VWRacing-KW-V3 Suspension....

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Illyun - In answer to your questions about the Quaife............

Absolutely no significant negative points I can think of. It's maintenance-free, not noisy though you'll hear it a little with aftermarket engine mounts. It's not practical to remove it if putting car back to stock.

It's obviously not quattro and having a Quaife doesn't stop you going off-road if you overdo it, but it greatly helps power delivery earlier out of corners. It grabs hold of slippage very very fast indeed and blows out your TC light quicker. It also greatly softens any juddering around your suspension might do, though I need more miles etc to test that with my new suspension.

It's beneficial to any FWD car with power and the fact that VW have an electronic LSD on the Mk6 confirms the need.

One of the most common road situations I see its benefits are simply when exiting a two-lane roundabout with dual carriageway continued on the exit, the road is a bit greasy and the character directly alongside you on the inside lane is wanting to get into your lane after the roundabout. Your car may have the power advantage to do it safely but you get wheelspin....Except that with a Quaife it's either no wheelspin or dealt with before you can say the word "traction".

Also if going through a fast bend you'll find that the Quaife gives you a lot of confidence in keeping traction.

Obviously it's very important to remember that your only point of contact with the road is four small patches of tyre rubber each only about the size of a CD case.

So, have fun but be safe!

[RedRobin]

Oh, also...
Are your V3's twintube or monotube dampers?
 

....They look like monotube to me (see pics). < Ooops! Correction! They are twintube (shows how much I know!) which is unusual for a 'street' damper but allows better adjustments.

The valving and setting parameters on mine are as on the race cars. They are adjustable but to settings exclusive to VWR as a result of extensive testing on their race cars. My spring rating is exclusive too (hence the different colour). This particular version of the V3 has been produced exclusively for VWR and is designed for 'Fast Road' use.

I hope I'm not misrepresenting VWR when I say that most of the products they are able to offer are exclusively made for them and tested and developed on the race track. They're not a retail stockist like Awesome for example and they don't tend to stand behind anything which isn't proven directly by themselves.

Are JKM fitting your Bilsteins? Personally I wouldn't attempt the setup etc myself.

[illyun]

i spoke to vw racing today and am very happy with them and i think mine will be going there in the next few months for the diff doing and a better clutch aswell and all thanks to Robin 

Ditto... spoke to Mark at VWR and he was superb from all angles - customer service/paying attention to what I saying, knew what he was talking about and a general feel of competence unlike this other tuner (not JKM I must add) that I spoke to the other day who are probably living off their past reputation...  He said that VWR has had 4 e-mails and a number of phone call enquiries after Robin's write-up 

[WhiteGTI]

Thanks for that Robin.

I'm hoping to get the Bilstein's done by Balance Motorsport, as I've heard nothing but good things about them on the forums!

Illyun - I hope this 'other tuner' doesn't end up to be Balance!!!!
 

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Chris - It's not Balance that Illyun is referring to.

I recommend that Balance do corner-weighting for you.

[WhiteGTI]

^^^^
Chris - It's not Balance that Illyun is referring to.

I recommend that Balance do corner-weighting for you.

Good to hear!

Yeah, had a chat with them earlier this week, and they mentioned that they would do the corner weighting also!

The stance of your car looks spot on Robin! I'll be taking that photo along with me and asking them to replicate that sort of ride height on mine! But as you say, it's all about finding that balance between tyre wear, handling, looks and ground clearance! I'm much more interested in the handling aspect than anything else, but it seems that VWR have got both the handling and the looks spot on with yours! 

[RedRobin]

^^^^
I didn't want to make too much of it in case Balance didn't do corner-weighting, but I now wouldn't go to anyone for an adjustable coilover who didn't do corner-weighting.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't tell Balance or anyone that you want a specific look or ride height - I'd be led by handling and tyre wear if for road use. The lowering will dial itself in and I think it's best to let the experts do what they know best.

But ETTO and it's not for me to tell people what they should do.

[illyun]

Thanks for that Robin.

I'm hoping to get the Bilstein's done by Balance Motorsport, as I've heard nothing but good things about them on the forums!

Illyun - I hope this 'other tuner' doesn't end up to be Balance!!!!
 

Nope, as RR says, its not Balance.  TBH, I'm probably being a tad too harsh on them, but with garages like JKM and specialists like VWR setting the bar so high, you tend to spot anything thats less than what they offer. 

[illyun]

^^^^
Illyun - In answer to your questions about the Quaife............

Absolutely no significant negative points I can think of. It's maintenance-free, not noisy though you'll hear it a little with aftermarket engine mounts. It's not practical to remove it if putting car back to stock.

It's obviously not quattro and having a Quaife doesn't stop you going off-road if you overdo it, but it greatly helps power delivery earlier out of corners. It grabs hold of slippage very very fast indeed and blows out your TC light quicker. It also greatly softens any juddering around your suspension might do, though I need more miles etc to test that with my new suspension.

It's beneficial to any FWD car with power and the fact that VW have an electronic LSD on the Mk6 confirms the need.

One of the most common road situations I see its benefits are simply when exiting a two-lane roundabout with dual carriageway continued on the exit, the road is a bit greasy and the character directly alongside you on the inside lane is wanting to get into your lane after the roundabout. Your car may have the power advantage to do it safely but you get wheelspin....Except that with a Quaife it's either no wheelspin or dealt with before you can say the word "traction".

Also if going through a fast bend you'll find that the Quaife gives you a lot of confidence in keeping traction.

Obviously it's very important to remember that your only point of contact with the road is four small patches of tyre rubber each only about the size of a CD case.

So, have fun but be safe!

Thanks... I'll try and be safe 

[RedRobin]

....

I've been out to test my new suspension on a 44-mile circuit of local roads this morning - About 80% being twisty B-roads. The surface was damp, with wet patches but drying out - A mixture.

I'm finding that although she feels hard, not harsh or jolting, on rough surfaces at slow 10-25 mph speeds, she feels extremely smooooth at higher speeds. She feels so flatly planted that I hardly knew I'd been through those twisties, although I could occasionally feel the Quaife maintaining traction. The combination of the VWR-KW-V3's, Whiteline AntiLift kit, Quaife diff, and Mark's expert setting up, has resulted in my car feeling even more enjoyable to drive. Who cares about how big or small my bhp is!

I'm really pleased that my KoniFSD's failed!

[gazbutS3]

....

I've been out to test my new suspension on a 44-mile circuit of local roads this morning - About 80% being twisty B-roads. The surface was damp, with wet patches but drying out - A mixture.

I'm finding that although she feels hard, not harsh or jolting, on rough surfaces at slow 10-25 mph speeds, she feels extremely smooooth at higher speeds. She feels so flatly planted that I hardly knew I'd been through those twisties, although I could occasionally feel the Quaife maintaining traction. The combination of the VWR-KW-V3's, Whiteline AntiLift kit, Quaife diff, and Mark's expert setting up, has resulted in my car feeling even more enjoyable to drive. Who cares about how big or small my bhp is!

I'm really pleased that my KoniFSD's failed!

Can I be cheeky Red, if i make the pod, will you take me for a drive

[RedRobin]

Can I be cheeky Red, if i make the pod, will you take me for a drive

....Not cheeky at all! My pleasure

Luca has also asked. I shan't be putting her into a hedge though! It'll depend on conditions and I don't know the roads up there, but hopefully you'll get the general picture.

I hope you make The Pod

[JPC]

thats a great insight red, a great read! glad your happy and its money well spent! ;)

[RedRobin]

thats a great insight red, a great read! glad your happy and its money well spent! ;)

....Yes, I realised today that just the Quaife and my new suspension has cost approx £3k. But would I do it again? - Hell yeah!!

It's good to know that my 'reviews' offer helpful/interesting info

[stiggy]

Many thanks for the brilliant right up RedRobin - been very informative and interesting to read.

I was in touch with VWR couple of days before and spoke to Mark.  Have to say, he really knows what he's talking about.  I felt the peace of mind after speaking to Mark and now after reading your review, i'm satisfied that VWR is going to be my first port of call when modding commences.  He did refer to you with the recent suspension set up you had done, and recommended to read your post about it.  At first he referred to you as "Robin" so didn't know who he was talking about.  Then it clicked - VWR......Robin......Forum......Red GTI......Quaife......Ah, RedRobin!

When i get the suspension sorted obviously there'll be a compromise in comfort, but how much of a difference do you think there has been from standard?  Also, what difference is there between the VWR KW V3 suspension and the 'normal' KW V3?