I am about to do the classic ABF conversion. i have a mk2 golf 1989 1.6 driver and and 97 mk3 gti. my plan is to use the sub frame and bigger brakes the norm... so basically I really want to keep the wheels 4 stud, is there a way to do this as the mk3 hubs will be 5 stud, can i press in the 4 stud carrier or not that simple? is it easier just to pick another brake/hub set up? if so what would you recommend? anyone been in the same situation? I think the 4 stud wheels are nicer and go with look I amm going for. i mean i got the mk3 for £300 so I have done pretty well. considering the VW tax on ABF engines these days. thanks for any help
mk3 with wide track will be a taper fit ball joint. As you need the hubs to fit the bigger brakes you're bound to need the 5 stud hubs. you could fit 4 stud hub flanges in, but then you will run into issues of the 4 and 5 stud fitment discs being different offsets. I'm sure RJ will be along with a remedy shortly! I used a Fiat Coupe none turbo 4 x 98mm fitment disc on my mk2 with 4 stud mk2 16v hubs. Used mk3 288mm brake calipers/carriers Discs need machining on centre bore and wheel bolt holes opening out to 4 x 100mm. Just been looking for a pic of my old set up but it's like 10 yrs ago....edit - photobucket still works!
several ways this feline can be relieved of its outer covering 1st and probably most simple for you is keep it narrow track, source some MK2 GTI driveshafts and some new wheel bearing carriers from a mk2 16v/G60, mk3 golf/vento/cabrio in higher spec but non gti, corrado, passat b3/4, caddy van, ibiza, toledo, cordoba or polo saloon or estate. Basically if its 4 stud with 256+ brakes then it will work except MK1 golf type chassis or polo hatchback. The problem though is you have 288mm brakes, so thiese will still need a little messing about to fit to 4 stud carriers, See GVK's post above on that Or you could get some 280mm brakes off pre-96 mk3 gti, 16v or vr6, corrado, g60, etc. Buy a new 22mm mater cylinder, then it'll all bolt together and give you same brakes as a golf G60. I've posted a picture of the wheel bearing carrier you need in here if you go 4 stud big brakes: https://clubgti.com/forums/index.php?threads/8v-brakes.288850/ If you want widetrack then you can use non-gti mk3 golf parts with the above bearing carriers to do the job, ideally get shafts as well but the ones you have will probably be ok if you change the outer CV joints for 4 stud versions, need to be 100mm type so your old 1.6 ones wont work though. Need the right track rods to match the rack you end up with, manual you would want mk3 manual, power steering the mk3 abf ones you have will work but put new boots on while its apart. if using mk3 steering rack get a mk2 PAS UJ boot and use the MK3 UJ. can use mk3 pipes with either mk2 bottle and a couple mods or make bracket to hold the mk3 bottle. Another way to do it is press 4 stud hubs to the 5 stud wheel bearing carriers, if your car is post-88 then the old hubs will fit. 2 issues here. First is you'll have to redrill MK3 discs every time you change them or machined Fiat as above, as there are no 4 stud discs I know of which are the right offset to fit 5 stud wheel bearing carriers and direct fit. 2nd issue is because the MK3 calipers sit closer to the wheel this gives you less wheel clearance (this is why you have to re-drill or use fiat discs) with this and added widetrack can mean your chosen wheels have very little room to the arches, if any. Depends what wheels you want, you can always trial fit one to a built up mk3 bearing carrier and see what clearance you get. 1 wheel bolt hole lines up for testing
