Eibach fitted

[chris_m]

Had my Eibach springs and dampers fitted this afternoon to my Cupra. Obviously they’ve only taken the weight of the car for little under an hour so i expect them to settle yet.

Difference was immediate, gone was the bouncy crashy ride through town - im absolutely amazed that aftermarket suspension is damped 10x better than a factory setup!! Its really a suprise, it is sooooo much comfier than stock, woo!

That horrible unsprung bouncing motion on a fast road is gone too, bumps and crests mid corner no longer upset the car with dramatic effect.

But, and only maybe a little but, it isn’t as dramatic or ‘pointy’ as i expected. Front end still feels washy on turn in, maybe i need to play with tyre pressures?

Got a rear arb on order so hopefully that will give me the complete feeling im after..... in two minds whether ill need a front one too now?

Hey, maybe its just im too darn demanding

 

[RikH]

nice one
been thinking of this myself
how much it all cost u to do?

 

[InfernalBadger]

Nice, how much that cost you then?

Damn you RikH

 

[RikH]

haha
we'll add in a-did u buy it all seperate or garage fit it as well

 

[CupraJay]

I feel the same as you mate. last week i had bilstien coilovers fitted and set up...And its a magor improvement, But it stills feels a tad washy.

Im hoping that ARB's will sort out that problems. Any comments from people if it will or not?

 

[Ruddmeister]

Got a rear arb on order so hopefully that will give me the complete feeling im after..... in two minds whether ill need a front one too now?

Hey, maybe its just im too darn demanding

Having been there and done it, I highly recommend some big fat front and rear ARB's....do not be afraid to go up to approx 25mm thick front and rear.....well worth the money trust me

I was warned I would get understeer etc but didn't

 

[chris_m]

Got it in a group buy over on uk-mkivs.net. Paid £550 for Eibach -30 springs, pro dampers, and a rear arb. Considerably less than everywhere i tried. Cost me £90 for fitting for the shocks n springs. Gonna fit the rear arb myself when it arrives. (on back-order)

I don’t mean to over-dramatise the stiuation, it is still a huge huge improvement.... ive only driven it for about 30 mins, so im still ‘sussing out’ the limits of the thing.... one things for certain, the b-road that i take to work was taken a lot lot faster than i would’ve dared previously, and its quite an uneven bumpy road. Im pretty sure the rear arb will make a massive difference, a mate of mine fitted one to his standard Bora a couple of years ago on stock susp, and it was staggeringly different.

Suspension seems to definately be a case of ‘do it right first time’.... i woudl never ever fit springs only again to a car. They seem great for a few weeks but then just cause they’re own problems.... i decided to spend the money right this time, so far i’ve been proven right!

Off out for another play later...

 

[Ruddmeister]

If you are doing it right first time then I say

Front ARB
Rear ARB
Top Strut Brace (Audi S3 from Audi dealers at £55 ish)
Lower Strut Brace (Lower Strut brace from the LCR)

I did all the above to my LCR plus Bilstein Coilovers and the car handled superbly

 

[chris_m]

Money money money aint it! lol

I think your right however. Whilst the rear arb will probably liven the car up a lot, i reckon the front will still feel sloppy. Do the strut braces really make that much of a difference? I always looked upon them as glamourised engine bay bling (oops!).

 

[slick]

I tell you now.... fit the S3 strut braces... elimates the washy feeling!!!!!!
Nice kit... i got the coilover set on Eibach, cant fault them in one way at all...

 

[Ruddmeister]

Money money money aint it! lol

I think your right however. Whilst the rear arb will probably liven the car up a lot, i reckon the front will still feel sloppy. Do the strut braces really make that much of a difference? I always looked upon them as glamourised engine bay bling (oops!).

It's you car all i'll say is

- They are cheap (probably £100 in parts for the 2 pieces)
- They are easy to do when you are doing ARB's etc (very little extra labour etc)
- They sharpen up the turn in, which lets face it the Leon needs cos it's no Ford Focus on turn in etc
- Helps keep the front end flat so you can get a little more power down earlier

BUT you get what you pay for £500+ of suspension makes a huge difference, £100 worth of strut braces makes 1/5th of that difference.......Not exactly scientific but probably not far wide of the mark

 

[Ruddmeister]

Money money money aint it! lol

I think your right however. Whilst the rear arb will probably liven the car up a lot, i reckon the front will still feel sloppy. Do the strut braces really make that much of a difference? I always looked upon them as glamourised engine bay bling (oops!).

If you get bored I did a 'little' write up based on the LCR but most of it is applicable

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=91243

 

[RikH]

can someone PM me the part number from audi for the upper strut brace

cheers

 

[chris_m]

Oh bugger, i've now got a rather loud squeek when the right rear is compressed or under load...... any ideas? Cant be bushes at 28k, surely..??

 

[The MoffMeister]

cheers for the advice here this will help me out to thinking of what to get etc!

 

[traumapat]

ive a rear arb fitted and understeer has improved loads. cars much more placed when cornering.

i havnt done the front as im well happy with the overall handling.

dont want to upset what ive already got

id certainly fit the arbs seperatly and see what the outcome is. you may get the improvment with just one

 

[chris_m]

Aye will see what the rear does before i jump in and buy more stuff

Thanks for all the replies peeps (and great write-up Rudd!), very helpful. Guess its a very personal thing, you can do as much reading as you like, but you dont know if you really like it or how hard/soft/pointy you want the car until its actually on YOUR car.

One thing is for sure, its not gonna be long til a tinker with the ecu...

 

[Ruddmeister]

I did just the rear ARB and coilovers first but was never 100% happy, for me adding the front ARB was kinda the icing on the cake. I was doubtfull before I fitted the front ARB incase it increased undrsteer (particularly in the wet) but I need not have worried as I found it spot on.

Also on ARB's I went to 28mm rear 25mm front and found it fine as an everyday driver (20,000miles/year) so don;t be afriad to go quite big diameter.

I know Z-boyd had a similar setup to me and when he fitted the front ARB he was impressed but not as happy as me.........guess it's all down to taste and personal choice

 

[InfernalBadger]

Would there be much benefit just fitting front and rear ARBs without the coilovers? (As all in one it's a lot of money ) Or would it be best to just save up for the whole lot?

 

[Brucel]

Would there be much benefit just fitting front and rear ARBs without the coilovers? (As all in one it's a lot of money ) Or would it be best to just save up for the whole lot?

Yes massive benefit I have them and it made the car so much nicer to drive and they look cool.....

Can't wait to get my FSD's done.

I got them separately to see the differences waiting to see now. Track day booked after the fitting! YAY!!!