Candy White Golf GTI Ed. 30 - 8th track day at Estoril

[pudding]

Why does TUV certification matter?  Is it a legal requirement in Portugal?  We can fit any old random crap to our cars in the UK and no one gives a toss, least of all the government in seems      It's MK6 or nothing now anyway, so comes with the cert!   MK5 and MK6 chassis are identical.

Personally speaking, having owned PSS10 before, I would not buy them again for a road car.   The Ohlins feel very similar in terms of handling and road feel, but the ride quality is just so much more forgiving.  Both are good choices for track work though.   Had KW V3s as well and definitely wouldn't own those again.  Built well but very over rated in terms of handling and the dampers are not even in the same league as Bilstein / Ohlins.

Yeah, it's a legal requirement here to get the different suspension part legalised to a car. It has to pass tests made by an auto lab and the lab only accepts parts with a TÜV certification. Most people don't do it but they can have their car impounded until returned to stock and also have to pay a fine.

So unfortunately Ohlins, although being one of the best available in the market, aren't an option for me. Just like the AST 5100 that were also recommended for track use by a friend who has them on his Megane RS3.

I'll have to see if the PSS10 on softer settings are forgiving enough for my needs on road use. They don't have to be really forgiving, just at least the same as my current setup (H&R springs with Koni Sport dampers). I hope they meet that since for a car used on track mine isn't that harsh or that firm, due to how the dampers are set. For what I've read so far, they seem to be soft enough when set with the softer settings.

For track use they should also be easy to adjust by increasing the stiffness and rebound.

Well, that's what I'm hoping for at the moment.

My mechanic has the same opinion about the KW as you.

Just looked on Ohlins website and you're right, no approvals for the MK5.  How weird.  The kit was developed on the MK5, and is exactly the same kit for MK6/Scirocco 

Anyway, I'm sure the PSS10 will be fine with the rebound turned down a bit.  I suppose it's the only choice you have......but it's a better choice than KW for sure 

I wonder if these are TUV approved?  https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/uprated/tein-euro-dampers/volkswagen/golf-mk5.html

[Shoduchi]

Just looked on Ohlins website and you're right, no approvals for the MK5.  How weird.  The kit was developed on the MK5, and is exactly the same kit for MK6/Scirocco 

Anyway, I'm sure the PSS10 will be fine with the rebound turned down a bit.  I suppose it's the only choice you have......but it's a better choice than KW for sure 

I wonder if these are TUV approved?  https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/uprated/tein-euro-dampers/volkswagen/golf-mk5.html

I think Ohlins just preferred to not pay TUV to have their Road & Track tested in a mk5 GTI. They must have just sent the newer mk6 GTI to get tested after they developed their kit for the PQ35 chassis. It all comes to costs.

rich83 has the PSS10 fitted and loves them. I'm sure they'll be fine for my needs. For a more comfortable ride I have my wife's Golf with 17'' wheels and softer springs.

TEIN is also another online well spoken brand that doesn't have any parts TUV certificated, AFAIK.

[pudding]

Just looked on Ohlins website and you're right, no approvals for the MK5.  How weird.  The kit was developed on the MK5, and is exactly the same kit for MK6/Scirocco 

Anyway, I'm sure the PSS10 will be fine with the rebound turned down a bit.  I suppose it's the only choice you have......but it's a better choice than KW for sure 

I wonder if these are TUV approved?  https://www.dcperformance.co.uk/uprated/tein-euro-dampers/volkswagen/golf-mk5.html

I think Ohlins just preferred to not pay TUV to have their Road & Track tested in a mk5 GTI. They must have just sent the newer mk6 GTI to get tested after they developed their kit for the PQ35 chassis. It all comes to costs.

rich83 has the PSS10 fitted and loves them. I'm sure they'll be fine for my needs. For a more comfortable ride I have my wife's Golf with 17'' wheels and softer springs.

TEIN is also another online well spoken brand that doesn't have any parts TUV certificated, AFAIK.

I did a lot of reading up on KW vs PSS10 vs Ohlins and came to the conclusion it's too subjective to base a purchase on internet opinions.  So I relied on good old gut instinct and experience.  AKS Alex and Fab5Freddy moving from PSS10 to Ohlins did help with my decision slightly though 

Get them bought already!  I'm sure you will find them agreeable 

[Bodyboarder81]

Just been reading your thread ....

Great car with some very nice mods and more to come I see 

[Shoduchi]

I did a lot of reading up on KW vs PSS10 vs Ohlins and came to the conclusion it's too subjective to base a purchase on internet opinions.  So I relied on good old gut instinct and experience.  AKS Alex and Fab5Freddy moving from PSS10 to Ohlins did help with my decision slightly though 

Get them bought already!  I'm sure you will find them agreeable 

I believe Öhlins are better (they should since they're also more expensive!) and I'd love to buy them and get them legal on my car. Unfortunately that's not possible unless I get a mk6 GTI Ed. 35, which won't happen, or I move to a different country with different legar requirements. I'm keeping this until I move to an electric or hidrogen engine car.

Since we're so close to the next Black Friday, I might as well wait and see what deals come up. I'd regret missing out on a good deal for just a couple of weeks. Also, my mechanic is too busy at the moment. I'll leave my car with him to get the LSD, the Powerflex engine mounts inserts and the coilovers fitted at the same time. I might add camber plates to the bunch since I have a friend who's selling ones.

[Shoduchi]

Just been reading your thread ....

Great car with some very nice mods and more to come I see 

Thanks mate! It's almost finished, I think.

[Bodyboarder81]

Hi dude, just wondered where you got the front brakes from? Im loving them alot ! Would really like to get a set for mine . Are there any fitmeant issues or requirements at all? I have s3 calipers/rotors , do you know if my discs can be used with them? Sorry for all the questions 

[Shoduchi]

Hi dude, just wondered where you got the front brakes from? Im loving them alot ! Would really like to get a set for mine . Are there any fitmeant issues or requirements at all? I have s3 calipers/rotors , do you know if my discs can be used with them? Sorry for all the questions 

Hi!
I got my calipers from ebay. I found a good deal since they just needed to be painted and replace the lettering to Brembo instead of Porsche. I chose them because they can fit easier under racing wheels without needing to use wheels spacers. They require brake discs that are closer to the hub (that's why they are easier to fit, they're further from the wheel spokes), so you can't use your current VW discs.

If it was today I would have gone for the TTRS calipers with the Vagbremtechnic 362 mm AP floating discs. I think they'd fit under my wheels as well. At the time it looked too expensive because of the AP floating discs (I'm using plain MB ML450 350 mm discs that just cost around 100-120 €).

What are my issues with my current setup? Well, because the MB discs are closer to the hub, I can't fit adjustable ball joints from SuperPro. They rub against the discs when cornering due to their bigger size. It's also not that easy to source floating discs for my calipers. ECS Tuning makes them but they only sell them to who bought their stage 3 BBK.

I have no complaints about braking power or brake pedal feel. They're very easy to modulate and very strong under hard braking. I never felt fade with them.

[Bodyboarder81]

Thanks for the info , appreciate it 

Ive just done a bit more research and it would appear if i want to keep my wheels i would have to run some large spacers ..... Which i dont want to do

Ill do some more research 

[Shoduchi]

Thanks for the info , appreciate it 

Ive just done a bit more research and it would appear if i want to keep my wheels i would have to run some wuite large spacers ..... Which i dont want to do

Ill do some more research 

If you're not planning on using your car really hard (track days or mountain roads), you can just get good pads (Project Mu, Relentless, Carbotech XP8 or XP10, Pagid RS, Carbon Lorraine, etc.). Your brakes are plenty for fast road. You can also fit Brembo Sport 340 mm discs for Audi TTS that are lighter and will sustain a good punishment without problems.

[teo_parvu]

If it was today I would have gone for the TTRS calipers with the Vagbremtechnic 362 mm AP floating discs. I think they'd fit under my wheels as well. At the time it looked too expensive because of the AP floating discs (I'm using plain MB ML450 350 mm discs that just cost around 100-120 €).

What are my issues with my current setup? Well, because the MB discs are closer to the hub, I can't fit adjustable ball joints from SuperPro. They rub against the discs when cornering due to their bigger size. It's also not that easy to source floating discs for my calipers. ECS Tuning makes them but they only sell them to who bought their stage 3 BBK.

I have no complaints about braking power or brake pedal feel. They're very easy to modulate and very strong under hard braking. I never felt fade with them.

You could use custom Reyland bells and AP Racing CP4542 355x32 discs, I'm sure that with a few spacers your calipers will fit. This is what I'm using now.

[Shoduchi]

You could use custom Reyland bells and AP Racing CP4542 355x32 discs, I'm sure that with a few spacers your calipers will fit. This is what I'm using now.

Not sure if 355 mm discs fit under my Brembo 18Z but it's an hypothesis to think about. I'll try to source 350x32 mm discs, though. The pads clears them well.

[Shoduchi]

Finally got my Bilstein B16 PSS10 fitted last Saturday.





Set the ride height similar to stock to perform the road tests needed to make them legal (those tests are only performed with parts that have some kind of certification like the TÜV certification).

Initially dialled 5 at the front and 4 at the rear, like rich83 said in his build topic. While driving before getting the wheels aligned noticed that the ride comfort was a bit better over small bumps but harsher over bigger ones compared with my previous setup (Koni Sport dampers with H&R -30 mm springs). So Tuesday when I had the car up in the elevator to get the alignment sorted I decided to dial 4 at the front and 3 at the rear. The ride comfort got a bit better, so it has stayed that way since.



With the increased ride height I've lost a bit of negative camber at the front. I didn't have much time to properly test the suspension on fast road driving yet. So far the car handles pretty well and has no under steer, so happy days!

Last Friday I went to a old factory facility to perform the road test and in the end the road engineer needed to take pictures of the coilovers part numbers fitted, so we went to a MOT facility next door.



All was good so I just have to wait for the paperwork to get processed and to receive new car documents stating the different suspension fitted.

I will lower it around 15 mm from stock height when I get the car corner balanced on scales.

In the meantime I had the Powerflex bushes for the transmission mount fitted (PFF85-530) but I bought the wrong bushes for the upper engine mount. My car needs the PFF85-532 so I'll have to wait to get the PFF85-531 exchanged.

I've also replaced the spark plugs with new NGK BKR7EIX and fitted new R8 coilpacks. When my friend was doing that we found out that I had a small oil leak on the valve cover gasket (06F13483D), so I had that replaced too. All looked well inside when I had the cover off.

I've received from MFactory the correct LSD version for my DSG (25 teeth parking ring). Not sure yet when I'll have that fitted.

There are still more news coming soon.

[Shoduchi]

You could use custom Reyland bells and AP Racing CP4542 355x32 discs, I'm sure that with a few spacers your calipers will fit. This is what I'm using now.

I've looked online and found that AP Racing makes 350x32 discs with J-hook option available too:
RH = CP4542-154GA
LH = CP4542-155GA

I'll get these and custom bells from Reyland, like you advised.

Edit: Weirdly those part numbers aren't available on the online catalogue, just on 6 pot brake kits.

[teo_parvu]

Hmmm...yeah, that's strange, I never knew the existing of those discs, but that is good news. 
You'll save a lot of up-sprung weight. Be careful with the bed in, J-hooked are known for generating some vibrations.
Did you install the LSD?