77TSI Suspension options? How to take the comfort out of comfortline? :)

[pontiff]

Hi all,

I've Just been asking around trying to get some advice on what is available to firm up the ride on my 77TSI (manual). Previous to the 6R I had a 6N1 (well have it actually) and once the shocks had shat themselves at around the 100k mark, i replaced them with a standard off-the-shelf set of Bilsteins from Imparts here in Melbourne which firmed up the ride nicely. They were only $75 a corner I think, so hardly their sportiest offerings but i was happy with the result.

I guess what im looking for on the 6R is just reduced body roll. For example at the moment when you go through those man made traffic islands in suburbia hell where you have to flick right then left, the car wallows quite noticably and its a little off putting.

Is the solution to replace the springs, shocks or both? I tried to do some research on which item is primarily responsible for the ride 'firmness' but cannot find anything that goes through it simply.

Reading a bit here it seems that H&R lowered sport springs are quite useful at firming up the ride (while lowering the ride height at the same time) which is acceptable on both fronts, but i refer back to my previous experience with just changing the shocks on the 6n1 and have it yield the desired result. Are these ways (changing shocks vs springs) coming at the same issue from different ends, either of which would produce the result I am looking for?

Any help (or a physics lesson) would be greatly appreciated. FWIW, im running the standard 16" Comfortline alloys which i actually quite like along with standard everything else.

Cheers,
Aaron

[kaanage]

Firmer dampers will not reduce outright body roll in a steady state situation (ie a long corner) but they will slow the roll rate so for short corners, the car will roll a bit less and respond to steering inputs faster.

There's another thread here where the OP is complaining about the sports pack being too harsh in his 6R comfortline so maybe you could swap springs with him (I prefer better dampers but a spring swap would be cheap). This would reduce outright body roll (as well as improve steering response).

The other option is anti-roll bars (bigger at the front and adding one to the rear) which will also reduce outright body roll and improve steering response.

[pontiff]

Firmer dampers will not reduce outright body roll in a steady state situation (ie a long corner) but they will slow the roll rate so for short corners, the car will roll a bit less and respond to steering inputs faster.

Right... which is what I think I was experiencing with the 6n1 and the Bilsteins.

[QUOTE=kaanage;820075]There's another thread here where the OP is complaining about the sports pack being too harsh in his 6R comfortline so maybe you could swap springs with him (I prefer better dampers but a spring swap would be cheap). This would reduce outright body roll (as well as improve steering response).

When you say 'better' is that in relation to brand / quoted application or are there actual specs one can look at when buying a shock. I must admit when I bought the Bilsteins, it was just what they had in stock, sounds like it was more luck than good management that it provided what I was looking for?

The other option is anti-roll bars (bigger at the front and adding one to the rear) which will also reduce outright body roll and improve steering response.

Ahh okay, Is that something you would look at after you had already invested in a different spring / damper setup? Depending on the level of firmness I could achieve with either a cheap spring swap as you say (seems like the H&R's from Orange Tuning would be a sensible choice also?) or a matched set of springs and dampers and if at that stage i wasn't happy would that be where you would look next? Or is it something you would look at independently of anything else?

I had a subaru Liberty B4 and i bought whiteline swaybars for that 'back in the day', They still make them I assume, at least they are local and you would assume given the size of a swaybar, appropriate compared to bringing in one from O/S

[noone]

Sway bars are a quick and cost effective solution for reducing body roll. I'd start there as your primary concern is body roll.

Just the rear will do, but obviously doing both with better springs and shocks would give better results to the overall handling of the vehicle.

[pontiff]

Sway bars are a quick and cost effective solution for reducing body roll. I'd start there as your primary concern is body roll.

Just the rear will do, but obviously doing both with better springs and shocks would give better results to the overall handling of the vehicle.

Thanks for that. I checked with whiteline, they do not make one for the 6R in the front, just the rear. I guess if I wanted bigger then a 2nd hand GTI one that someone has replaced would be the only move forward?

[gavs]

Don't be surprised if the front anti roll bar is the same between all 6R polos. You should look aftermarket as I know that Eibach, KW and someone else (the name escapes me at the minute) make larger diameter front anti roll bars. It's a mofo of a job to do the front bar though, so I would start with the rear and then just replace the stock rubber bushings for the front anti roll bar with urethane replacements, just removing the excess flex from the rubber could net you a result you like. The urethane could introduce squeaks however if not properly maintained with the correct grease.

[pontiff]

Don't be surprised if the front anti roll bar is the same between all 6R polos. You should look aftermarket as I know that Eibach, KW and someone else (the name escapes me at the minute) make larger diameter front anti roll bars. It's a mofo of a job to do the front bar though, so I would start with the rear and then just replace the stock rubber bushings for the front anti roll bar with urethane replacements, just removing the excess flex from the rubber could net you a result you like. The urethane could introduce squeaks however if not properly maintained with the correct grease.

Thanks for the tip, greatly appreciated! I am literally just on the whiteline website ordering their 24mm Rear Swaybar offering. Their products have been quite good in the past to me, and they are local so shipping is a reasonable $14.50 .

Then the next relatively cost effective option would be say a set of H&R springs from those Orange Tuning people in Germany who I believe are quite cheap on their landed prices? From what I can see they do 'Sport' and 'Low' offerings in different heights which currently escape me, but i would think the normal Sport ones would be a good compromise between what is factory and the 'Low' offering. The 'LOW' ones look really nice with the optional sports 17" alloys but alas I have the comfort model with the 16's so it may look a little out of place.

[noone]

Yeah, springs only gives you unmatched springs / shocks. I ran like this for a while, then cheap coilovers, now KW's.

If you are paying for labour, plan to do it right the 1st time. The shocks are the expensive component, but make a big difference.

[pontiff]

Installed the whiteline sway bar on the weekend and are nearly happy with the results. It has taken a lot of roll out of the chassis, but it is probably only 70% of what im looking for (which is a big improvement anyway). I'll look at the bushes and perhaps some other springs if something cheap/good value comes up

[Gambit]

Gotta say after a few weeks of letting my newly installed away bar settle in , it's a great mod for the money. Highly recommended and corners flatter and harder than any brz