jmason
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Frederick, MD
This weekend I installed the Clubsport S swivels and HPA SHS coilovers. Right up front, I won't know the camber until I have an alignment performed. I should have that done this week and will report back.
I ordered the swivels and Audi wheel bearings from cars245.com. The parts were ordered February 27 and arrived from an autobody shop in Lativa on March 15. Interestingly, cars245 never showed order status beyond "preparing". The origin of the parts wasn't particularly confidence inspiring; I was concerned that might be counterfeit. However, they were packed and labeled (even on the casting of the swivels) with VW markings. Also, I can't imagine there is much of a market for counterfeit Clubsport S parts. At least I hope not. The swivels appears to be identical to the GTI swivels and seemed to be of high quality.
I don't know why the Clubsport S uses Audi wheel bearings. The Audi parts looked identical to the VW part.
Installation was straight forward. An impact wrench is most helpful in removing the front axle bolt. I didn't need a spreader to fit the coilover shock body into the new swivel. It slid into place very nicely. I had the ECS Tuning nut and bolt replacement kit, which provided all the necessary replacements. I also installed new ball joints (because I thought that would be easier than transferring the old ball joints to the new swivel), but the new ball joint didn't come with a new nut, so I had to reuse the old nut.
Speaking of ball joints, I also ordered Audi ball joints with the aim of having a camber-adjustable ball joint for fine tuning the camber. Unfortunately, the Audi ball joint does not fit the VW control arm. So those are going back.
Just eyeballing the finished product, the change in camber provided by the Clubsport S swivels is not large. Again, once I have the car aligned, I'll have some hard numbers for comparison.
One thing about the HPA SHS coilovers that is somewhat concerning is the the rear springs are compressed such that the larger diameter coils (sheaved in plastic tubing) are compressed so they are touching. That means that the suspension motion is absorbed by the smaller diameter sections of the spring. This doesn't seem right to me. The front springs don't exhibit this phenomenon.
I set the coilovers as high as the instructions allowed. The drop is equivalent to what I had with VWR springs.
Lastly, I completed this project by myself over a two day period. Breaking the task into two bits made it a little easier for someone who doesn't have a lift (get up, get down, crawl around) and doesn't do this for a living, and is into the upper senior discount range!
I ordered the swivels and Audi wheel bearings from cars245.com. The parts were ordered February 27 and arrived from an autobody shop in Lativa on March 15. Interestingly, cars245 never showed order status beyond "preparing". The origin of the parts wasn't particularly confidence inspiring; I was concerned that might be counterfeit. However, they were packed and labeled (even on the casting of the swivels) with VW markings. Also, I can't imagine there is much of a market for counterfeit Clubsport S parts. At least I hope not. The swivels appears to be identical to the GTI swivels and seemed to be of high quality.
I don't know why the Clubsport S uses Audi wheel bearings. The Audi parts looked identical to the VW part.
Installation was straight forward. An impact wrench is most helpful in removing the front axle bolt. I didn't need a spreader to fit the coilover shock body into the new swivel. It slid into place very nicely. I had the ECS Tuning nut and bolt replacement kit, which provided all the necessary replacements. I also installed new ball joints (because I thought that would be easier than transferring the old ball joints to the new swivel), but the new ball joint didn't come with a new nut, so I had to reuse the old nut.
Speaking of ball joints, I also ordered Audi ball joints with the aim of having a camber-adjustable ball joint for fine tuning the camber. Unfortunately, the Audi ball joint does not fit the VW control arm. So those are going back.
Just eyeballing the finished product, the change in camber provided by the Clubsport S swivels is not large. Again, once I have the car aligned, I'll have some hard numbers for comparison.
One thing about the HPA SHS coilovers that is somewhat concerning is the the rear springs are compressed such that the larger diameter coils (sheaved in plastic tubing) are compressed so they are touching. That means that the suspension motion is absorbed by the smaller diameter sections of the spring. This doesn't seem right to me. The front springs don't exhibit this phenomenon.
I set the coilovers as high as the instructions allowed. The drop is equivalent to what I had with VWR springs.
Lastly, I completed this project by myself over a two day period. Breaking the task into two bits made it a little easier for someone who doesn't have a lift (get up, get down, crawl around) and doesn't do this for a living, and is into the upper senior discount range!
Do have a goniometer app on your phone? 
