Adding more praise for the Mich PS3s - they match this car like a hand in a glove. I went from the Contis to them and found: the mushy front end was gone, steering precision and feedback enhanced, and the real killer - road noise almost disappeared. You can work the front much harder at low to medium speeds, and the car rolls over irregular pavement much better.
I had the 050As on a Subaru Spec B and found them stiff with little feel, they added to the vagueness, that queasy feeling that stops you pushing along. The PS3s are also a total bargain in the r36 size. Oh, and 40psi front, 38-39 rear, and 2-3psi make a difference. The car tells you when it reaches around 36psi it appears.
When I got my PS3 from Spinning wheel tyres in March, I got the alignment done, the rear camber was fixed.
I am very happy with PS3, feel like a different car.
The rim protection lip is narrower than the original Contis though.
I thought they had like some Dunlop Sports stock, not Contis?
Since we're recommending tyres I may have mentioned it but I highly recommend the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's. In a higher category than the PS3's they are more comparable to the step up Michelin Pilot Super Sports, not quite as good according to reviews but much cheaper. Also the Eagle F1 Asym 2's are a pretty sexy looking tyre and they have a huge rim protector which is both useful and gives the tyre a bit of a stretch look which I'm a fan of. Good road noise, amazing in the wet, can't comment on wear too much, I've put about 10,000kms on them and they're still going strong, that's about all I could comment on tread wear.
I thought I should revive this thread – given that I started this one in the first place… and it is about the R36 suspension. Given the age of our R36s this will be something that a lot of owners will be looking at soon, I feel.
I guess I’ve never been that happy with the shock absorber(damper) tune of the R36, especially the low speed ride. I’ve put up with it but in the last 5,000 Km the original Sachs shock absorbers deteriorated dramatically to the extent that there was no control with the shock rebound plus I had a multitude of rattles.
I spent a fair bit of time researching what was available and in discussion with a local mechanic with knowledge of suspension set-ups (he is an ex-racer) we went for the Bilstein B8 Sports. Initially I was lookingat the B6 Sports but given that the R36 already had factory lowered suspension (by 30mm) I figured that the shorter B8s were the right way to go.
This was an expensive exercise and I sourced the Bilsteins from the States, which was fine except they sent B6 Sport rears because they didn’t have B8s in stock, so I had to source these locally at twice the cost… I also replaced the top shock mounts front and rear as a matter of course.
We found that the original Sachs were totally rooted at 130,000km – when you compressed them they didn’t return at all. As you can see in the attached photo, the shaft of the Bilsteins is a lot thicker than the Sachs, which is reassuring. (I think we had to enlarge the plastic strut cover to fit.)
How do they feel? Certainly a lot more controlled than what I had as you would expect. They are firm but I don’t believe they are a much firmer than standard – it certainly isn’t uncomfortable and there is no harshness. Most of the rattles are gone too so I am well pleased. It was certainly money well spent.
Biscay Blue MY10.5 Passat R36 Wagon Options: Sunroof, RNS510 Sat Nav, Dynaudio, Power Tailgate, ACC, RVC, BT 9w7, Tint and Factory Towbar. Atlantic Blue MY19.5 Golf GTI Options: Luxury Package and Sound & Style Package.
Fitted the cost was just over $2,600. I would have saved $300 if I had sourced the rear shocks from the States - they were double the price at $650. I didn't want to go the coilover route - I don't intend to lower it or need adjustable shocks. It's not a track car, it's a family hack. But I want the best shocks I can afford and the experts I spoke to rated the Bilsteins over the Konis. I'm happy.
Biscay Blue MY10.5 Passat R36 Wagon Options: Sunroof, RNS510 Sat Nav, Dynaudio, Power Tailgate, ACC, RVC, BT 9w7, Tint and Factory Towbar. Atlantic Blue MY19.5 Golf GTI Options: Luxury Package and Sound & Style Package.
What are the kit number or parts numbers please? That will be handy for future reference. Thanks in advance.
The Bilstein B8 part numbers are front 35-122081 and rear 24-178006. Front strut mounts are 1KO-412-331-B and rear strut mounts are 3CO-53-353-C. I think these were sourced locally (not OEM) from Imparts.
Biscay Blue MY10.5 Passat R36 Wagon Options: Sunroof, RNS510 Sat Nav, Dynaudio, Power Tailgate, ACC, RVC, BT 9w7, Tint and Factory Towbar. Atlantic Blue MY19.5 Golf GTI Options: Luxury Package and Sound & Style Package.
for anyone interested, the front B8s are <$700 posted on ebay.
The rears are ~$550 posted
Their are some good sellers in the UK and Germany.
Don't forget that they will probably charge 10% GST.
It might be worth looking at the Black friday specials. I got my Koni Sports for a crazy cheap price (basically got the rears free) in the sales a few years back.
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Originally Posted by Passat R36
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