ED30 APR therapy + susp mods @ Awesome

[Msportman]

Finally this being my 3rd ED30 but my first DSG car I have finally relented to have some simple upgrades to compliment what is a low mileage car.

It is fairly stock although apart from it being a DSG car with winter pack and Highline computer I have also bought cruise control off here to compliment the APR switcheable maps.

I have 'upgraded' my previous cars with KW Clubsports which are fantastic but expensive so this time I have gone down the economic route by ordering H&R springs.

I have the car booked into Awesome this week and will get some pics up.

I also own a 1990 16V MK2 Golf 3 door in Alpine which I have owned since 1995 and was featured by Peter Noad in VW Audi Car then again in Perf VW and again in VW Driver. It is a special 16V which I track every year and store in the winter.
It is built by Tim Stiles and his race engineers from the nineties when they were competing and successfully won VW Cup / Rainx and Slick 50 RACE series. The 16V is a very capable track and road car the spec being a balanced 9a 2 litre running a Dave Crissell head and Schrick cams. The Kjet is tweeked Slick 50 spec and it has all manner of other bits and bobs to compliment the car for track such as diff and 4.25 FD. It weighs 1000kg and runs 205bhp 162lbs in it's present form.

Thus I have decided to keep the ED30 a fast road car that I can easily put back to stock without too much major investment.

I have finally decided to go APR Stage 1+ combining APR HPFP and VWR Intake. I am hoping for at least 320+ as according APR they should make more although it's not all about the figures but the drive.

I am complimentng this with H&R springs a Powerflex anti lift kit and rear ARB. TSR are supplying me with a Ksport 362 8 pot brake kit running Pagid pads. At least I will be able to return it to stock and sell the parts on when the times comes.

The jury is out on H&R springs as I have never tried them but many on here and elsewhere rate them. The dampers have only done 41K so I am hoping they will be good enough but if not I will be forced to change but for road use I am sure they will be 'ok'.

My plan is to buy a R or a R400 if the opportunity arises in the future I am mindful of costs involved on the slippery slope of mods to these cars.       


<a href="http://s951.photobucket.com/user/Msportman/media/My%20MK2%2016V%20Golf/P1020268.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad353/Msportman/My%20MK2%2016V%20Golf/P1020268.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo P1020268.jpg"/>[/url]Pic of the MK2:

[Msportman]

Here's my first ED30 running KW Clubsports and APR Stage 1 then eventually APR RSC and stage 2.
http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad353/Msportman/P1010697.jpg

[Deako]

Look at the Bilstein B4 kit. Totally refresh the dampers for around £200 too. 

[Msportman]

Look at the Bilstein B4 kit. Totally refresh the dampers for around £200 too. 

Will do. I'll see what Awesome have in stock. I was going to bite the bullet with KWV3's but at £1400 plus fitting it's a bit excessive for my needs as a road car. The stock set up is so good and balanced from the factory for road except for the annoying jiggly hard ride over small bumps. Typical VW springs. I hope H&R resolve the jiggly ride!!
 

[Shoduchi]

Your OEM dampers are equivalent to the Bilstein B6, not the B4. With lowering springs it's better to go for either Bilstein B8 or Koni Sport.

I went for the Koni with those springs. 

[Msportman]

Your OEM dampers are equivalent to the Bilstein B6, not the B4. With lowering springs it's better to go for either Bilstein B8 or Koni Sport.

I went for the Koni with those springs. 

Is that Koni FSD's?
I am happy with stock handling except there is some role to be eliminated by use of springs and the ARB.
I just hope they don't ruin ride comfort as I am assured by Awesome they don't. The coil overs were great at lowering the car and do improve the handling but having owned and used Clubsports previously I can't warrant spending £1983 plus fitting on the car and Hand on heart the handling isn't transformed for this type of investment. They sit nice and are well damped but once on the car I rarely altered the settings.
Should be interesting tomorrow!

[Shoduchi]

Your OEM dampers are equivalent to the Bilstein B6, not the B4. With lowering springs it's better to go for either Bilstein B8 or Koni Sport.

I went for the Koni with those springs. 

Is that Koni FSD's?
I am happy with stock handling except there is some role to be eliminated by use of springs and the ARB.
I just hope they don't ruin ride comfort as I am assured by Awesome they don't. The coil overs were great at lowering the car and do improve the handling but having owned and used Clubsports previously I can't warrant spending £1983 plus fitting on the car and Hand on heart the handling isn't transformed for this type of investment. They sit nice and are well damped but once on the car I rarely altered the settings.
Should be interesting tomorrow!

Koni FSD are different dampers, they're not compatible with more than a light lowering spring and there are 2 kits available: normal Golf and GTI. I have the kit for the normal version (more comfortable) and Eibach Pro-Kit springs on my GT Sport. With a 17'' wheel they're great for handling and comfort.

For more sport use the Koni Sport are better and they go well with H&R springs and ARB.

http://www.koni.uk.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=254&Itemid=286

[Dave J]

Springs & ARB's are a good mod - worked well on my mk5 for a couple of years until the punishment was too much for the standard dampers and they effectively lost damping effect.
I went for a set of Bilstein B8's on mine to compliment the VWR lowering springs - they are designed for use with lowering springs. They are firmer, but also more cushioning of sharp bumps and are better damped at the same time.

ARB's and springs helped with the roll initially, but the Bilsteins have helped even further - for sure you will have an improvement with ARB & springs alone, but I think you may eventually seek to replace the dampers in future.

For your reference I bought mine on 47k in Oct 2012 - springs were fitted Nov 2012, ARB's in mid 2013, and then dampers replaced last month at 70k.

Look forward to your thoughts on the parts you end up with!

[AJP]

That valver sounds mega. KR head on the 9a? Oh and Dave Crissell... The Man In a Shed..?

Enjoy the ed30 mate. Great cars. Don't ever get rid of that mk2 though.

[Msportman]

Got to Awesome reasonably early considering the Friday rush hour commute and was greeted by Hassan who was s very knowledgeable on the ED30.
Car was immediately put into the hands of Al who is a first class mechanic and whom I trust implicitly after my previous cars he's worked on.
Great to catch with Jim and Mark as they were both very busy with APR who were over from the USA working to callibrate the RR.
First up was a full health check and RR to see how the car performed and it was good to see it was giving 235-240 on stock configuration. The cam lobe needed replacing but other than that all was healthy.
They spent the full day working on her to install the H&R springs rear spacers Poweflex anti lift and Geo.
Next was to replace HPFP with APR's item together with VWR intake and APR stage 1 V3.3 together with a cruise control for APR's switcheable maps that I had supplied.
In between I went for a spin in the MK6 R built by APR....450+ !!! Sadly the clutch packs have gone past their best but it's a serious piece of kit. It's the second time I've sampled this car the first being at Combe with Keith (ex APR).

After a full day it was back on the heavily congested M6 towards Somerset.