RE: Brakes and Suspension - Advice

[robertsm66]

Hi All
It's me looking for advice again.  I've been doing most of my research on power gains but haven't thought much about stopping or going around corners. 

So here's my suspension dilema.  Basically my car is standard but already grounds on my driveway as it's pretty steep.  So is it possible to get better handling with comprimising on the ride height.   I should image a stiffer suspension would benefit but the majority of times that seems to come with a drop in ride height.

Secondly, what's the consensus on brake upgrades ? I saw in a thread that someone had upgraded to R32 brakes but is that good enough, are they that much better than the standard ED30 brakes ??  or what's a good cost effective option ?

Thanks in advance

Robert

[Hurdy]

I have Eibach Pro Street S coilovers and they can be set at anything from above stock height to around 60mm below. At first I had them set at the same height as stock and they still provided a better set-up than the OEM suspension. Lowering can be about two things - lowering the centre of gravity of the car giving extra stability and the visual "show" aspect.  Quite a few coilovers have fixed damping (like mine) and so no matter what height you set the car at you will always have the same damping.

Anti-roll bars are another method of gaining more control over the car without lowering and basically reduce the amount of roll the car gives into a corner and also help meter out understeer when set-up right.

Whiteline anti-lift kit (WALK) is another way of giving extra grip in certain conditions and is a cheap (ish) way of effectively uprating part of the suspension.

As for brakes, there are vast swathes of threads and topics out there covering all aspects of upgrading and comparing braking systems. Some people swear that the stock brakes are good enough, some say that a simple disc and pad upgrade will suffice, others stay with OEM options like the R32/S3 upgrade or even the RS4 upgrade. Then there are people who insist that only a specialist brake upgrade like AP, Alcon, Brembo, TAROX, ECS etc will do and then argue over how many cylinders you should have as well

It really only matters how the individual uses their car. For some people who only go out for a spirited road drive every now and then the stock brakes will be okay. Then at the other end of the spectrum you will get hardcore track users who insist on the very best from their brakes, suspension etc.

Ultimately it comes down to what you need to make the car do what it needs to do in the conditions you put it through versus the budget you have to get there. Someone with a high budget may upgrade evrything to the best that is available, whilst others will simply scour for bargains at prices they can afford.

Only you know what you can afford, all we can do is help you spend it!!

[robertsm66]

Great response and I'm alot wiser !

The Anti Lift kit and Anit roll bars are easy enough to fit ?  I've changed shocks and springs on a few cars before so I'm mechanically ok.

Robert

[duncan]

How much would anti roll bars and the WALK kit cost for parts and fitting?

[robertsm66]

Awesome sell's the 'Walk Kit' for £155, and a set of Eibach Pro Adjustable Anti Rollbars for £238. 

I don't think it's a major or long job, but a garage would probably charge for a few hours.  Personally, I'm going jack the car up, put it on stands and do it myself.

[duncan]

Awesome sell's the 'Walk Kit' for £155, and a set of Eibach Pro Adjustable Anti Rollbars for £238. 

I don't think it's a major or long job, but a garage would probably charge for a few hours.  Personally, I'm going jack the car up, put it on stands and do it myself.

can you notice the difference in handling day to day? with these changes would it be easy to lose the backend on a tight corner?

[Hurdy]

The front ARB is a little trickier to fit as you'll need to drop the subframe off to fit it.

ARB's are a very good upgrade and I had them fitted in isolation to anything else and could tell the difference straight away.

[tony_danza]

You'll get a WALK kit much cheaper from Balance Motorsport, maybe the ARBs cheaper elsewhere too. Always ensure you shop around - or ask on here!

It all depends on what you want to spend?
ARBs (you can just do the rear ARB if you like), WALK and some midly dropped/stiffer springs will be more than enough on a modest budget. You'll certainly notice the difference.

Brakes - I think R32/S3/Cupra stoppers with some decent pads like DS2500s & race fluid will be fine for most people. Unless you're on the track, a hard driver, want the weight saving or can justify the cost for the best... then you may not see the benefit - they'll just look pretty.

I think the cheapest kit comes in at £1200-ish for Stoptech and then right up to £2500 for 360mm APs, possibly at least 3 times the cost of the R32 set up if you've shopped wisely... don't get me wrong, big brake kits inspire a lot of confidence in the car, but only you'll know if that's what you want/need.

You can transform these on a pittance if you consider and shop carefully - or you can spend an absolute fortune and have a a supercar eater 

[Joe GTi Edition30]

hi

i really need some help and advice. ive got a edition 30 gti and i just put some ebc red stuff brake pads on it, (advised by a friend) they are now squeaking, are these even the right pads for the car? are they to hard? do i need better disks ( currently have standard disks)

any advice would be muchly appreciated

thanks