Suspension Set Up Help!

[collis 0]

Have come to a bit of a dilemma after doing my research im looking to uprate my suspension to b6 bilstein dampers, eibach springs, group N top mounts, strut brace as i will hopefully be putting in my mi16 in the summer.

But speaking to one of my mates who owns a slammed mk 1 golf and supposedly knows what he is talking about when it comes to suspension said not to bover and go with coilovers.

The car will be used for fast road and track days.

This has put abit of a spanner in the works and im not sure what to do as i dont want to go spending out my hard earned cash and find its not right for me. Im looking for it to be a good handling stiff ride and im really not fussed about comfort.

Was wondering what people think and know from there experience. Any help is appreciated

[boombang 2]

You already have coilovers on the front - i.e. the coil goes over the damper.

 

If your mate has a "slammed" car, chances are they are into looks more than performance as the geometry will be completely ruined with it very low.

 

For track you want it very firm (you've not mentioned rear torsion bars, which you should also be buying). For fast road you want it far softer.

 

If the setup is going to be a compromise, you'll have to decide just how much. Everyday road car with odd trackday or a track car that's used on the road occassionally or to get to circuits?

[collis 0]

Im looking for it to be 'track car that's used on the road occasionally' once its fully up and running.

 

All i am looking to do is up rate the dampers and check the condition of the torison bar to begin with.

[boombang 2]

I'd go with an adjustable setup starting with a 9" 185lb spring to start with. Set the damping as light as possible whilst still controlling the spring.

 

Certainly wouldn't go harder till the rear end is sorted.

[collis 0]

what shock would you recommend going for as ive heard a difference of opinion with people

[boombang 2]

Depends massively on budget.

 

The Gaz stuff seems ok for the price, there isn't much out there at similar money.

[collis 0]

Ok ill have a look thanks for your help

[Bigtimmy 1]

Hi Collis,

 

I have just built the car you are thinking of building.

 

It did it's first track day on Saturday and it handled fantastically.

 

Basically the spec is as follows.

 

Front

Gaz Golds with 300lb 9" springs

Eccentric top mounts

309 bottom arms

309 arb

polybushed

 

Rear

24mm torsion bars

standard arb (at the mo)

solid rear beam mounts

Tarmac spec Bilstien shocks

Lowered about 30mm (one spline)

 

The interior is stripped and caged and the ride on the road is tragic, you know when you have done a 50 mile round trip, but on the track I found it to be fantastic.

 

It should be noted though that the way a car is set up for one person i.e. me, might not suit someone elses driving style i.e. you, if you see what I mean.

 

Everyone has their own opinions on what works and what doesn't, and I know that this setup works for me and with a few tweaks I am hoping to tune it so it suits my driving style even more.

 

I would recommend trying a couple of other 205 setups and perhaps finding a basic setup that suits you and your budget!

 

Good luck!

[andyjstone 6]

You might find the B6 Billies a bit soft, they aren't that much firmer than standard. I originally had these on mine, but changed to the Challenge Spec. dampers and uprated the ARB to 24mm with 309 rear beam and bars and is much better, stays much more planted on the corners and I don't find it too bad on the road (not that I really drive it much on the road, but even driving from home to Cadwell, which is about a 3 hour trip, I didn't find it too uncomfortable).

[jengis 0]

I found the B6 (yellow bodied "inverted" struts) very good for the road and substantiallyt stiffer than standard, although this seems to be a different experience to Andy above

 

I used standard springs and bars but always planned to fit eibachs and a 24mm rear ARB if I decided to do more trackdays, but never got round to it as it was great on the road with lots of travel.

 

Are coilovers really necessary? Adjustability is interesting but there is an advantage of having an offset spring platform to balance the bending forces on the strut during cornering/braking - not something people often consider. The B6 + B8 damper is a very good design (the B8 being a shorter bodied version for use with shorter springs. It is the B4 that is the one to avoid out of the bilstein range with cheap internals.

[taylorspug 7]

If you have Eibach 7001s (i think thats right- the 40mm drop ones), they are a very good progressive rate spring and really pretty much perfect for a road car. If you need to fine tune either height, spring rate or geometry then coilovers will be a better bet. But you could do ALOT worse than those Eibachs.

[andyjstone 6]

I found the B6 (yellow bodied "inverted" struts) very good for the road and substantiallyt stiffer than standard, although this seems to be a different experience to Andy above

 

Yes, sorry, it was the B4s (the black ones) that I had - they are just a bit stiffer than normal.

[Dazza 4]

Advise thats been given to me over the years has always involved Bilstein some where a long the conversation .

 

If your into the occassional trip to the track GP N billies large spring items are perfect with a matched spring of circa 160-185lb IMO , However narrow boddied struts with the same spring rate are just as good .

If your using it on the road your needing new fillings at 180lb + springs however a Track day set up is starting at 180lb and upwards of 300lb Rates.

 

The options narrow boddied struts bring is the option of using adjustable top mounts and geometry improvements that you will eventually get round to , if this is where you think your going to end up then you again have options of buying GP N's and modifying them down the years with narrow coil kits and new tarmac inserts .

 

Failing that build some from scratch or buy some coil-overs now ..

[collis 0]

Im looking for going for the Gaz gold kit which i found on ebay for new at £600 which is the best price i can find. Im going to hopefully rebuild the rear with the 309 set up but wont do this till ive saved up a few more pennies