To all Bora 4Motion owners, lets talk about your mods

[Mr ©harisma]

lol i think you guys should buy some r32 brakes i know a guy selling some (cough cough)

ha thats funny, I think pads and rotors will be enough... if I can find pads that fit of course...

[IBN]

When I had a Bora, the first thing to go were the dusty stock pads. In the "old days" when Bendix made Metal Kings, thats what I used. Always liked 'em - no mess, no rotor wear and reasonable performance. Initial brake application in wet weather was startling but got used to that. The only thing was that Bendix did not list pads for the Bora so a friendly brake shop is the go. If memory serves, the physical dimensions are the same as for an Astra (?). The only hassle was the wear indicators, but they were easily bypassed. As enthusiasts we visually check brake wear.
Just as a matter of interest, how do you folk go with your lowered Boras? I remember a VW parts fellow saying that VW did not recommend lowering the 4-Motions as they were lower than the rest of the range - all I did was upgrade the dampers with Bilstein units. Having destroyed a sump in the middle of nowhere, I can see their point.

[qsilverza]

IBN, with regards to lowering, I think it depends on what sort of driving you do, where you do it and how you do it

[Mr ©harisma]

Yeah I have contacted Race brakes in Sydney and hopefully they can help me out. I am hoping to get some Hawk or Ebc that suit. I dislike the stock brakes.

Ha the Bora 4motion isn't that low, plently of potential there. That said, take it rallying with lowered springs and something will break as qsilverza said.

[IBN]

True true. Never took the beast rallying. Was just going skiing on Mt Stirling one winter and hit a snow covered rock. The road was just one of those standard dirt/gravel roads you'd find anywhere in Australia and in reasonable condition.. The problem is if the road has a slightly high crown, you can come unstuck. If you venture off the bitumen in a MkIV/Bora I believe you need to take a bit of extra care.
It was interesting, when I got hold of VW assist, the operator reckoned that I was the 5th "lucky customer" that morning that had trashed their sump
Looked into things a bit and found that VW in Europe offered a sump guard, but fitment required raised(!) springs and various suppliers OS also had their offerings: http://www.dieselgeek.com/servlet/Detail?no=358
Don't get me wrong, a lowered Bora is a damn fine looking beast, but I have found that juggling assorted prorities sometimes gives me a headache. My $0.02
Cheers,
Ivars

[Manaz]

Way to drag up an old thread huh?

My first mod was the Haldex upgrade (to the blue controller). Coupled with a 22mm FSB, the car sits flatter at the front and power goes to the rears a lot quicker (I came from permanent AWD Subarus before my Bora, so this is more in tune with what I'm used to).

The next mod (if you could call it that!) was a stubby aerial to replace the stock bee-sting. I found the really short stubby was too short to give good radio reception, and have compromised with a ~20cm long aerial which does the job nicely.

There was a big gap in my modding then, as parts slowly came together for the next upgrade - suspension and brakes. The stock suspension was starting to show its age at 90,000km, with lots of play in the front suspension bushings - to the point where my front wheels were running excessive negative camber which caused me to have to replace the front tyres early to maintain rego. A Stage 2 ECS Front Suspension Refresh kit was installed, along with a set of K-Sport coilovers. I also had an INA uprated dogbone mount installed at the same time as well, which helps stiffen the link between engine and gearbox, so power gets to the wheels more directly.

At the same time, the R32 brakes were installed, with slotted rear rotors (fronts are coming) and braided lines. And along with them, 17" OZ Racing Aristos (a VW OEM "R-Line" option on the Mk4 Golf/Bora), as the stock 16" Brands Hatch wheels don't fit over the R32 brakes.

I'm investigating replacement suspension for the K-Sports at the moment, as they're ultimately not suited to my requirements. Bilstein PSS9s are the current front-runner for selection, though I won't be buying them locally given the ludicrous costs to source them locally vs overseas (they're almost twice as expensive locally).

[2003Bora4motion]

I've kept mods on my 4motion fairly limited and as 'OEM' as possible, with emphasis on handling rather than trying to increase power output (which I understand is not cheap).

First mod was a Whiteline heavy duty sway bar, which for very little $ greatly improved handling. But the lack of damping and high (esp at rear) ride height remained.

Next was Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, which totally transformed handling as you'd expect. Static ride height much lower, and actually less change of taking out sump coming out of driveways etc as the suspension doesn't give as much. Only issue is the increased neg camber on the rear (even at max height for PSS9) and some rear coil binding on larger bumps. But not a biggy...

Finally, I was gifted an AEM cold air intake, which increased intake noise somewhat... and if you believe the mfr claims, increases power marginally.

Oh, and fitted Audi S3 wheels which I really like the look of - but wish there was a way to change the centre cap to a VW logo. Considering swapping for OEM 17" VW wheels for authenticity's sake, if I can find someone keen to swap.

Very impressed with rambo_005's work and keen to see the R32 wheels, would love them on mine!

[Manaz]

Looks like you're taking a similar path to me.

The Bora Sport wheels are nice if you can find them. Otherwise there's potentially a set of suitable VW Siata rims on eBay still at the moment for around $500 (in Perth though, shipping will add a little bit). If you do replace the S3 wheels, let me know, I'm considering a set as track wheels!

I was seriously considering the PSS9s, but am now turning my attention towards KW v2s after a bit of a disagreement with Bilstein Australia over my right as a consumer to shop around for prices. Would be keen to have a ride in the car with PSS9s though if you'd be willing, just to give me an idea on how they go.

To fix the camber, there's replacement lower control arms available which offer adjustment. That's something I'm looking for myself.

Another option you may wish to consider is the TST-style rear brace - there's a group buy going on at present (see the sticky at the top of this forum).

When I do eventually go for power, I'll probably look at the Custom-Code flash for my car. Goodfella (another Bora V6 4Motion driver in Sydney) has it, and the extra "oomph" is nice.