Just been out tonight and round the backroads my car was very skittish, I didn't feel confident in it at all. If felt how I'd imagine it would if I had a wheel loose (which I don't) So.. I'm guessing it's the suspension being knackered. As I'm off work next week...where should I take it to get it replaced..and what should I replace it with? It's a Mk3 GTI 8v. I don't mind traveling to get it properly sorted cos atm I really don't like it jumping about.
well it is very cold in most parts of the country at the mo...sure it wasn't the slippy roads that were makin you feel uncomfortable?!
Pretty sure. straight like the backend felt like it was fishtailing a bit and the whole car seemed to be rolling a lot... hence the boat comment
If you're running standard suspension the Mk3 GTI always feels a bit rolly when pushing hard. As to what to replace it with, depends how much you want to spend!
My car felt like this when I first bought it and I was on the point of selling it. The standard suspension costs VW about 50 and is useless. On a 4th gear corner at about 60 mph the back end feels like it is jumping sideways, not sliding but actually skitting across the road imperfections. If this is how yours felt then I sympathise. I bought Koni shocks and Eiback springs, they cost about 400 and have totally transformed the car. The ride is actually better on the soft setting because the shocks react to the road quicker. I thoroughly recommend this option, don't forget to get the camber and alignment done when you have them fitted. (ps, this should probably be in the chassis section.)
I bet the rear beam bushes are shot. My mate crashed his Mk3 VR becasue he didn't replace them.....he boght some mk4 lights instead....and smashed one of them in the crash........
Not a single snipe from the mk1/mk2 brigade? I'm in shock?! 16V is a bit stiffer but mine handles fine. Not the last word on damper settings as standard and a tad soft but loads of grip and once you adapt to it you can really fly along.
As above, bushes are probably shot. I ran the Bilstein/Eibach combo on my old Mk3 and it was great. Matched to some nice 16" alloys, ARB's, front strut brace and poly bushes and the "mk3's don't handle myth" becomes like the "Mk2 w/ Vr6 don't handle" myth - if setup well, pretty much anything will be good!
Another vote for the "fishtailing rear end" = "worn rear beam bushes" camp. You might want to check your rear wheel bearings as well. A little play in those can make the back end slide all over the place. Simon.
if you've got 500-600, i'd go for koni adjustables/eibach springs/eibach uprated anti-roll bars/poly bushes (actually, that probably goes over a bit!). i've got a worn out rear bush on the left rear of my vr (will be replaced before xmas), makes you get some snap oversteer in the middle of corners sometimes, but its fun (however, less experienced drivers may find it scary)!! but then again, i also have worn out front shocks and new rear ones, so that promotes even more oversteer on turn in!! and i'm running full camber (about 2degs) so that makes it even more on the nose....just the way i like it. and before you all criticise, reason all this hasn't been fixed....money!!
shock absorbers! soft on a mk3 anyway and after a few miles even worse I had one of the first mk3s and it had exactly the same symptoms , tsr fitted some koni shocks to the standard springs and it was transformed you might want to go for a matched spring and shock kit, depends on ride vs handling @ make sure all the bushes are ok
Well I guess I'll be off to get the shocks and bushes changed this week then. The neares place does SPAX, Eibach, Apex, G-Max Eibach suspension and poly bushes for now. thanks for the advice. Will let you know if it all works out.
Well what can I say....Koni shocks, Eiback springs, poly bushes What a diference... Apart from being a bit on the stiff side my car handles superbly now. Eibach ARB being fitted next week so the transformation will be complete. Thanks all for the advice. I can love my car once again
I too have fitted Koni shocks to the standard springs, the ride and handling was transformed, recently I have changed the 14" steel wheels (195/60/14) for 15" steels (195/55/15 Toyo Proxes T1s) the grip is phenominally better and the ride quality is still great.
