Adjustable Tie bars is it worth it??

[jgribben]

Hey guys so my struts on the s3 finally are giving up and rather than replacing I'm just going straight to coilovers

the ones I'm getting are AP fully adjustable ones off ebay. The guys in the uk have good things to say about them and not about to drop $3000 on a 12 year old car.

So the question I have is if I go low should I get adjustable tie bars for better adjustment or is it just a waste of my money?

the ones i'm looking at are Gruvenparts ones. with poly bushes and probably in blue just because the coilovers are blue. and I like Matching stuff.

Any thoughts? anyone running them? should I post this in the suspension forum?

[h100vw]

It depends on the camber once the car is lowered. I don't have them on mine which is probably an inch lower than standard at most. No strange tyre wear at the back.

They won't rust through like in the UK either.

I'd save your money for now.

Gavin

[Martin]

I am continually amazed that people are prepared to buy shocks/springs with no specification on the spring rate
It's also much better to get coil overs with independent height and spring pre-load adjustments

[h100vw]

Not everyone is prepared to put out big money into a set of coilovers. Obviously you are hoping that the company spent a bit of time getting the springs right for 95% of their customers. How would "man on the street" have any idea what spring rates he needs?

I have KW V1s on my S3 and TBH they aren't that good at all. The springs are to stiff for the dampers. It's pretty bouncy. Feels fine on a track but no where else. These come with TUV approval etc etc.

Gavin

[jgribben]

Yeh I have no experience with spring rate and dampers but it can have a detrimental effect in sure martin. I guess cost becomes a big issue for some. I'll get the coilovers professionally adjusted when they're fitted so hopefully should have a nice feel to them. And as i said some guys in the uk running big power and daily drivers with this set so tried and tested. Thought it might be nice to have a bit more adjustment.
Thanks for the advice gav might save the dollars for now I'll see how much install is. If they do them all together I might just grab them and save on labour down the track.

[Martin]

Coil overs are not big money these days - $750 to $1,250 is a common price range
I've bought three sets recently (different cars), all have independent height and spring pre-load adjustment

It's not hard to do the research and find out the stock spring rates
That's the starting point for comparing the replacement against

I'm certainly not overly fussed with the stock shocks that come with production cars,
In my Octavia I just bought a Bilstein kit (same configuration as stock), they are wonderful
So with any luck, you'll be better off than stock, good luck

[jgribben]

Anyway. Getting a bit off topic, Springs were never talked about in this thread. Always going to be coilovers. I was looking for advice on tie bars. As I said they are getting professionally fitted and I'm sure they can look up the spring rate for me and figure out what's best. The guys set up lamborghinis for track so I trust their judgement

[jgribben]

Looking around at quotes to get my coilovers installed now and I've got about $900 from my normal guys. but they will also be repairing a steering rack bushing while they are at it. anyone got any competitive quotes or recommend me a place?

Cheers