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Coilovers for my Ibiza + might need partnumbers for numberplate lights (?)
- Thread starter Mythbuster
- Start date
Is 40mm worth lowering it at all? I was bidding on a 60/60mm Golf mk3 kit, rears adjustable(so could make it 60/40 as I preferred), but the guy can only look up the price of sending it on Monday(I already told him it's 12 euros -.-)...
I think he's just too bothered to put it in a box and send it and hopes I forget about it anyway...
So found another Golf mk3 set with 40/40mm lowering, not adjustable, same price, but I could pick this up myself, so more asurrance that the seller will actually bother to sell it at all... Also no idea what state these are in... The other one is just half a year old and has new top bearings...
Is 40/40 even worth money or is the difference not big enough? Saw some pictures but I don't know, rear looks spot on what I want it to be, but the front looks too high...
Any of you got 40/40?
EDIT: Maybe even worth chopping the front ones up a bit to get 60/40mm?
I know it's bad for the springs, but is 50 euro- set worth bothering about that...?
EDIT2: Just got a response, the set is from a scrapyard Golf mk3 VR6 1992... What do you guys think? Do it?...?
Also... Anyone got an advert for like, the cheapest 15 or 20mm wheelspacers ever that will actually fit the car? I found this: Click But I don't know if those are good or not?
I think he's just too bothered to put it in a box and send it and hopes I forget about it anyway...
So found another Golf mk3 set with 40/40mm lowering, not adjustable, same price, but I could pick this up myself, so more asurrance that the seller will actually bother to sell it at all... Also no idea what state these are in... The other one is just half a year old and has new top bearings...
Is 40/40 even worth money or is the difference not big enough? Saw some pictures but I don't know, rear looks spot on what I want it to be, but the front looks too high...
Any of you got 40/40?
EDIT: Maybe even worth chopping the front ones up a bit to get 60/40mm?
I know it's bad for the springs, but is 50 euro- set worth bothering about that...?EDIT2: Just got a response, the set is from a scrapyard Golf mk3 VR6 1992... What do you guys think? Do it?...?
Also... Anyone got an advert for like, the cheapest 15 or 20mm wheelspacers ever that will actually fit the car? I found this: Click But I don't know if those are good or not?
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In no particular order-
Value of springs isn't a consideration when thinking about cutting springs. Your safety and that of others is. Cutting up springs isn't safe.
40 mil of drop is certainly going to be noticed.
Bear in mind that 40 mil of drop on my Ibiza Mk2 Cupra Sport is a lot more than 40 mil on your car as mine is lower to begin with. 40 mil of drop on a Mk 3 Golf, a Polo, a Corrado or a different model of Mk 2 Ibiza or whatever is meaningless compared to your own car unless you account for the basic geometry and ride height of both cars under consideration.
New components are by far the most desirable option, for safety, performance and ease of fitting.
If you really want to fit used suspension to a road car that wasn't intended to be there, then I'm afraid there's going to be a large portion of 'suck it and see'
Overall in terms of actually knowing what you're going to end up with, 200 euros on the Dutch HTs might actually be cheaper than throwing away money on other peoples' junk.
Sometimes a saving costs you money...
Value of springs isn't a consideration when thinking about cutting springs. Your safety and that of others is. Cutting up springs isn't safe.
40 mil of drop is certainly going to be noticed.
Bear in mind that 40 mil of drop on my Ibiza Mk2 Cupra Sport is a lot more than 40 mil on your car as mine is lower to begin with. 40 mil of drop on a Mk 3 Golf, a Polo, a Corrado or a different model of Mk 2 Ibiza or whatever is meaningless compared to your own car unless you account for the basic geometry and ride height of both cars under consideration.
New components are by far the most desirable option, for safety, performance and ease of fitting.
If you really want to fit used suspension to a road car that wasn't intended to be there, then I'm afraid there's going to be a large portion of 'suck it and see'
Overall in terms of actually knowing what you're going to end up with, 200 euros on the Dutch HTs might actually be cheaper than throwing away money on other peoples' junk.
Sometimes a saving costs you money...
True... But the thing is I have to pay my school money, which is like a 1000 euros, by the end of this year. And if these WOULD end up being total crap I could always just sell them again like the other guys did to me...
Then again, you did made me rethink this...
Do you know any shocks that I could buy new with a 60/40mm drop that are under 200 euros?, like, 100-150 ish...
Found some springs for 89 euros, brand new, 60/40 drop... You need any special tools else than spring tensioners to fit those to the shocks?
What about the wheelspacers by the way?
Click
Then again, you did made me rethink this...
Do you know any shocks that I could buy new with a 60/40mm drop that are under 200 euros?, like, 100-150 ish...
Found some springs for 89 euros, brand new, 60/40 drop... You need any special tools else than spring tensioners to fit those to the shocks?
What about the wheelspacers by the way?
Click
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Mk3 Golf sets, VR6 or Gti or whatever model are NOT correct for your car!
Firstly the Ibiza runs Mk2 Golf front/mk4 polo rear suspension. Yes the Golf stuff 'may' fit but wont be correct, those are designed taking the Golf weight etc into consideration and made to suit that car.
You could use Mk2 Golf front/mk4 Polo rear suspension but again as said above wont be correct, same with front and rear mk4 polo suspension, it is designed for that car and that car only.
Why dont you just save and get a set of IBIZA specific HT coilovers. These in turn will be correct for the car.
Im not being a pain/nuisance or having a go at you, Im just telling it how it is.
Firstly the Ibiza runs Mk2 Golf front/mk4 polo rear suspension. Yes the Golf stuff 'may' fit but wont be correct, those are designed taking the Golf weight etc into consideration and made to suit that car.
You could use Mk2 Golf front/mk4 Polo rear suspension but again as said above wont be correct, same with front and rear mk4 polo suspension, it is designed for that car and that car only.
Why dont you just save and get a set of IBIZA specific HT coilovers. These in turn will be correct for the car.
Im not being a pain/nuisance or having a go at you, Im just telling it how it is.
Yeah... I rethought it... I'm not buying them.
But coilovers are way too expensive for me, I just don't have that at the moment. How about lowering springs? I have seen brand new HT(? can't say name out fully btw..) springs with 60/40 mm drop specifically for the Ibiza. They're only 89 euros and I'm willing to do that even if the ride sucks compaired to coilovers. If there isn't any really huge disadvantage on just springs, I think that's the best option for me. Only problem is, what really special tools do you need to fit them to the shocks other than a spring compressor? If it's only that I'll be getting those I guess. Other than a spring compressor I think we have most of it at work...
And what about these wheelspacers? Is this just plain bad build quality or just very cheap? Doesn't seem right as all other wheelspacers cost 60 euros or more
But coilovers are way too expensive for me, I just don't have that at the moment. How about lowering springs? I have seen brand new HT(? can't say name out fully btw..) springs with 60/40 mm drop specifically for the Ibiza. They're only 89 euros and I'm willing to do that even if the ride sucks compaired to coilovers. If there isn't any really huge disadvantage on just springs, I think that's the best option for me. Only problem is, what really special tools do you need to fit them to the shocks other than a spring compressor? If it's only that I'll be getting those I guess. Other than a spring compressor I think we have most of it at work...
And what about these wheelspacers? Is this just plain bad build quality or just very cheap? Doesn't seem right as all other wheelspacers cost 60 euros or more
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Ok, in answer to your earlier question about suspension for under 200 euros, have a read of http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=268582
It's a pretty long thread, but the guts are: Belgian company sells budget adjustable coilovers that lots of people on SCN have and like, typically cost around 160ukp or there abouts including shipping etc to the UK. There's an email address in one of the early posts by Suj, you need to write to the guy (his name's Edwin), tell him Suj on SCN sent you and ask him for his unadvertised special price to you. I've written to him in summer when I was trying to decide what to fit to mine, and he got back to me very quickly. Please remember he's at work when recieving and sending emails, so if you write him on Friday, you may not get a reply til Monday.
Coilovers obviously give you on-car adjustability, so you can pick your drop.
Lowering springs with (old) standard shocks: your mileage may vary. You might be very happy, you might not. Your standard dampers may not last very long due to loading depending what state they're in. All you're going to need to fit springs are
Do bear in mind that when you refit the struts your geometry WILL BE OUT OF ADJUSTMENT and you will need to take your car to somewhere that can do proper 4 wheel laser alignment to sort it out. I use my local independant VAG specialist and he charges 40ukp including all adjustments. If you don't do this your handling will never be quite right, you may have problems on ice/wet roads and you may wear your tyres out far more quickly. If you really want to save money here then make sure you carefully mark the position of the strut:hub carrier before you start undoing bolts. It'll still be WRONG with the shorter travel, but less than it might have been.
You should really replace the top-mount bearing and the bolts holding the strut to the hub carrier. Thread-lock on the old bolts is the absolute MINIMUM you should be considering.
I'd forget about the wheel-spacers for now. You've got your hands full making this lot work already, and unless you simply want them for image, you may find you don't need them.
Cheap spring and strut suspension is going to outperform similarly priced coilovers every day if it's fast road driving you're looking for. Budget coilovers are the cheapest sensible option if you want a low car for the look.
If it's performance you're after and you don't really care about the look, then don't underestimate the impact that simply renewing your standard shocks (keep the original springs) and as many bushes as you can afford with standard items. Honestly. It's a breathtaking improvement, and if done properly you will have a factory-tight car again instead of an 11-year plus one. Assuming your springs are OK.
I justified buying my replacement Koni kit as the existing Koni's on the car were shot, and the standard springs are the expensive part of the OE kit. It was going to cost almost as much to put my car back to standard as to fit the Koni's which preserved the 25mm drop on my Cupra - they'd give the 60-40 drop you're looking for on your car I think, but they cost nearly double the cheap coilovers above. I bet they handle better though.
Sorry to be a downer; I totally understand if money is tight you can't have everything nice. You say you don't mind waiting for a saving; sometimes it might be worth waiting to do something properly? If you screw up your engine or exhaust or bodywork trying to cut corners it's note that big a deal, just costs money. If you screw up suspension or brakes trying to cut corners you can seriously kill yourself and others.
If you really want to mod your suspension on your budget, email Edwin... it'll be cheaper and safer and probably work better than ebay finds.
It's a pretty long thread, but the guts are: Belgian company sells budget adjustable coilovers that lots of people on SCN have and like, typically cost around 160ukp or there abouts including shipping etc to the UK. There's an email address in one of the early posts by Suj, you need to write to the guy (his name's Edwin), tell him Suj on SCN sent you and ask him for his unadvertised special price to you. I've written to him in summer when I was trying to decide what to fit to mine, and he got back to me very quickly. Please remember he's at work when recieving and sending emails, so if you write him on Friday, you may not get a reply til Monday.
Coilovers obviously give you on-car adjustability, so you can pick your drop.
Lowering springs with (old) standard shocks: your mileage may vary. You might be very happy, you might not. Your standard dampers may not last very long due to loading depending what state they're in. All you're going to need to fit springs are
- a lifting method (say a trolley jack)
- a support method (say axle stands)
- some sockets and spanners to get the struts out
- POSSIBLY a special socket to undo the nut underneath the top-mount (think standard set up has this; mine was Koni already)
- an impact wrench with 22mm socket will make getting the top nut undone about a million percent easier/possible
- a r
Do bear in mind that when you refit the struts your geometry WILL BE OUT OF ADJUSTMENT and you will need to take your car to somewhere that can do proper 4 wheel laser alignment to sort it out. I use my local independant VAG specialist and he charges 40ukp including all adjustments. If you don't do this your handling will never be quite right, you may have problems on ice/wet roads and you may wear your tyres out far more quickly. If you really want to save money here then make sure you carefully mark the position of the strut:hub carrier before you start undoing bolts. It'll still be WRONG with the shorter travel, but less than it might have been.
You should really replace the top-mount bearing and the bolts holding the strut to the hub carrier. Thread-lock on the old bolts is the absolute MINIMUM you should be considering.
I'd forget about the wheel-spacers for now. You've got your hands full making this lot work already, and unless you simply want them for image, you may find you don't need them.
Cheap spring and strut suspension is going to outperform similarly priced coilovers every day if it's fast road driving you're looking for. Budget coilovers are the cheapest sensible option if you want a low car for the look.
If it's performance you're after and you don't really care about the look, then don't underestimate the impact that simply renewing your standard shocks (keep the original springs) and as many bushes as you can afford with standard items. Honestly. It's a breathtaking improvement, and if done properly you will have a factory-tight car again instead of an 11-year plus one. Assuming your springs are OK.
I justified buying my replacement Koni kit as the existing Koni's on the car were shot, and the standard springs are the expensive part of the OE kit. It was going to cost almost as much to put my car back to standard as to fit the Koni's which preserved the 25mm drop on my Cupra - they'd give the 60-40 drop you're looking for on your car I think, but they cost nearly double the cheap coilovers above. I bet they handle better though.
Sorry to be a downer; I totally understand if money is tight you can't have everything nice. You say you don't mind waiting for a saving; sometimes it might be worth waiting to do something properly? If you screw up your engine or exhaust or bodywork trying to cut corners it's note that big a deal, just costs money. If you screw up suspension or brakes trying to cut corners you can seriously kill yourself and others.
If you really want to mod your suspension on your budget, email Edwin... it'll be cheaper and safer and probably work better than ebay finds.
A set of spring compressors like these http://www.justoffbase.co.uk/Coil-Spring-Compressor-2pc-Sealey-AK3841
will be perfect.
A set like these http://www.justoffbase.co.uk/250mm-Pair-of-Coil-Spring-Compressors-14173-Draper-N144
are cheaper and pose a safety risk due to slippage. I fired a coil spring all the way across a car park when one of these slipped a few years ago. If I hadn't had the unit parallel to the ground and had been standing/crouching over it I might have seriously injured myself. If the spring had hit anything I would probably have had to pay a lot of money to someone...
Don't think there's anything bigger than the 22mm top nut round there spanner wise. There are a few 14mm and 16mm's though I think and quite a lot of 18mm, which would be a problem if you have the standard 10-11-12-13-15-17-19 kit only...
will be perfect.
A set like these http://www.justoffbase.co.uk/250mm-Pair-of-Coil-Spring-Compressors-14173-Draper-N144
are cheaper and pose a safety risk due to slippage. I fired a coil spring all the way across a car park when one of these slipped a few years ago. If I hadn't had the unit parallel to the ground and had been standing/crouching over it I might have seriously injured myself. If the spring had hit anything I would probably have had to pay a lot of money to someone...
Don't think there's anything bigger than the 22mm top nut round there spanner wise. There are a few 14mm and 16mm's though I think and quite a lot of 18mm, which would be a problem if you have the standard 10-11-12-13-15-17-19 kit only...
Hm. Sorry, forgot you'll obviously need a torque wrench for reassembly and probably a minimum 450mm breaker bar for dismantling.
Now those are replies that are really useful! You're not being a downer to me by the way, this was the response I was hoping for !
I'm absolutely sure we have all those tools at work except for the spring compressor(still waiting for a text message response if we have that too). (I work at a car mechanics/tire shop, so we have a bridge, axle stands, 4 jacks, I think every possible size wrench, an air wrench and all that stuff).
As you said, I'm only going for looks and it doesn't really matter too much to me how the ride is(unless it would be a go-kart), even though I like how it handles right now, I just think the car looks way too high as it is now, especially for the look I want. Since you told me this I'll stick to your advice and leave the spacers for later.
My dad just came up to me telling me how much money I had left on my bank account(I avoided looking at that lol, because I was sure there wasn't much on)... Turns out I've already got enough for my school fee next year, adding 5 months of government study support to that and I've got nearly double that... Going to email that Belgium guy right away. Pity the 160 was in british pounds and not euros lol, otherwise it would be immediate order I guess.
As far as I know my shocks are still ok, it doesn't seem to handle strange and I think they have been changed at least once. If I get the coilover set I'll be keeping the old shocks anyway.
The reason I thought the Golf mk3 shocks would fit was that I understood that by what people told me before, telling me it would be a bit stiff, but it would work... I've totally rethought that now, no way I'm going to do that after what you all said now!
One more question: Does the top-mount bearing / bolts holding the strut to the hub carrier part also imply when buying coilovers? I'm guessing yes? Going to have a good read through the tread now!
Really, thanks A LOT!!!
EDIT: Meh, the email adres is censored out lol...
!I'm absolutely sure we have all those tools at work except for the spring compressor(still waiting for a text message response if we have that too). (I work at a car mechanics/tire shop, so we have a bridge, axle stands, 4 jacks, I think every possible size wrench, an air wrench and all that stuff).
As you said, I'm only going for looks and it doesn't really matter too much to me how the ride is(unless it would be a go-kart), even though I like how it handles right now, I just think the car looks way too high as it is now, especially for the look I want. Since you told me this I'll stick to your advice and leave the spacers for later.
My dad just came up to me telling me how much money I had left on my bank account(I avoided looking at that lol, because I was sure there wasn't much on)... Turns out I've already got enough for my school fee next year, adding 5 months of government study support to that and I've got nearly double that... Going to email that Belgium guy right away. Pity the 160 was in british pounds and not euros lol
, otherwise it would be immediate order I guess.As far as I know my shocks are still ok, it doesn't seem to handle strange and I think they have been changed at least once. If I get the coilover set I'll be keeping the old shocks anyway.
The reason I thought the Golf mk3 shocks would fit was that I understood that by what people told me before, telling me it would be a bit stiff, but it would work... I've totally rethought that now, no way I'm going to do that after what you all said now!
One more question: Does the top-mount bearing / bolts holding the strut to the hub carrier part also imply when buying coilovers? I'm guessing yes? Going to have a good read through the tread now!
Really, thanks A LOT!!!
EDIT: Meh, the email adres is censored out lol...
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Try PM'ing Suj for it? I could prolly fish it out of my hotfail account, but if Suj has censored it he may have a reason.
As for the top mount bearing: That's the rubber/metal sandwich at the top of your struts. Degrades with age and should always be replaced when changing shocks if doing it 'properly'. Rears are simply for control, fronts have a bearing race for making your steering work properly too. Standard parts are fine. I'd expect around 15ukp a pair for rear and maybe 30-35ukp for fronts. It's a chunk of cash, but well worth it to get the best from your new suspension, especially since there's no way to replace them without needing to pay for re-alignment again... Note that 'realignment' is NOT the same as simple 'toe-in' 'tracking' that might be done at a tyre place... (just mention cos of where you say you work... ) Maybe you could get the top mounts discounted through work...? Always worth a cheeky question!
The strut:hub carrier nuts and bolts are standard VAG items. Pretty sure they're 1n golf coded. I'd look them up on ETKA for you but unfortunately I only have Apples at home I'm going to see my parents next week, so I'll get you part numbers on Monday evening if you can wait... TBH, you ought to be able to ask the SEAT dealer for them though... I got my last set from a VW dealer because it was quicker and cheaper. Apparently there *shouldn't* be a price difference...
As for the top mount bearing: That's the rubber/metal sandwich at the top of your struts. Degrades with age and should always be replaced when changing shocks if doing it 'properly'. Rears are simply for control, fronts have a bearing race for making your steering work properly too. Standard parts are fine. I'd expect around 15ukp a pair for rear and maybe 30-35ukp for fronts. It's a chunk of cash, but well worth it to get the best from your new suspension, especially since there's no way to replace them without needing to pay for re-alignment again... Note that 'realignment' is NOT the same as simple 'toe-in' 'tracking' that might be done at a tyre place... (just mention cos of where you say you work...
) Maybe you could get the top mounts discounted through work...? Always worth a cheeky question!The strut:hub carrier nuts and bolts are standard VAG items. Pretty sure they're 1n golf coded. I'd look them up on ETKA for you but unfortunately I only have Apples at home
I'm going to see my parents next week, so I'll get you part numbers on Monday evening if you can wait... TBH, you ought to be able to ask the SEAT dealer for them though... I got my last set from a VW dealer because it was quicker and cheaper. Apparently there *shouldn't* be a price difference...Not necessarily the cheapest, but what you're looking for ... the ones with the metal plates are teh fronts, the ones with the serrated/castellated/notchy tops are the rears...
http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/...g|SuspensionMountingsforeverymakeandmodel.png
http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/...g|SuspensionMountingsforeverymakeandmodel.png
Right, that's is indeed a chunk of money compared to the coilovers themselves, such a tiny piece! I'm going to make myself a list for costs, see if I can find everything. I think I can get the pieces with a discount at work since my boss is registered on some website which has pretty much every part for every car. Of course I can wait, I'll have a look around myself too. It's a pita how I can never seem to find those lists with part-scemes that also list the part numbers... We got a website for that at work but I always forget it
Having second thoughts about the choice between coilovers and lowering springs... I would go for coillies if this wasn't my first car, since it's better, but I think I should start slowly with the mods, even though I would rather have the coilovers. So not even because of the money, but who knows how long the car will last on me: it might aswell stop working in a few months and I would slap myself in the face if I just spent 200 euros on suspension when that happens.
Again, lots of thanks for the help! My boss still didn't text me back about the friggin spring compressor... He's never taken my plans of lowering it seriously for some stupid reason *sigh*
EDIT: Ok he has 2 spring compressors. I'm just going to take the bet on the springs, if it doesn't work out to my liking I'll just sell them and put originals back on. Going to look for the bearing stuff too now, again.
Having second thoughts about the choice between coilovers and lowering springs... I would go for coillies if this wasn't my first car, since it's better, but I think I should start slowly with the mods, even though I would rather have the coilovers. So not even because of the money, but who knows how long the car will last on me: it might aswell stop working in a few months and I would slap myself in the face if I just spent 200 euros on suspension when that happens.
Again, lots of thanks for the help! My boss still didn't text me back about the friggin spring compressor... He's never taken my plans of lowering it seriously for some stupid reason *sigh*
EDIT: Ok he has 2 spring compressors. I'm just going to take the bet on the springs, if it doesn't work out to my liking I'll just sell them and put originals back on. Going to look for the bearing stuff too now, again.
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If you want reassurance of the working state of your engine, you could do a quick compression test which will tell you an awful lot about its condition. There's a lot of worthwhile reading you could do about it, but basically it'll tell you about the state of your piston rings and cylinder head. The closer together the individual cylinders read the better. Much more than 20% variance is a strong indication of trouble ahead.
Other than that, what do you know about the car's past? What sort of colour is the oil/how often has it been changed? Has the cam belt been replaced at the right times? Any odd noises? Fuel economy about right?
If the answer to all the above is good and there aren't any major corrosion sites near suspension load points, then you've probably got as good a car as any of us...
Spring compressors aren't special tools for lowering. Any time a suspension strut is replaced they are needed. If your workshop does that sort of thing they almost certainly have them, but they may be the heavy duty bench press type (this is good but you'll have to use them where they are!)
If you need a corner to cut, you could replace the rear top mounts later if you really needed to. The fronts are more important for steering and also the fronts are the ones you'll have to pay out for realignment for. The Ibiza rear-end is non-adjustable alignment wise. Which makes it sound silly that you need to book it in for 4 wheel alignment, but it's a 4 wheel alignment rig that's needed to get the front right even though it can't do anything for the back...
Sadly, these jobs always get more expensive than the nice bit you actually wanted. Seriously, it's worth it. You would want to shoot yourself just as badly if you didn't do the top mounts and then found out for yourself what a difference they made later...
While I really wouldn't advise it, your absolute minimum should be the struts and the alignment re-set, but it'll never be as good as if you did the mounts as well.
All the extra expenses (top mounts, realignment etc) apply equally to fitting lowering springs as the coilovers, and you'll get a much more definite result from the coilovers.
Fit lowering springs now to save about 130 euros or so and you may need to replace your struts in a few months. You just don't know.
In the end it's up to you. If I were you though, I'd either fit the coilovers or save my money to do the job later when I had a little more cash or do any repairs that come up meanwhile.
I don't even want to think about how much I've spent since GTi International including 200-mile round trips to work on the car on my days off and replacing tools my ex stole, but it's probably close to 1500 euros... Not saying that to try to show off, but as a warning about trying to do too many jobs at once... And I haven't even touched the paint!!!
Other than that, what do you know about the car's past? What sort of colour is the oil/how often has it been changed? Has the cam belt been replaced at the right times? Any odd noises? Fuel economy about right?
If the answer to all the above is good and there aren't any major corrosion sites near suspension load points, then you've probably got as good a car as any of us...
Spring compressors aren't special tools for lowering. Any time a suspension strut is replaced they are needed. If your workshop does that sort of thing they almost certainly have them, but they may be the heavy duty bench press type (this is good but you'll have to use them where they are!)
If you need a corner to cut, you could replace the rear top mounts later if you really needed to. The fronts are more important for steering and also the fronts are the ones you'll have to pay out for realignment for. The Ibiza rear-end is non-adjustable alignment wise. Which makes it sound silly that you need to book it in for 4 wheel alignment, but it's a 4 wheel alignment rig that's needed to get the front right even though it can't do anything for the back...
Sadly, these jobs always get more expensive than the nice bit you actually wanted. Seriously, it's worth it. You would want to shoot yourself just as badly if you didn't do the top mounts and then found out for yourself what a difference they made later...
While I really wouldn't advise it, your absolute minimum should be the struts and the alignment re-set, but it'll never be as good as if you did the mounts as well.
All the extra expenses (top mounts, realignment etc) apply equally to fitting lowering springs as the coilovers, and you'll get a much more definite result from the coilovers.
Fit lowering springs now to save about 130 euros or so and you may need to replace your struts in a few months. You just don't know.
In the end it's up to you. If I were you though, I'd either fit the coilovers or save my money to do the job later when I had a little more cash or do any repairs that come up meanwhile.
I don't even want to think about how much I've spent since GTi International including 200-mile round trips to work on the car on my days off and replacing tools my ex stole, but it's probably close to 1500 euros...
Not saying that to try to show off, but as a warning about trying to do too many jobs at once... And I haven't even touched the paint!!!Fr looking up part numbers, you really want a copy of ETKA or ETOS, the VAG EPC (electronic parts catalogue) software. Pretty much any Microsft Windows machine with a half decent monitor will run it. Earlier versions of ETKA needed 1280x1024 I think. Not sure about the rest. You can usually find this stuff of Ebay for very little money. ETKA seems to run in a DOS-box, it invokes hardlock.dll and may cause problems with any old crappy software you have. My Mom has a nasty old DOS backgammon game that really hates ETKA... which is unfortunate as it's her PC I run it on... Linux and Apple are total no-nos for ETKA or ETOS. Which is why I can't use my own machines...
Linux and Apple are total no-nos for ETKA or ETOS. Which is why I can't use my own machines...
Lol, yeah I will try to scramble my partnumbers together piece by piece... It's a pity they don't have it at the webshop I'm ordering the springs at, would've made it easier lol.
What you said though, about having spent 1500 euros on the car, that's my whole reason not to get coilovers just yet. My shocks seem fine at the moment and totally not worn when I drive the car. It's straight and I don't have any problems on bumps that I feel very hard or not feel at all. No weird noises whatsoever, except on startup there's a crunch, but they say it's my fuel pump when i'm at work. Has been doing it exactly the same since I had it so I don't think it's a problem?!... Had a look at the oil when I bought it and it was fine, have no service history though so not sure about the cam belt. Fuel economy... I suck at driving economical... Getting about 13 km on one liter, so that would be what 32mpg?... That's way to economical for me to be right...
As you said: I coilovers are my preference, but since the car was 350 euros, I think I would be mad spending more than half the cost of the car on suspension upgrades.
I will replace both the mounts and the struts and will have the allignment done by the way, what needs done needs done, although I'm not sure if I'll do the rears aswell.
I think we have the ETKA / ETOS kind of thing at work but it's for more brands than only VAG's, I've seen it with parts for Mercedes and Land Rovers too, so that will work out I guess.
on the Euro Car Part UK website, those prices are per piece or what? Not a set of 2?...
What you said though, about having spent 1500 euros on the car, that's my whole reason not to get coilovers just yet. My shocks seem fine at the moment and totally not worn when I drive the car. It's straight and I don't have any problems on bumps that I feel very hard or not feel at all. No weird noises whatsoever, except on startup there's a crunch, but they say it's my fuel pump when i'm at work. Has been doing it exactly the same since I had it so I don't think it's a problem?!... Had a look at the oil when I bought it and it was fine, have no service history though so not sure about the cam belt. Fuel economy... I suck at driving economical... Getting about 13 km on one liter, so that would be what 32mpg?... That's way to economical for me to be right...
As you said: I coilovers are my preference, but since the car was 350 euros, I think I would be mad spending more than half the cost of the car on suspension upgrades.
I will replace both the mounts and the struts and will have the allignment done by the way, what needs done needs done, although I'm not sure if I'll do the rears aswell.
I think we have the ETKA / ETOS kind of thing at work but it's for more brands than only VAG's, I've seen it with parts for Mercedes and Land Rovers too, so that will work out I guess.
on the Euro Car Part UK website, those prices are per piece or what? Not a set of 2?...
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200482146715&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Not too much lowering but good quality springs at a low price, shipping from germany shouldnt be too much either.
Not too much lowering but good quality springs at a low price, shipping from germany shouldnt be too much either.
Have already found some 60-40mm springs mate... Still looking up the bearing parts... Grr that website sucks! Rather not order from the UK website, 15 pounds in shipment... Now I found this Dutch website, but I don't know the Dutch name for the parts lol Pretty epic...
EDIT: Found the front top mount bearing... Yay,... Why the heck does it say it needs one per axle?! Should be 2
EDIT2: Err... What the heck?
122 euros for the front one...
22 for the rear? Are they maaad?!
Pretty epic...EDIT: Found the front top mount bearing... Yay,... Why the heck does it say it needs one per axle?! Should be 2
EDIT2: Err... What the heck?
122 euros for the front one...
22 for the rear? Are they maaad?!
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