Mk4 Suspension

[orange]

I would try any of the forum sponsors for an H&R retailer

Cheers,
João

 

[nick0323]

I had the powerflex inserts for the front lower rear wishbone bushes. They did make quite a bit of a difference but they made a popping noise everytime I accelerated harshly or cornered harshly...quite liked that actually as it let me know when I was giving it too much beans.

One side kept popping out a little bit though and I eventually replaced them with the Seat Cupra bushes. =)
Though I had to replace the subframe too as the bolt jammed - sigh.

Had my front ARB kit replaced under my comprehensive used car warranty from VW as the bushes were knackered and the plastic carriers were broken. Haven't had any problems with it since but I haven't actually checked to see whether if the new kit has carriers or plastic or not! I have a feeling that I may be coming back to replace the front ARB in a few years time if I still have the car!!! When this does happen I think I'll just get an aftermarket front ARB and rear ARB kit all done at once.

I'm tempted to replace my rear beam bushes but I haven't had any problems with them nor have I had any jit from the front lower front wishbone bushes.

Suspension wise I am lowered -30mm with progressive springs, I have KYB Excel-G shocks at the rear and Bilstein B4 shocks at the front.

I did have fitted a Seat Cupra front strut brace but it meant that I couldn't remove the engine cleaner unit (not good if I suffer an ignition coil failure!!!). So I removed it and had to replace one of the top mounts which got screwed in the process!! bearings on it were gone though so I need to look at replacing the other top mount when funds permit!!!

Also going to redesign my air cleaner unit so I can put the strut brace back on without it fouling the strut brace - handling was immense with it on and I haven't tried it with the combination of my cupra bushes.

 

[Neil Davies]

My girlfriends '04 SX has developed a really bad knocking over the last few months. It used to creak a little, which was the wishbone rear bushes - when they were greased they were quiet but as they dried out they started creaking again. After reading through this I'm getting them changed for the Cupra ones. I also suspect the top mounts as being worn, as the knocking and creaking does sound quite high up, and the car is on 56k, most of which is daily runs to work and back over some pretty crappy roads. I'm not really interested in making the car more sporty, I've got my Beetle for that, just a nice quiet drive.
So the questions are these:
1 - I need the top mounts, top bearings and the cupra front rear bushes. Did we ever get a set of part numbers for these parts?
2 - If the ARB bushes are also knackered, what do I need to get, bearing in mind that I don't want to upgrade to the VRS one, just replace the standard parts?

Thanks,
Neil

 

[nick0323]

The creaking is your anti-roll bar bushes, new ones will creak too. If you want to stop the creaking you will need to apply copper grease to the anti-roll bar bushes and to your new wishbone bushes.

VW replaced my anti-roll bar kit under warranty because the plastic carriers (OMG PLASTIC) snapped. so you will need to check your carriers for damage. And if they are plastic then replace them as you will hear your anti-roll bar knocking and you will see the damage it can cause.

Seat Cupra wishbone bushes are a good idea, I don't know the part numbers to any of the parts but I got my Cupra bushes from Awesome Tuning. Only downside is it will make your ride slightly more harsh and minor vibration eg 4th gear doing 30mph. On the plus side it livens up the front end of your car making the steering more precise.

Top Mount bearing can go well before 40k/4 years. I changed one and when I looked at it the bearings were absolutely shagged!

So...

1 - Go to your Seat dealer, give them your cars registration and they can source the parts for you minus the Cupra bushes, best to buy them from Awesome Tuning.

2 - You will need the ARB Carriers and Bushes.

And don't forget to copper grease the mofo's!

 

[RUM4MO]

1) I'd just get the Cupra wishbone rear bushes from Seat as they should be cheapest and no delivery charges, though they will need to order them in (they will know the P/Ns). ARB, maybe check if your car has the earlier or later ARB currently fitted - you can do this by checking that the "stops" on the ARB are plastic or metal by using a magnet, if there are no cracks on these "stops" then you will only need new bushes - but you do need to know which version (early or later) ARB is fitted as this determines the bush P/Ns - by the way that car will have been built near or at the POE for the later ARB. You cannot just buy in new ARB "stops" - when the plastic ones fail its time to replace the ARB. The strut top ball bearing set is poorly protected so they do end up getting to look pretty crap quite quickly.

 

[adyRE]

Help help help

On my Ibiza i've had it lowered 35mm on Eibach springs front and back, but have a few problems:

1. The rear of my car doesnt sit level with the front, it's arse is in the air- dont know if this is normal???

2. Now my front wheels are rubbing on my wheel arches / wall!!

Has anyone ever had this problem before and also could someone tell me what I should be looking to buy to get my car level and low?? Coilovers???? if so which ones???

Any help?????

Cheers Guys

 

[RichieRich]

hi ady the answer to your probs is that all vag cars lowerd with spring and dampers sit higher at the rear even my golf does it on 35mm drop, u could either get some 45mm rear drop ones or do coilys or air ride depending on how much u want to spend really. as to the rubbing sounds like u might need your arches rolling unless its hitting the inner plastic arch?

 

[adyRE]

hi ady the answer to your probs is that all vag cars lowerd with spring and dampers sit higher at the rear even my golf does it on 35mm drop, u could either get some 45mm rear drop ones or do coilys or air ride depending on how much u want to spend really. as to the rubbing sounds like u might need your arches rolling unless its hitting the inner plastic arch?

Hey ahh right i wasnt aware of the vag problem really, well luckily the tyres arent rubbing on my actual arch just the plastic fire wall thingys but as they are rubbing when im going over bumps plastic is wearing away. Do you think adjustable coilovers would be any good as you can set how low you want to go??

 

[denMla]

Got one simple question, and hope someone can give me valid info:
Can H&R 29333-3 be fited to anny 1,9 l diesel Ibiza. Or there is reason why I should skip them because my car is 1,9 sport?
Price on german ebay is just shy above 100€.
I paid and ordered yellow Koni's today. Think, if fiting is possible that would give me 35-40 mm drop all around 'cause (i guess) Cupra should be somewhat lower than Sports in the beginning.

 

[orange]

You can fit them with no problem.

 

[denMla]

Thank's Orange!

 

[JonnyH10]

Been meaning to ask this for a while but never got round to it:
I've noticed the front of my MK4 (2004 1.2, 55k miles) sits quite low. I haven't changed any parts related to suspension, only put 17" wheels on. I never noticed this until I put the bigger wheels on, but I didn't think bigger wheels would make it look this low. As far as I know it is still on standard suspension.
The drivers side sits slightly lower than passenger side as well but I've been told this could be due to the drivers side getting more wear with the extra weight on that side.

Could there be a problem with the dampers or springs? I'm not complaining about it being lower but just want to know if there is a problem

 

[Deleted member 23080]

plastic carrier ARB

hi

My plastic carriers are no longer there, any tips before if fit new bushes????

 

[gregorsco]

Hey,

I'm looking to lower my Ibiza Fr tdi (56plate) , could somebody tell me what i would need, eg.shorter drop links etc. My budget is quite low (about £250) obviously i can't afford coilovers, but what would be the best set up i could get for my budget and where could i buy from?

Cheers, John.

hey mate if you have no need for expensive coilovers for track use then check out blueline coilovers if you just want low then these are the daddys cos there only like £200-£250 depending on model and there tuc test so you know there not gona fall apart and kill you

 

[andy_wpo]

I didnt read the hole thread (sorry) and want some opinion about Jom vs.Ta-technix coilovers

 

[Doaky92]

hey guys my mate give me his coil overs for my ibiza front coils are in bad nick but the back coils are like new so i was thinking of putting the car down at the back with coils and jst gettin lowering springs for the front, because ibiza coilovers don't go low anyways. and then saving for nxt year to have a bag over coil set up . how low is the lowest springs u can get and manufactures names aswell please

regards matt

 

[lusty2zero]

Bought a set of Koni Strt springs and gas shocks for my mk4 FR after breaking a spring and they have made a huge improvement on the ride as it is not as harsh as it was obviously the FR is already lower than a standard car but it's dropped about 10mm from where it was. The kit was about £350 from Demon Tweaks Seat Ibiza (02-08) Koni STR.T Suspension Kit KON1110-7042

 

[-=Rob=-]

Bought a set of Koni Strt springs and gas shocks for my mk4 FR after breaking a spring and they have made a huge improvement on the ride as it is not as harsh as it was obviously the FR is already lower than a standard car but it's dropped about 10mm from where it was. The kit was about £350 from Demon Tweaks Seat Ibiza (02-08) Koni STR.T Suspension Kit KON1110-7042

Thinking of getting this kit as well, can u post up some pics of how it sits now? Cheers

 

[GT Bee]

I'm also thinking about the Koni STR-T kit for my mk4 Ibiza 1.8T and was thinking the same thing but my biggest question is how much of the harshness of the ride on the originals does it actually improve?
As this would be my main reason for getting it.

 

[Mattyy329]

Hi I'm new to this site I have a Ibiza fr pd130 2005 with 108000 miles would this cope with spring as I'm looking at eibach springs would I need to change anything else many thanks matt