Sorting out a Sciroccos suspension

[goaferboy]

So what exactly can be done to make a Scirocco a road hugging wizard? Is there anything else other than lower/stiffer springs or coilovers, upper brace and lower braces?

And also, what parts can be used with MK1 Golfs? I can't find hardly anything for a Scirocco, but MK1 Golf stuff seems easy enough to find. I know coilovers fit since I had Golf coilies on my old Scirocco. What about the braces?

Rather than concentrating on the looks of my next Scirocco (which is probably why my old one was stolen), I want to concentrate on making it drive well but look reasonably standard.

[mark1gls]

Some decent tyres would be a good start. and a dry road!

[goaferboy]

Some decent tyres would be a good start. and a dry road!

Well yeah, but as far as I know the car comes with decent tyres. They're definately brand new, so they wont be getting replaced for a while!

[DannyH]

Camber and tracking are more important than anything.

[the edmundator]

Making sure all your suspension mounts and bushes are in tip-top condition will make a big difference. You don't even have to go for poly bushes, replacing 20-year old rubber with brand new replacements will make a huge difference, without sacrificing any comfort.

[1lazza]

All depends what you are looking for - I have tried many setups on my Mk1's over the years and ended up with the following: Standard springs, Koni adjustables set to their soft end of adjustment and uprated anti roll bars (Eibach). A little extra camber at the front helps also. (half a degree in at the top so the tyres don't wear too fast). This gives a nice ride, flat cornering, keeps the tyres in contact with the ground most of the time, sharp turn-in and balanced handling. Nylon top strut mounts are nice and have lasted well on my cars. I also rate the lower braces between the wishbone mounts on the chassis legs.

You would want stiffer springs, a lower centre of gravity and firmer damping for a racetrack, but on the UK's roads the above is a very good compromise. The Scirocco's don't have much suspension travel to start with; shortening the springs and stiffening the dampers gives the initial impression of sporty handling, (and looks good) but soon becomes uncomfortable, and does not necessarily keep the tyres in good contact with the road when things get bumpy. If you want the car to sit a bit lower, the early original strut housings seem to have slightly lower spring perches, and the Bonrath upper platforms are claimed to reduce the body height about 10 to 15mm.

I have to say I have never tried coilovers so cannot comment regarding those. Interesting thread as handling is very subjective...

[Mr Funk]

I can only speak from my experience but setting the coilovers up properly made a whole world of difference.
I niavely thought we could just wind them down to the level I wanted then go from there but it took a while as every time we adjusted them we to the effort of camber/tracking check but that could mainly be because I'm a bit anal.
New poly top mounts and bushes all round helped but can make things a bit hard and I know it sounds strange but removing the rear seats opened up a whole new can o' worms. I knew I needed a rear brace but after the back seats went it went up the list a bit more as it's quite a big space in the back so it needed stiffening up.
That, the lower brace and tyres (I'm running two different widths which doesn't really help when setting up) were all a bit in depth but transform the car, have a think about doing something to the brakes as well, again I was a bit blinkered when I started and couldn't see how a brake upgrade could help the car go round a corner but now I wouldn't go back.
I honestly cannot see how people can say that a standard rocco can even come close anymore, it sticks to the road like poo on a blanket.

[filmidget]

I ran my old scala on standard springs but Spax dampers and that handled lovely - not last word on grip (also running 13" Stunner tyres!) but so predictable and 'adjustable' with throttle/weight transfer/etc.

Whether I preferred it to my lower/stiffer GT is another matter

[Tim_R]

Have to agree with 1lazza, this is exactly how my mk2 is setup currently. It works very well with suburbia and all the speed bumps (I got fedup of the 4x4s trying to drive over me when i had to slow down) Turn in feels good and roll is well controlled though i'd still like a bit less lean. I spend a fair bit of time on country roads involving crests and dips and changes of surface taken at speed and find the suspension has the travel to be able to cope with the sudden extension and compression this gives rather that crashing into the bumpstops and causing the car to lurch and bounce as it runs out of travel and affects the available grip.

On a recent airfield day I found the setup to also work perfectly well, the car felt planted on long high speed corners and controlled through a quick chicane. The only think i can think of changing would be to a quicker steering rack so I don't have to grab an armful of lock for some corners on track.

[filmidget]

Tim: You have the Eibach A/R bars?

Did you fit them with no other changes? If so, what sort of difference did they make?

[Tim_R]

Not quite, I have koni top adjustables and an cheapy OMP lower front brace as well, but the Eibach ARBs were added to the mix somewhat later, they made a huge difference chassis as it now feels much more balanced with the back end now helping the car around the corners rather just following the front.

Unfortunately I can't say how much better they have made the car back to back on the same track, I remember doing a day at Llandow with just standard ARBs and feeling like i was fighting the car and side to side weight transfer going through the "bus stop" I was later told that a rear wheel was about a foot in the air when turning in for it. Much more recently at Colerne with just a change in ARB the car felt and looked much better and I'm pretty happy with the handling.

Photo from the day

[captquo]

Hello all,

I have Koni adjustables (the yellow ones) fitted to my mark 2. The ride is way too harsh for London roads. If there is a slight bump in the road the suspension crashes into something with a massive bang. I suppose as it's now so low. I have them adjusted to the softest ride setting. It's great on corners if there are no potholes (a rarity). As such this set-up isn't practical.

Any advice on how to make it a more bearable ride? Maybe replace the Kini springs with standard ones as suggested?

Thanks

All depends what you are looking for - I have tried many setups on my Mk1's over the years and ended up with the following: Standard springs, Koni adjustables set to their soft end of adjustment and uprated anti roll bars (Eibach).

[1lazza]

If your Koni's are set at the soft end, then the harsh ride cannot be attributable there. Shorter, stiffer springs on Sciroccos always affect the ride. But is probably worth checking strut mountings and bump stops for condition.

[Junglist]

Got quite interested in the Eibach roll bars after that write-up, then I looked them up! £250-£300! Wow! I could buy a Scirocco for that! Do they ever come up second-hand?

After reading lots on here on various threads, I'm going for Koni yellow top adjustable dampers, Weitec springs, poly mounts and bump stops, VAG front struts, full set of poly bushes rear (FloFlex), all new rubber bushes front, all 3 strut braces, 16v grooved 256mm front discs & calipers, 9"servo, 16x7.5 wheels (6.5 tyres). Think that's it. I'll stick with the stock ARBs for now. I've already fitted some of this - discs/calipers, braces, wheels. Now for suspension, bushes & servo.

[Tim_R]

Something I've found with polybushes is that they need lubricating annually to keep them from squeaking and wearing quickly. Thinking that when I have to take mine off again I'll be replacing them with VW rubber ones.

Yes Eibach arb's do come up second hand, mine are and were about £120 off here 18 months ago, club gti or a mk1 golf forum would be good places to keep an eye out. Other name that seems to have a good reputation for ARBs is Neuspeed and H&R. I've no experiance of either though.