Suspension upgrades & custom valves exhaust

[GT2260s]

Ok thanks. I’ll see what the workshop says also. I think the parts are relatively cheap, but labour time is like 2hrs.

What car do you have, given all the issues with suspension noise and creaking?

I get my car as it’s lowered on eibach springs with sway bar and we have loads of speed bumps where we live.


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[nermal]

My Arteon used to creak and squeak really bad, especially after rain.. I applied a lot of silicone spray to every suspension bush and bolt I could find/reach, which helped for a while until it came back after a little while.

I then applied a generous dose of OEM lithium grease the dealership gave me and haven't noticed any real creaks or squeaks since. There's a part number on the tube that I can find if you need it (it's currently packed away in a box).

[petemac110]

Ok thanks. I’ll see what the workshop says also. I think the parts are relatively cheap, but labour time is like 2hrs.

What car do you have, given all the issues with suspension noise and creaking?

I get my car as it’s lowered on eibach springs with sway bar and we have loads of speed bumps where we live.


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MY18 Passat 206TSI - about 82k on the clock.

The MQB chassis is a bit of a horror-show when it comes to suspension noises - common issues across the VWAG models based on this chassis designation i.e. a LOT!

[petemac110]

My Arteon used to creak and squeak really bad, especially after rain.. I applied a lot of silicone spray to every suspension bush and bolt I could find/reach, which helped for a while until it came back after a little while.

I then applied a generous dose of OEM lithium grease the dealership gave me and haven't noticed any real creaks or squeaks since. There's a part number on the tube that I can find if you need it (it's currently packed away in a box).

Yep, the lithium grease works well if the rear lower control arm bushes are binding and causing noises. I mentioned this a bit earlier in the thread along with the TSB doc. Definitely worth checking out this solution.

[GT2260s]

Funny you say that about the lithium grease. I went back to the dealership a couple of times on the sunroof creaking. They applied the grease, it was still there a couple of months later, but I haven’t noticed it recently.

I still think my bushes are starting to split so may be good to replace them anyway.


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[GT2260s]

@petemac the Passat is a good all rounder car. But you can definitely tell that although it’s a lot of car for the money there are some components where it shows that they have gone down the cheaper route. Doesn’t feel as solid as what it should be. I came from a SQ5 and the build quality is noticeably different.


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[petemac110]

@petemac the Passat is a good all rounder car. But you can definitely tell that although it’s a lot of car for the money there are some components where it shows that they have gone down the cheaper route. Doesn’t feel as solid as what it should be. I came from a SQ5 and the build quality is noticeably different.

What you describe is common to cars across the VW, Audi and Skoda brands which use the MQB chassis. It's not Passat-specific. It's not so much that they've gone down the cheaper route with the Passat as such - they are simply limited by the chassis. The Passats do use some nicer bits vs other MQB models e.g. the cast aluminium front subframe) but there's no getting around the limitations, nay flaws, of the MQB chassis and suspension.

The SQ5 is based on the MLB platform and has a different chassis and suspension design so I'm not surprised it feels different.

[Lucas_R]

@petemac the Passat is a good all rounder car. But you can definitely tell that although it’s a lot of car for the money there are some components where it shows that they have gone down the cheaper route. Doesn’t feel as solid as what it should be. I came from a SQ5 and the build quality is noticeably different.

The SQ5 is a beast. Ive got a 2015 Audi SQ5 which has just rolled over 100,000km and its so bloody rock solid. Such a well built car. Have owned it for about 6 years now (bought at 3yrs old from original owner).

What you describe is common to cars across the VW, Audi and Skoda brands which use the MQB chassis. It's not Passat-specific. It's not so much that they've gone down the cheaper route with the Passat as such - they are simply limited by the chassis. The Passats do use some nicer bits vs other MQB models e.g. the cast aluminium front subframe) but there's no getting around the limitations, nay flaws, of the MQB chassis and suspension.

The SQ5 is based on the MLB platform and has a different chassis and suspension design so I'm not surprised it feels different.

Also dont forget that the Passat is several hundred kilos heavier than other cars in the MQB chassis range such as a Golf, yet it is fitted with the same suspension bushes, so makes sense that they would wear out more quickly when the are working harder.

[petemac110]

Also dont forget that the Passat is several hundred kilos heavier than other cars in the MQB chassis range such as a Golf, yet it iss fitted with the same suspension bushes, so makes sense that they would wear out more quickly when the are working harder.

Very, very good point that!

[GT2260s]

Ok somewhat of an update but not necessarily a solution.

I decided I got annoyed enough by the noises so I asked the workshop what they would do. They said since it’s so labour intensive that if they put new bushings in, they might as well replace the control arms (standard OEM ones) mind you - at about a cost of $2k.

So replacing bushes and control arms every 40k kms is not really justifiable so I did a little more research and here goes the theory.

I have updated superpro sway bars, end links and stiffer lower eibach springs. In theory this puts more pressure on all elements of the suspension which kinda holds true. Because my wife drives the car daily I had the individual settings as sport for engine/gearbox but the lowest setting for DCC dampening > lower than standard comfort.

This in theory must be putting a lot of pressure on the dampers and therefore bushes and all other suspension components.

So I put my settings to sport for DCC and lo and behold in 95% of the cases the creaking is gone. So it doesn’t remove the fact that my bushes are worn and will need replacing but I’m almost certain that if I had left DCC in sport that the rest of the other components in the suspension eg bushes,shocks wouldn’t have had to work as hard to compensate for the softer ride whilst I put in stiffer components such as sway bars and springs.

Does that sound right?


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