Need some input on suspension

[ChrisAttebery]

Hey guys,

I need some input on the suspension on my GTI. I have OZ wheels that are 10 lbs lighter per corner, Ground Control camber plates, SuperPro poly control arm bushings (front and rear positions), H&R 26mm FSB and 24mm RSB. The rest of the suspension is stock. I have two issues that are getting on my nerves.

1. The front right suspension squeaks. When I installed the poly bushings I had a hard time getting the rear bracket back into place because the front bushings basically have zero flex. I'm pretty sure that they are binding. If I wanted to replace the front bushings is there an upgraded rubber bushing or should I just go back to stock? I thought I'd try the fronts first and then if that doesn't cure it I'll order a set of the TT-RS rubber rear bushings.

2. The car feels great on smooth roads. Unfortunately a LOT of the roads around here are pretty rough and the car feels twitchy and bouncy on those roads. I'm thinking about moving up to something like Koni Yellow adjustable struts/shocks. Does this make sense? Will they absorb more of the roughness or are they going to make the car ride even rougher?

Thanks,


Chris

 

[ChrisAttebery]

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered the Koni Yellows, new bump stops, and RS3 rubber bushings for the front end. I have next week off so hopefully all this stuff will arrive while I'm on vacation.

 

[MrFancypants]

I have the stock rubber bushings in the front position and TT rubber bushings in the rear and I don’t feel the need for poly. Steering feels very direct and responsive at all points in a corner.

Also happy with my Konis, try to resist the temptation to set them too stiff.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

I have the stock rubber bushings in the front position and TT rubber bushings in the rear and I don’t feel the need for poly. Steering feels very direct and responsive at all points in a corner.

Also happy with my Konis, try to resist the temptation to set them too stiff.

Where do you have yours set? Stock springs?

 

[MrFancypants]

Where do you have yours set? Stock springs?

I’m pretty sure I have them set at 3/4 turn from soft, both front and rear. The fronts are easy to play with, but the rear is annoying because you have to pull the strut. I’ve used the same settings when running the Konis on stock springs as well as the Eibachs I’m on now.

A note on the rears... I don’t know if I got an odd pair or what, but I read somewhere that the full soft valving was supposed to be able to control the stock spring, so I initially set it to 1/4 turn from soft. This was not enough, any time the rear spring would decompress it would do so like it was completely undamped, most noticeable when modulating the throttle through a turn... let off the throttle just a hair and the rear would explosively decompress and upset the car.

At 3/4 from soft, no problems, nice and controlled and not too stiff.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

Thank you MrFancyPants.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

I installed the front struts today. I pulled the stock struts out then opened up the top of the strut towers with a 2-1/2" carbide hole saw. I turned a pilot on my lathe to match the saw arbor to the existing hole. I used a 2" sanding drum to clean up the hole. I pulled the camber plates and springs off the stock struts and then compared the compression and rebound to the Koni Yellows. The Konis feel softer on compression but stiffer on rebound. It will be interesting to see how they feel on the road but it sounds like what the doctor ordered. While I was in there I took a look at the lower control arms. The bushings are definitely bound up and squeaky. The TT-RS rubber bushings are supposed to be here tomorrow. Once I get those installed I'll install the new rear shocks.

 

[snobrdrdan]

^^^Why such long bump stops, and no dust boots there?

 

[ChrisAttebery]

The bump stops are stock. They don’t stay in place with the GC camber plates. Same with the dust boots. It’s a California car so I’m not too worried about the dust boots.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

BTW: I followed your advice from an old post and trimmed a little off the tabs. I measured the diameter of the struts and the Yellows are about .010” bigger than the stock struts. Even with a spreader I had to use a jack under the lower ball joint to seat the struts.

 

[MrFancypants]

The thing about the Konis that I dislike most is the really weak compression damping, but that was because I was still running the boat anchor Detroits. The Konis just weren’t stiff enough to keep the suspension from crashing hard over big hits. Since dropping ~11 lbs per corner with lightweight wheels it’s not a problem.

As far as handling goes the lower bump stiffness is fine, and might even be a touch better for dealing with mid corner bumps.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

Short story: The word of the day is composed. As in, my car feels much more composed now.



Long story: I got the installation done yesterday afternoon. I manually tested the stock rear shocks vs the Konis and kept increasing the rebound damping until I could feel that they had more than stock. I wound up setting the rears at 1-1/2 out of 2 turns. I started with the fronts at 1/2 out of 2 turns. After the first drive I set the fronts up to 1 out of 2 turns. The vibration coming through the steering wheel is probably 1/4 of what it was before. The head shake from the sway bars is dramatically reduced. Honestly it feels like a different car.



The only thing that seems to be worse is that the car seems to lose traction a little easier. The SuperPro LCA bushings added a degree of caster and a degree of anti-lift. I can feel that it's missing now. BFI's new LCA bushing uses the stock RS-3 rubber with the housing that has the castor and anti-lift. I ordered a set this morning since they are on sale for Black Friday.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

I’ve played with the settings on the fronts and keep coming back to 1 turn from soft. I noticed that the rear end felt like it was wallowing a bit though. I adjusted the rears down to 1 turn from soft. I can feel a bit more of the road but the rear end feels more planted.

I installed the BFI LCA bushings last night.They definitely help with forward traction. They don’t transmit anywhere near the vibration that the poly bushings did.

The car feels really good now. It’s a lot smoother. There’s a lot less vibration. At the same time it still has great turn in and carves through corners.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

I talked to Lee Grimes at Koni a couple weeks ago. He suggested that I go all the way back to 0-.5 turns from full soft front and rear.

I set all four to .25 turns from full soft. The car is still very composed but I can feel the road a bit more (in a good way) and it rotates a bit better too.

 

[MrFancypants]

I talked to Lee Grimes at Koni a couple weeks ago. He suggested that I go all the way back to 0-.5 turns from full soft front and rear.

I set all four to .25 turns from full soft. The car is still very composed but I can feel the road a bit more (in a good way) and it rotates a bit better too.

I didn't like my rears at such a low adjustment, it felt like they weren't doing anything at all. Letting off the throttle mid corner for rotation would cause the rear springs to explosively decompress like there was zero rebound control, throwing the load forward violently. I can't remember what they're at now but they're either 3/4 turn from soft or 1 full turn from soft and I'm happy. I think I have the fronts set at 1/2 from soft.