good handling?

[the milkman]

right if im being completely honest i haven't a clue on what is good for handling, so if guys could recommend stuff for like stiff suspension, tyres ect or what ever i need would be perfect!

thanks ash

[Alee83]

Coilovers are good for stiffening the front end up, also uprated bushes too. Rear end I would suggest the Gaz adjustable rear shocks, they are excellent!

Tires, the softer the compound, the stickier they are, but wear down quicker! Just get a good brand like Parada spec 2's or Rainsports...

[Pompey306mark]

Suspension: gaz coilovers.
Lower arms: meyle hd.
Gti front ARB.
Gti or Xsara rear beam.
Solid rear mounts.
Hybrid anti roll bar or thicker.
22m rear torsion bars or thicker.
Upper and lower strut braces by omp or Phil on here.
Phil's metal drop links.

Then good tyres, Pirelli p zeros, Goodyear eagle F1, most continentals.

There are better tyres out there than t1r's and specs. It just depends if you want to spend £10-20 extra per corner.

Also just to avoid any fighting, what I have written is what I have on my car and what I have tried before. It's the the be all and end all. AP do good coilovers and other stuff as to D2 I believe.

[puglove]

All of what mark said.

50 profile tyres instead of 55
Vibra technics P bush
Powerflex or better bush
Camber adjustable top mounts


Also not all coilovers are better for handling cheap crappy ones will have the oposit effect

[the milkman]

thanks guys, like i said i havent got a clue tbh im still learning about all this kinda stuff but after driving a few cars lately that just dont grip, body roll and understeer aint fun! so want mine to be nice and safe ahhaha

[Niall]

Depends what route you want to go. Alot will say get gaz coil overs but you can also go down the route of decent shocks and springs.

As said, T1rs, rainsports and parada spec 2s are all budget tyres. Decent but by no means great. Theres much better out there for slightly more money.

Also depends how much you want to compromise comfort. Coilovers tend to be rather harsh but obviously handle well. Bilstein B8s and Eibach springs are regarded on the 6 forum as being one of the best all round setups for comfort and handling which is the route im going down. currently got B4s and eibachs and its a great set up. B4s just lack the adjustment really.

Hybrid rear arb and xsara vts torsion bars are a great upgrade for the rear but both are quite difficult to get hold of. Also, solid rear beam mounts are just personal choice really. The idea of the standard rear mounts is to allow passive rear steering. Fitting solid mounts removes this. There are many pros and cons for both so it really is personal choice.

Rear shocks, not expnsive really. A set of gaz rear shocks can be picked up for £100 although there is better out there (that will last longer as well. Gaz shocks dont seem to weather well at all)

You can also go down the route of eccentric top mounts (coilovers only) where you can adjust camber and castor of the front wheels for better handling. Compromise is you might wear front tyres quicker but not stupidly.

Wishbones, several choices. Standard replacements do not last long so are not worth buying. You can go for melye hds (about £120 a set). they last very well and handle very well. Can also get roller bearing wishbone mounts for much better handling but this is a big compromise on comfort.

It all depends on what you use your car for. If its daily, i would go for a compromise. Even standard these handle well. If its a weekend car, go all out and have some serious fun!

[Pompey306mark]

Cheapy ones aren't that bad, it will give the car a lower centre of gavity, which improves handling they just don't last that long.
When I drove sam's (phils friend) future car. Ie a completely standard dt, it was shocking going from my car to that, but I would still say my old friends 1.6 with cheapies on and lowered 50mm handled better than a standard car.

If you go the meyle hd lower arm route you would need to change all the bushes, those lower arms on my car are still going strong and show no sign of wear after 2years.

Yea I forgot I have adjustable top mounts, they are a good change too.

[the milkman]

thanks niall, ermm whats a hybrid beam may i ask?

[puglove]

I had raceland specials on my old 6 when i went back to OE gti shocks and lowering springs the ride and handimgimproved 10 fold

[Niall]

Hybrid anti roll bar. As far as im aware, its a much thicker bar but is on the standard size ends. I think (dont quote me on this) that some have trouble fitting them in the beam tubes as they really are only a tiny tiny bit smaller than the tube

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I had raceland specials on my old 6 when i went back to OE gti shocks and lowering springs the ride and handimgimproved 10 fold

i know that coil overs are great for lows but personally, i would always rather go with a decent brand shock and spring than cheap coilovers.

[the milkman]

well ive liked the idea of coilover untill last night i was out in my mates vrs fabia and they was so harsh my spine almost shit through the roof and we was bouncing all over the place on motor way kinda put me off

[Niall]

well ive liked the idea of coilover untill last night i was out in my mates vrs fabia and they was so harsh my spine almost shit through the roof and we was bouncing all over the place on motor way kinda put me off

yeah a mate of mine has coilovers on his car and it goes round corners ok but the ride is horrible! Id never have them tbh

[the milkman]

worst thing is they had no give in them at all so every little bump pot hole was just throwing us about and it wasnt nice at all in a 320bhp fabia!!

[ben87]

id personally start with

strut braces and go from there(bought and sold a few times)


when i had just a top brace i didnt notice anything
when i had just a bottom brace i noticed quite a bit...

when i finally installed both i noticed a major difference

[Jonny b]

Needs to set em up proper then bud, I'll bet they are just set as stiff as poss!! Mine actually rides really nice and handles like a dream, my mate came to ace with me on Monday. 1st time he's been in it and even he said how nice it rode and he drives a Volvo lol

[Pompey306mark]

Sounds like he has not got good adjustable coilovers.

Don't get me wrong they are not as comfortable as standard, but handle a lot better.

Hybrid anti roll bar fits fine in a standard beam. It's the massive thick ones where you need to change the trailing arms at can be a pain. Not nothing to hard.

[Niall]

yeah mark i think the only reason some have had problems are manufacturing differences in some beams. Nothing that cant be fixed easily.

[the milkman]

are the ARB's a standard pug part or do you get of another car?

[Niall]

There not a standard part. keep an eye out on the gti6 forum. they pop up on there a bit. Looking at anywhere between 100 and 200 quid

[Pompey306mark]

Front one you can get off a six.

Thicker ones you can get from the Xsara, hybrid and thicker are made special by other companies.

[spike2002]

28.5 mm tapered to 25.4mm at one end hybrid arb is the biggest you can fit in a standard beam i have one fitted in a beam just havent got around to fitting the beam yet

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The arb can be got for £175+vat from spooks motorsport

[Niall]

28.5 mm tapered to 25.4mm at one end hybrid arb is the biggest you can fit in a standard beam i have one fitted in a beam just havent got around to fitting the beam yet

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The arb can be got for £175+vat from spooks motorsport

Sell it to me!!!!

[Claus1990]

i bought the spax psx adjustable kit and had the front end bit put on along with new wishbones and its improved the handling massivley! just waitng to get the rear shocks and solid beam mounts sorted. But for the price of the kit so far so good!

[the milkman]

so i can just get slightly thicker ones that arent that expensive for the rear? or are they all priced like that for the rear?

[spike2002]

xsara vts 21mm tortion bars are around the £100 mark

23mm tortion bars
http://www.spoox.co.uk/catalog/product_i...e179ace6d1

Hybrid arb
http://www.spoox.co.uk/catalog/product_i...e179ace6d1

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[/quote]
Sell it to me!!!!
[/quote]

One word NO lol :p

See my project thread im currently in the process of sorting the handeling out on my 6.

[the milkman]

well alot more than i was expecting if im honest

[spike2002]

well alot more than i was expecting if im honest

If its a daily i would got for some decent shocks on the rear and 21mm tortion bars and a decent set of beam mounts will improve the rear no end.

If you want to go over kill then invest in a hybrid arb exc but it wont be cheap. imo not worth it unless you do some serious spirited driveing

[Niall]

just looked on spooks (my baskets already at over 1k haha) and it isnt +vat so its only £175. not bad!

[the milkman]

keep it grippy instead of kicking out?

[Pompey306mark]

Good parts aren't cheap.

Problem with buy a cheap, French cars. To make them really good you need to spend some money.

Keep an eye out on eBay. In the past I have picked up strut brace for less than £10.
4pot brakes for under £200
I have seen gaz setups second hand for good money.
It's a good place to save a big of money.