Control Arm Theory: Issues when lowering?

[GTIJNR]

Roll center adjustment would be great, have a google for honda parts. May be some one can pioneer this for vw... I want my share lol

[noone]

You can get the control arms back to level on a lowered car by using ball-joint extenders. For example if your control arms arms are pointing upwards and are one inch higher at the hub end than at the pivot point end then a one inch ball-joint extender will get the arm back to level. However its useless doing this mod unless you also correct the tie-rods which will be pointing at roughly the same angle as the control arms were. That's when you flip the tie rod ends to the bottom of the steering arm - if that brings them down the same amount as the ball-joint extenders you should have level and parallel control arms and tie-rods, and be back to standard geometry. No more bump-steer!

Mate, after an hour of research, I had 1/2 of this worked out. Thanks very much for the info, I think I finally have some info to take forward and help me work out how I want to approach the drop..

Out of interest, do you know if there are off the shelf parts for VW's for this? I'm not too concerned about them being for my vehicle yet, just want to get a feel for how generic / specific and available they are.

Thanks guys, super helpful...

[Mrk_Mickey]

That method sounds pretty damned good actually, if I ever encounter a problem with my handling and don't want to raise the ride I will think about that! Thanks man.

[abreut]

Mate, after an hour of research, I had 1/2 of this worked out. Thanks very much for the info, I think I finally have some info to take forward and help me work out how I want to approach the drop..

Out of interest, do you know if there are off the shelf parts for VW's for this? I'm not too concerned about them being for my vehicle yet, just want to get a feel for how generic / specific and available they are.

Thanks guys, super helpful...

No worries, I'm going to be doing the same to my mk1 but I picked up a set from a forum member. I had been investigating them beforehand though and these guys sell them http://www.pmwltd.com/products.php. I'm not too familiar with polo suspension but these guys may have something that will work for you. Check the "Volkswagen Lower Ball Joint Extender" section. This is what they look like: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3734062. Note they also sell a "bumpsteer kit" which is the tie-rod flip kit.

[noone]

They look like an interesting solution...

By the time you couple them with lower the tie rod ends extenders its going to be a reasonably expensive solution.

Most of the parties involved in the group buys seem to be tracking the car, so it may be that the solution is more relevant to racing applications.

Guess I'll find a good suspension shop when the coils are in and have a good chinwag, see what they recommend.

Thanks again for your input.

[noone]

Posted this up in the Polo section as I'd like to keep them biting.

[noone]

6 Gun racing ball joint extension kit install thread (for WRX)

[VWEAPN]

my mk4 is lowered 90mm from std. no issues as of yet...been like this for 3 years

[GTIJNR]

my mk4 is lowered 90mm from std. no issues as of yet...been like this for 3 years

Don't mean to be rude but... heaps of guys said their VL handle on rail with custom 3 inch chops spring

[Mrk_Mickey]

Don't mean to be rude but... heaps of guys said their VL handle on rail with custom 3 inch chops spring

Haha it's true what you say, that there is always a differing perspective that has to be taken into consideration.

I personally think my car handles fantastically, but I know that I could have better with a different geometry setup. It all boils down to what you're happy and comfortable with, so to be honest I'd say just lower your car (I'm saying this to you, noone) and be happy with it aesthetically, and then if you're not comfortable with it or you want better, look at the ways to fix it (ie with this thread)