bluespanner 0 Posted September 1, 2008 Does anybody know if the specifications differ betwee the two, ie for ride height and ARB/TB thickness? Only reason I wonder is because Cti has base model front suspension,... Cheers Roly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve@cornwall 100 Posted September 1, 2008 Does anybody know if the specifications differ betwee the two, ie for ride height and ARB/TB thickness?Only reason I wonder is because Cti has base model front suspension,... Cheers Roly Comparing the 2, I'd say the cti uses the gti beam - bars on both are the same -19mm? - ( measured with a spanner....) from what I can tell, the cti seems to sit higher than the gti due to the weight difference at the rear when fitted with the gti beam- so I would assume they are set at the same height from the factory - standard ctis seem to sit higher, too BTW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miles 331 1 Cars Posted September 1, 2008 Both bar's and ARB are thinner or at least they where on mine of 87 vintage, Now upgraded thou!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 244 3 Cars Posted September 2, 2008 CTi's (along with at least four of the STDT's I know about) use the XS size bars on the rear beam. (iirc Henry Yorke confirmed this on his 1994 CTi along with his brother Mike) The CTi uses the base / XS front end parts as well so it would seem right. The bars on my STDT beam before I upgraded them were ~18mm torsion bars & 16mm arb but looking at the torsion bars listed for all 205 models on service box they range from 18.1mm - 18.9mm & rear arb's 14mm, 16mm & 19mm. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluespanner 0 Posted September 4, 2008 OK So are Gti TBs and ARBs all 19mm? Sounds like these are what I need. Will give Yorkie a ring see what hes got. Cheers all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 244 3 Cars Posted September 5, 2008 OK So are Gti TBs and ARBs all 19mm? Yes, at least all the one's I've stripped have been ~19mm bars all round. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluespanner 0 Posted September 5, 2008 What did you upgrade to, Pugtorque? I imagine that the 1mm difference (18vs 19) in the TBs wont make much difference... but i imagine going from a 16mm to a 19mm ARB would make quite a bit of difference? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fenton 1,542 Posted September 5, 2008 I think you'd be suprised actually. 1mm larger to an 18mm bar is a 5% increase in dimension. However more importantly in mechanics the polar moment of inertia that you would use to calculate amount of twist relative to load applied uses the radius to the power of 4. Meaning in simple terms that a 19mm bar is actually somewhere in the region of 20% stiffer than a 18mm bar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 244 3 Cars Posted September 5, 2008 What did you upgrade to, Pugtorque? Initially I went for all GTi sized 19mm bars but have since swapped to a 22mm rear arb. The rear arb probably makes the biggest difference, even just going to the 19mm one. As Tom says, the difference in bar diametre makes a far bigger of a difference to the spring rate than you might think for just a 1mm increment. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluespanner 0 Posted September 5, 2008 Wow thanks for all this info guys. Sounds like the full Gti setup is the way to go - the higher spring rate will help me with the wheels rubbing (Base model shell) Cheers all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars Posted September 6, 2008 Will give Yorkie a ring see what hes got. I guess you know him then! Poor you His CTI has a standard beam with a GTI ARB in it and it made a world of difference, especially with new track control arms. His 205 Mi is standard suspension apart from lowered and his 1.9 GTI has the 309 setup on the front. My CTI is Full 1.9 GTI spec with 309 hubs and Eibach springs on the front and a 21mm ARB in the back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bluespanner 0 Posted September 7, 2008 Hello Henry, nice to meet you I do know him indeed, I work with his mate Jed at Dovebank Motors, so I see quite a bit of him, and I also bought my 1.9 Gti wheels off him. I reckon if I fit a Gti ARB in the beam I have, it'll be a good budget setup, and definately an improvement over what I have currently! Cheers, Roly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
