the suspension and the car had been pulling pretty hard to the left. Got in it and drove straight to Melbourne - 300+ kms of Highway driving and it's still pulling to the left exactly the same before it was apparently alligned - surely this isn't normal? Have I been screwed over?

[gavs]

Perfect wheel alignment stettings for the Polo??

Ask/check your receipt of work done because if it mentions camber adjustments, they're lying. They can adjust toe but for castor and camber, they need to unbolt the whole subframe.

[nightphotographer]

Ask/check your receipt of work done because if it mentions camber adjustments, they're lying. They can adjust toe but for castor and camber, they need to unbolt the whole subframe.

When I picked it up they said something about +1 Toe - wasn't really paying attention, it'd been a long week.

I was expecting an allignment to correct the pulling to the left. I know all car's will pull eventually because of camber, but this is a soon as you let go off the wheel, harsh pull. Would I be out of line if I took it back and asked them to re-do it?

[s4mmie]

I thought mine pulled to the left, same story, fitted new suspension and thought it was that..
It still pulls to the left mainly, but I think it's just because of the bigger wheels combined with the camber of the road as it can pull to the right sometimes as well. It sounds like yours might be a bit more severe though?

[gavs]

Perfect wheel alignment stettings for the Polo??

Don't forget also that the inherent backlash in the drivetrain accounts for this as well with the 2 different length driveshafts, the left being shorter. Find a hill and with the engine running, put the car in neutral and roll down seeing if the pull is the same. I would also ask exactly what they aligned because if they haven't given you a report on the before and after settings, I would question the workmanship...

[kaanage]

They should be able to print out a copy of the alignment settings (with both before and after measurements) from your previous visit. Certainly make sure you get one if they realign your car.

Usually, they will set cars to pull slightly to the right if you don't ask for a straight track.

[h100vw]

What are the rear wishbone bushes like?

Have they been replaced, you could align it until the cows come home and it would change significantly between power on and off, if the bushes are worn out.

You could set it correctly with no movement on the ramp but that changes on the road.

Gavin

When I picked it up they said something about +1 Toe - wasn't really paying attention, it'd been a long week.

I was expecting an allignment to correct the pulling to the left. I know all car's will pull eventually because of camber, but this is a soon as you let go off the wheel, harsh pull. Would I be out of line if I took it back and asked them to re-do it?

[nightphotographer]

What are the rear wishbone bushes like?

Have they been replaced, you could align it until the cows come home and it would change significantly between power on and off, if the bushes are worn out.

You could set it correctly with no movement on the ramp but that changes on the road.

Gavin

Think you've hit the nail on the head there - I've got Cupra LCA bushes ready to go in - Dad's coming over this weekend so he can grab me the wishbone bushes from VW UK - anyone have any part numbers? Any other bushes that'll need replacing soon while I'm at it?

[nightphotographer]

I'm going to get my dad to pick them up from PSI Tuning before he leaves (he's getting me the Eibach Anti Roll Kit too ) - so I've got the SEAT LCA Bushes - what else should I get? - Bushes > Suspension > Polo 9N 02-09 > VW Polo > VAG Specialists > PSI Tuning - VW Specialists

[clicht]

I'm going to get my dad to pick them up from PSI Tuning before he leaves (he's getting me the Eibach Anti Roll Kit too ) - so I've got the SEAT LCA Bushes - what else should I get? - Bushes > Suspension > Polo 9N 02-09 > VW Polo > VAG Specialists > PSI Tuning - VW Specialists

your cars going to be awesome

[VWindahouse]

I was going to start a new thread about this but here goes.

Over the years I obviously started with the crappy OEM rear control arm bushes but then progressed to the SEAT solid rubber ones and the improvement with power delivery was night and day however even with all my other supporting suspension modifications and bracing there was still a tendency to hesitate for a second under power when you initially plant it, especially when taking off and the wheel is turned anywhere but straight ahead. And not to mention if you're too heavy with the accelerator in that scenario you will just spin the inside wheel. And of course the solid bushes helped a great deal with traction issues off the line.

But now I thought I would give Superpro's Polyurethane anti-lift rear control arm bushes a go and the results are brilliant. Firstly let me confirm there is no noticeable increase in vibration for those who still care about ride comfort And the other benefits are significant and have only been street tested so far but I'm positive the track will hold the greatest improvements with cornering. Plus I haven't even had an alignment yet

Quite simply here are the improvements

Better traction off the line
Next to no hesitation of power delivery in any situation
And to my surprise the anti-lift actually works!! There is a section of road I do every morning on the way to work where there is a high street speed round-about exit that goes up hill (the big Rode RD round-about for those in Brisbane, Old Northern Rd Exit under the overpass part) usually I gun it up the hill to match a 80kph speed zone and lose traction momentarily in the front end because there is a rise then dip about 3/4's of the way up the hill then it continues to the top sort of like a roller coaster feeling. Now there is hardly any lose of traction or hesitation and it just powers up the hill even though you can feel the chassis lifting.

Now the bushes I ordered are just the street version so I am very interested in what the high performance 80K version they sell can do. The part number for the street bushes SPF3273K.

So for anyone with knackered bushes I would highly recommend these

[kaanage]

I thought I would give Superpro's Polyurethane anti-lift rear control arm bushes a go and the results are brilliant
..
Now there is hardly any lose of traction or hesitation and it just powers up the hill even though you can feel the chassis lifting.

Yes, the anti-lift part of the name is rather misleading as it is really anti-anti-dive (which also results in less anti-lift) which increases the vertical compliance in these cases giving increased mechanical grip (grip under heavy braking should also be marginally improved). The added castor negates the possible tendency to scrub the front tyres when turning in these situations.

Thanks for the feedback re NVH - my worry about this was the reason I went for the SEAT solid rear LCA bushes instead but it looks like I have missed out on a good thing

It will be interesting to see how they hold up over a few thousand km (the split design should help a lot vs a solid polyureathane bush).