Daily Driven STU Setup

[bfury5]

I do adjust front camber and front toe at the event as well.

Tires also...having dedicated ax tires and street tires are more work each event but allows the car to have a more comfortable dd ride.afterwards

I never adjusted toe / camber per event, but agreed that two sets of wheels make the street/ax compromises much less

 

[krs]

I'm not STU. I run XSA for fun as my car (Golf.Sportwagen) will never be competitive in any class, except perhaps at the small club level.

That said, much of my modding has focused on having it both ways - a tolerable daily and a fairly aggressive suspension at ax.

In this regard, I've played around with spring rubbers in the front and bump springs (instead of bump stops) in the rear. Both can be quickly added (spring rubbers) or activated (bump springs with packers) at the event in about 10 minutes and then removed before heading home. This allows a huge bump in spring rate for ax which can be undone and brought back to stock rates.

I haven't attempted yet, but IMO given the rules, someone wanting to be competitive regionally or nationally needs to go beyond bolt on parts to gain an edge in the alignment area....for example, make your own camber plates and do what is legal to provide clearance to allow it.

That's a interesting concept to consider. I actually remember hearing of spring rubber back in the day. Worth a out-of-the box consideration for sure. Spring rubbers are permitted in STU. Interesting.

While coils do offer a lot of adjust-ability, most of that is used to set the car up once and then leave it alone. Adjustable ride height, camber plates, etc aren't really adjusted frequently. But having all of those be dynamic instead of static or locked in during setup lets you tune the handling of the car to your liking. For those reasons, a true coilover kit will always be superior.

That said, a solid shock / spring combo will be very reliable. And if you don't know how to setup coilovers or don't have someone to help guide you through different ride height settings, alignment settings, and damper adjustments, then all the adjust-ability won't mean much.

I had Ohlins on my E46 M3, which was also in STU at the time, and PSS9's on my S2000, etc. I guess with that I am familiar with adjustability for handling, albeit I was young and dumber back then, and didn't fully grasp them. With the DCC shock, I wont me doing any adjusting from damping/rebound aside from selecting the settings in the car.

I do adjust front camber and front toe at the event as well.

Tires also...having dedicated ax tires and street tires are more work each event but allows the car to have a more comfortable dd ride.afterwards

I do have a set of wheels dedicated to the tires I use, no issues there. Way worth the expense and the hassle to transport, store, swap, etc. I'll drive to the events with the race tires, unless it's out of state, or in another region. Then I'll either talk someone into putting them on their trailer, or cram them in the back of the car.

I don't think I'll ever get to the level of a national competitor. I don't have that luxury of time and money. But if I did, then I would probably ditch the daily driven mindset and go all out.

 

[GTIfan99]

I used to adjust camber/toe and swap tires at the events years ago in my STU prepped GD STI, but what a pain in the ass.

I don't mess with alignment on site anymore and I swap tires at home the night before an event and drive to the events on the race tires.

I'm much happier doing that.

 

[acorazza]

Hi, just wanted to chime in. No autocross experience (maybe next year) but I do have some of the suspension you are looking at. I’m using Bilstein B6 DCC on my GTI along with a slightly altered MSS Kit, Vorshlag Camber Plates, and SuperPro LCA’s and sway bars front and rear.

The Bilsteins have been great so far and it’s nice retaining the DCC so I can stiffen it up whenever I want. The MSS Kit was ok but I replaced the track rear springs with swift springs and now it’s even better. My only issue is that the front is a little harsh for me on some big expansion joints and potholes where I feel like it’s bottoming out. I think it’s a combination of the softer MSS front spring and that the Vorshlag plate robs some suspension travel. Without the camber plates I think it would be as comfortable as stock but I want the extra camber so I’m looking for Golf R springs to stiffen things a little up front and hopefully solve the issue. If that doesn’t work I’ll ditch the camber plates fit something else or ditch this setup and go with coils.

The car still rides reasonably well on my terrible roads. You feel the bumps a little more especially at low soured with the stiffer spring rates but once you’re on the highway at speed it is fine. It is also more composed than it was on the stock setup which always had a busy and unsettled feeling to me. Also body roll and squat and drive are much better than they ever were stock

Also, just a quick heads up, I’ve read that the B16 damptronic front springs are too wide and don’t a you to get full camber without rubbing the chassis.

 

[GTIfan99]

Hi, just wanted to chime in. No autocross experience (maybe next year) but I do have some of the suspension you are looking at. I’m using Bilstein B6 DCC on my GTI along with a slightly altered MSS Kit, Vorshlag Camber Plates, and SuperPro LCA’s and sway bars front and rear.

The Bilsteins have been great so far and it’s nice retaining the DCC so I can stiffen it up whenever I want. The MSS Kit was ok but I replaced the track rear springs with swift springs and now it’s even better. My only issue is that the front is a little harsh for me on some big expansion joints and potholes where I feel like it’s bottoming out. I think it’s a combination of the softer MSS front spring and that the Vorshlag plate robs some suspension travel. Without the camber plates I think it would be as comfortable as stock but I want the extra camber so I’m looking for Golf R springs to stiffen things a little up front and hopefully solve the issue. If that doesn’t work I’ll ditch the camber plates fit something else or ditch this setup and go with coils.

The car still rides reasonably well on my terrible roads. You feel the bumps a little more especially at low soured with the stiffer spring rates but once you’re on the highway at speed it is fine. It is also more composed than it was on the stock setup which always had a busy and unsettled feeling to me. Also body roll and squat and drive are much better than they ever were stock

Also, just a quick heads up, I’ve read that the B16 damptronic front springs are too wide and don’t a you to get full camber without rubbing the chassis.

I'm using MSS's rear spring setup. Do you have the Eibach spring, the spacer then the main spring or did you just go with a longer main spring and remove that shorter Eibach spring in the rear?

I'm using an APR front spring. It's supposed to be stiffer than the MSS front spring, even if it isn't height adjustable. It was hitting bumpstops badly with the factory Sachs shocks, but not with the koni sports.

 

[odessa.filez]

I used to adjust camber/toe and swap tires at the events years ago in my STU prepped GD STI, but what a pain in the ass.

I don't mess with alignment on site anymore and I swap tires at home the night before an event and drive to the events on the race tires.

I'm much happier doing that.

I agree swapping tires on-site is a pain, compared to the garage, if for no other reason the garage allows shade / ventilation. Valuable in FL / GA.

I think you mentioned aligning the rear toe. Yeah I bet that would be a pain at the event.

For front plates, I disconnect an endlink at home, zip tie it out of the way, drive to the event with a racing jack. At that point, the car can be jacked only on side for plate adjustment. Bar disconnect makes easy.

Simple trick for adjusting front toe is turn wheels to full lock, car on the ground. This exposes tie rod on the outside wheel. adjust as you wish. Repeat on other side. You can also use this trick to unfasten / fasten the endlink.

Front camber toe takes about 10 minutes for me on its own. Process can be combined with spring rubber install and bump spring packing for a little time synergy.

 

[acorazza]

I'm using MSS's rear spring setup. Do you have the Eibach spring, the spacer then the main spring or did you just go with a longer main spring and remove that shorter Eibach spring in the rear?

I'm using an APR front spring. It's supposed to be stiffer than the MSS front spring, even if it isn't height adjustable. It was hitting bumpstops badly with the factory Sachs shocks, but not with the koni sports.

yes I still have the eibach black spring and spacer but I went with a 7 inch 336lb swift for my main spring because my track spring wouldn’t adjust high enough and I had reverse rake.

I think the combination of the softer MSS front and the lost travel is causing the bottoming out. I just want a stiffer spring that still retains OEM ish height as I don’t want to drop the car

 

[GTIfan99]

yes I still have the eibach black spring and spacer but I went with a 7 inch 336lb swift for my main spring because my track spring wouldn’t adjust high enough and I had reverse rake.

I think the combination of the softer MSS front and the lost travel is causing the bottoming out. I just want a stiffer spring that still retains OEM ish height as I don’t want to drop the car

I just ordered a 6" 336 because I'm as low as I can get the rear with the 7" 280 and need it 1/4 lower. My APR front is approx 1" lower than stock. I also cut the front bumpstop 1/3 inch.

 

[krs]

So I think I have the bulk of the components spec'd out. I'll post my list and vendor once it's finalized. The exception is the shock/spring setup.

Any options towards doing something like the Ground Control coilover conversion, but using the Bilstein shocks/struts?

Aside from trying to corner balance, I guess I'm not sold yet on the coilovers as I won't have a fully adjustable shock/strut to utilize.

 

[GTIfan99]

If I were to do it again, I'd just hit these guys to for custom rates and dampening.

https://store.redshiftmotorsports.com/RedShiftCompCoilovers-s/147.htm

 

[krs]

Rear shock mounts - I know on my E46 I replaced them with something better than OEM, as the OEM were prone to early failure. Is this the case with the MK7? I am just looking at the full suspension install kit from shopDAP, so it'll come with new OEM replacements. Worthwhile to get a heavier duty version, or not really a issue here?

 

[acorazza]

So I think I have the bulk of the components spec'd out. I'll post my list and vendor once it's finalized. The exception is the shock/spring setup.

Any options towards doing something like the Ground Control coilover conversion, but using the Bilstein shocks/struts?

Aside from trying to corner balance, I guess I'm not sold yet on the coilovers as I won't have a fully adjustable shock/strut to utilize.

I think the ground control kit would probably pair well with the Bilstein kit but if you are spending retail on both, you let pretty close to the B16 kit which should theoretically be even better since it was designed as a kit.

Just something to think about.

 

[bfury5]

Rear shock mounts - I know on my E46 I replaced them with something better than OEM, as the OEM were prone to early failure. Is this the case with the MK7? I am just looking at the full suspension install kit from shopDAP, so it'll come with new OEM replacements. Worthwhile to get a heavier duty version, or not really a issue here?

Stock ones or OE are fine, I think mine were $14 a piece from RockAuto. Never had any issues

 

[krs]

1. B16 would be ideal, all of the bilstein DCC kits are impossible to find last I checked. Ordered some over summer and they ended up backordered til at least Christmas.

Interesting enough @scrllock , these are available and verified through a few vendors on Amazon. I came across them running a google search for the part numbers.

 

[krs]

So in looking at the catch can, and a system that retains the OEM PCV, I came across the Burger Tuning OCC kit. I was curious on how the CC setup works with the OEM PCV, and they have a install page that shows that. https://www.n54tech.com/instructions/Volkswagen_occ_install_guide.pdf

Or shoot I guess there is the ECS kit, that retains the OEM PCV as well: http://bd8ba3c866c8cbc330ab-7b26c6f...K7_Golf,_8V_A3_ECS_Catch_Can_Installation.pdf

Is that really that effective? Better than nothing? Like I said I do get the occasional smoke on those hard right, power turns. I guess if a system like that is better than nothing, it's worth giving a try.

Thanks