What did you do to your Polo today?

[csimpson]

Just imagine the new ones you have with no voids at all - that's the only difference.

Ah, cheers, thanks mate. I might stick these in and see what it's like -- I'm sure a huge improvement from the current shagged bushes -- and if I want more I can go straight to Whitelines.

It looks like the new front LCA bushes a half way to the SEAT ones. Any idea of when the new ones were introduced?

Something on that site said February/March 2011 I think? So quite recently.

[kaanage]

Maybe you could plug the voids with some appropriately sized chunks of rubber (possibly carved from the shagged OE ones) as a test.

I found a thread where they are discussing this changed part on the BRISKODA forum - Is he talking Horlicks?!?!?! - BRISKODA.net - The Skoda Forum and Community

In there, one guy posted that he changed from the Cupra bushes to these new ones because he found the Cupra ones to be too stiff and the original ones to be too soft (and the new one being just right). It's dated September 2009 so I guess the part was changed sometime before then but I can't find any other date references.

---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:09 PM ----------

greg, i dont by any means drive a ''hard core'' car, and yet im actually struggling to think when my car was actually pleasant to drive....

Change your torque arm bush back to rubber fer chrissake!! I used mine for yesterday's track day and hated every moment with it when not actually on the track.

[csimpson]

Sounds excellent, thanks mate. I may also re-invest in a rubber torque arm bush (and extra arm, maybe?) and change that on for the home-work run, for the extra comfort.

[kaanage]

Pressing the bushes in and out of the torque arm might be a bit of an exercise without a press.

I just changed mine back to the stock arm (ah, just listen to that serenity) and reflashed my ECU back to stock.
The throttle transition clunking MAY have gotten a little bit louder after the weekend Phillip Island lappery.

[Buller_Scott]

things are just going to get worse for me, greg - i think im going to have to go single mass flywheel when i replace my broke clutch - no point going back in three years again to have it all done again, if i stay with dual mass.

as for what i did today - not with the polo, but with its temporary replacement, the nissan micra hire car that i've been driving (auto).

for a car with no tuning, riding on 165 section econo tyres, the thing goes pretty bloody well up around yarra bend (did like 4 laps tonight).

it has no low down torque or power whatsoever, in fact the only shove you get is when you turn overdrive off on the auto gear stick, and wait for the revs to build - once that happens, the car pokes along a tiny bit more noticeably than normal.

HOWEVER, it's quite bizarre for me to drive it hardish - in the polo, i feel like i've got to have my line sorted before i take a corner, and yes you can somewhat trim your line by backing off/ braking, but otherwise ''understeer'' is really the name of the game. in the micra, even with the tyres screeching, if you're taking a decreasing-radius corner, simply turn the wheel more to suit - no need to back off like in the polo.

so, it really pains me to admit this, but i have no doubt that with decent suspension, a tune (to sort out what's under the curve, not necessarily to up peak power or torque), and some sticky 195 section tyres, on a downhill or flat run, i really believe that the micra would be able to keep up with a vw cruise - there wont be any power anywhere, but the car's so light, the steering so direct, it carves corners with ease, and driving it really, really, really makes me realise just how much friggin understeer is built into VAG cars (be it through safety, or engine weight, or whatever).

it's a wonder why i dont see any tuned / lower suspended with fat tyre micras on the road - they're A LOT of fun.

(although i guess most people dont want fun, they want a car that's 1/10th of a second quicker, no matter how much of a handful).

[kaanage]

I'll be hanging out to see how the clutch works out. If mine is dying and the dealer won't fix it, then I'll be going down the same path (maybe check an ATBD in while it's apart).

You CANNOT replace lightness and our TDi's (and GTi's too) have a great lump of metal up front making understeer inherent. Some of the best fun I had when I got my licence was tearing through the Christmas Hills at night with a friend in his Fiat 127 hatch and my Mazda 323 (original FWD model) - the Fiat had a 903cc engine with 135 width tyres and was almost impossible to catch even though my car had a 1.5 litre engine and 155 width tyres. We would swap cars and it was the same - the little Fiat was just so light and nimble that the more powerful and grippier Mazda had a tough time just keeping up.

That said, if you want oversteer in a Polo TDi, just head over to the Vic Motorsports 2012 thread...

[seangti]

Scott, i test drove some micra's for the girlfriend and had a similar experience that they aren't as bad as I was expecting. Suspension was a reasonable balance and steering had some weight. Ended up buying a new fiesta though, which lacks any weight in the steering, though overall build quality and feel is better. But yeah, I was impressed for the money.

[Buller_Scott]

I'll be hanging out to see how the clutch works out. If mine is dying and the dealer won't fix it, then I'll be going down the same path (maybe check an ATBD in while it's apart).

You CANNOT replace lightness and our TDi's (and GTi's too) have a great lump of metal up front making understeer inherent.

That said, if you want oversteer in a Polo TDi, just head over to the Vic Motorsports 2012 thread...

clutch is slow work - i got a quote from the mechanic (just down the road from the new 24hr coles/kmart complex, melburnians know the one) and parts and labor for an aftermarket "uprated" smf kit is about $4k. so i guess that means i'll be sourcing the kit myself.

and yes - one thing i'm realising - the ultra low down torque of the pog tdi makes for awesomeness in the corners (coming out of them), but with my (non R spec) semi's on the front and re002's on the back, plus damping in the front wicked up for drive days, i feel like my car's just right, and yet the last couple of days have had me thinking "man, the same tyres, and the same suspension on the micra, and all things being equal, it'd kill my car for mid corner speed"

i know you werent hurt, greg, because you've been posting on watercooled, but peter's in-car footage of you was froiking scary - the little blur that is your car really did look like a rollover. glad you and the pog are no worse for wear.

Scott, i test drove some micra's for the girlfriend and had a similar experience that they aren't as bad as I was expecting. Suspension was a reasonable balance and steering had some weight. Ended up buying a new fiesta though, which lacks any weight in the steering, though overall build quality and feel is better. But yeah, I was impressed for the money.

yeah sean, i test drove a fiesta the other week for my mom, and without a doubt the interior finish, the touchable surfaces inside, the build quality (things like the sound the car makes when you close doors/boot) are definitely superior to the micra.

the micra does have good suspension balance right out of the box (although too softly sprung when pushing it in corners - mine rolls over its front outside tyre, but that's nothing that coilovers and lower profile tyres wouldnt fix)... just goes to show that good driving fun comes in all forms.

it'd be rad if we got the following in oz:
- micra 1.2 supercharged, or micra 1.6 ''sm 160"
- renaultsport twingo
- yaris turbo
- fiat panda 100 etc

my new found fondness for tiny engined cars with little weight up front, i've got the biggest chubby for the VW gt UP!!!... it's just been given the go ahead, and im going to bash some VWA people if they dont bring it here. no, it wont be the fastest car on the road, but im guessing that (so long as the feel/feedback is good) it'll have you laughing with glee around every single corner you throw at it.

[csimpson]

Went in to get my bonnet cable re-attached (bonnet wouldn't open!), came out with this:



$57.20 well spent - a thorough wash and vacuum, a couple of hours' work to fix the bonnet, the above airbag campaign, and shiny new coilpacks as well.

[Bflat]

Went in to get my bonnet cable re-attached (bonnet wouldn't open!), came out with this:



$57.20 well spent - a thorough wash and vacuum, a couple of hours' work to fix the bonnet, the above airbag campaign, and shiny new coilpacks as well.

What year was yours built? I'm trying to suss out whether my '08 needs to make a visit