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Gimmicky waste of time/money/effort mods

enobiko

Go Kart Newbie
Location
NE Ohio
Car(s)
2017 SE 6 MT
3. Front Sway Bar mods- Leave your stock in. Change endlinks sure but these respond so poorly to a new FSB (as to be expected honestly, who would stiffent the front on a FWD or Fwd bias car)
Change the front sway bar links? The rear ones I agree with, when changing to a stiffer bar, but why the fronts?
6. Dropping the car super low on whatever suspension. Leave some travel in there. Low does not = fast/good.
I'd agree. My nephew has a GLI on Neuspeed "race springs" with stock dampers... we live in NE Ohio, you need some compliance for the roads around here!
 

DerHase

Autocross Champion
Location
Hampton Roads, VA
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
@Lord_Flexington I also just remembered you have aero - that absolutely will mess with how suspension is set up.

One benefit of stock or softer sway bars is that the car will be more consistent from surface to surface. The 26mm FSB (on it's stiffest setting) in the rain isn't bad, but I know that if I had felt like switching to the softer setting it would have been better. But was lazy because HPDE.

Suspension is fun to talk about.

Adding the FSB can increase front grip. But you need to think about the ENTIRE car. You have less body roll so guess what? Your rear end isn't going to get as deep into the camber curve. THIS is why it may add some perceived understeer. All you gotta do is dial some of the rear camber out and you'll have more grip overall through the corners while maintaining the same balance. Alternatively other ways to balance the car out is to throw more tire pressure at the back, etc.

Would love to continue this conversation at Fastivus!
 

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scrllock

Autocross Champion
Location
MI
Chassis/body stiffeners.

Aftermarket DVs/BOVs.
I'll add here.

1. Charge Pipe setups. Not really gimmicky per say but when you start pushing 30+lb of boost using the OEM charge pipes or the VTT ones (love these) are the way to go. The more spaces you have for a weakness int he system things can blow off rather easy. (multi piece systems are not fun when they ruing your session)

2. Any PCV System thats not Racingline or Spulen (USP). If the plate isn't modified then its a waste of time and money)

3. Front Sway Bar mods- Leave your stock in. Change endlinks sure but these respond so poorly to a new FSB (as to be expected honestly, who would stiffent the front on a FWD or Fwd bias car)

4. Strut tower bars (see point 3)

5. Expensive IC's, you absolutely need an IC but imo the ebay/majesty one has been great for 4+ years now.

6. Dropping the car super low on whatever suspension. Leave some travel in there. Low does not = fast/good.

The front strut brace, totally useless. It's not doing anything that the drivetrain layout isn't accomplishing, so close to the firewall.

I puked in my mouth at the mention of VTT. But OEM are going to be the most reliable in terms of not popping off or rubbing on crap.

The APR plate works about as well if not slightly better than VWR/Spulen. All of them are flawed in terms of not allowing proper vacuum, and will contribute to failed engine seals in the longterm as a result. The spulen plate is arguably the worst of the 3 given the lack of extra check valve, but this advice has been repeated ad nauseam on FB until it became accepted as a good product. Obviously you're sponsored by USP so anyone should take those words with a grain of salt.

Sway bars aren't something you can generalize like that. Very much up to driver preference and how the rest of the suspension is set up. It's like saying you should never run a big wing on a car prone to understeer--yet you have one, and that's OK because presumably your suspension and front aero are set up to balance it out.

Expensive ICs get you the benefits you see from OE charge pipes--better fitment and (in my experience) couplers that fit way better. The ebay stuff isn't consistent, sometimes they're bar and plate, sometimes tube and fin. Again, really hard to generalize that as a recommendation IMO.



I Running Fortune auto 510s , RSR cage ect, and I honestly don't give two shits about how it drives when not on track.
Isn't the RSR roll bar the one that has the main hoops connected to the middle of the rear brace, rather than directly to the chassis points? It blows my mind people are paying 3x the price of an autopower bar for something so badly designed.

Screenshot 2023-06-04 at 10.28.57 AM.png
 

DarkArrow

Drag Racing Champion
Location
OC
Car(s)
'18 R
The front strut brace, totally useless. It's not doing anything that the drivetrain layout isn't accomplishing, so close to the firewall.

Front strut brace eliminated all of my window/door seal creaking from going up driveways and tripodding. It was one of my biggest complaints about the car from the factory. While completely anecdotal, it's done quite a bit for the chassis flex on my car.
 

hexdriver

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Savannah
Car(s)
2016 Golf R MT
The front strut brace made differences I could feel, while turning onto driveway at an angle the whole front end is noticeably more solid same for long sweeping curves at higher speeds
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
What exactly are folks feeling with a front strut tower brace?
 

Lord_Flexington

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Syracuse
Car(s)
15 MK7 GTI LP PP
Change the front sway bar links? The rear ones I agree with, when changing to a stiffer bar, but why the fronts?

I'd agree. My nephew has a GLI on Neuspeed "race springs" with stock dampers... we live in NE Ohio, you need some compliance for the roads around here!
The OEM Front endlinks arent adjustable. So if you are working on the suspension and lower the car and what not it can help to have adjustable links so you can dial in the front as you like.
The front strut brace, totally useless. It's not doing anything that the drivetrain layout isn't accomplishing, so close to the firewall.

I puked in my mouth at the mention of VTT. But OEM are going to be the most reliable in terms of not popping off or rubbing on crap.
-Not sure why you would puke? Its a pipe system. They don't rub when installed properly, work as described, and look cool so thats a win-win.

The APR plate works about as well if not slightly better than VWR/Spulen. All of them are flawed in terms of not allowing proper vacuum, and will contribute to failed engine seals in the longterm as a result. The spulen plate is arguably the worst of the 3 given the lack of extra check valve, but this advice has been repeated ad nauseam on FB until it became accepted as a good product. Obviously you're sponsored by USP so anyone should take those words with a grain of salt.
I may support USP and vice versa but I don't think your disclaimer works here. If anything I can stand by what I say with over 5 years of competition use with zero issues. I know of one full proof solution but that requires literally sourcing race parts from TCR cars so its not really feasible ($$$$) for me
VWR and Spulen (USP) have the best consumer grade setup for us right now. If anything I like the VWR/Racingline one better because of the tank. Both have been used in international competitions succesfully by teams much more competitive than my own.

I personally have not used the APR on my own vehicle. Just going off information from other MQB owners I've met on track and their findings. That may be grain of salt worthy.

Sway bars aren't something you can generalize like that. Very much up to driver preference and how the rest of the suspension is set up. It's like saying you should never run a big wing on a car prone to understeer--yet you have one, and that's OK because presumably your suspension and front aero are set up to balance it out.
Yea you can generalize them, hence the wonderful chat with the other member about the FSB who helped me understand more about their uses in other applications. RSB is one of the first things suggested for improving cornering on these cars in stock form. Not even a debatable topic on this platform. Want that rear to wake up? RSB that thang.

-
Aero is its own topic and I first got a wing because it looked cool. Full Stop. I wanted a TCR car and that first proto wing set me on my way! I learned more about how it works later down the road. I'm slightly insane and would rather drive a gti with a wing fast on track than a non-aero one. Ppl who were sporting that "WhY woUld YoU rUn a WIng on a FWD Car" "Its gonna plow" nonsense just truly didn't know shit about motorsports.

With that said, slap anyone who says running a splitter on its own on a FWD car will help haha. Did that for a session and whew child, outside of my run with bigger FSB thats the closest I've ever come to binning my shit because of the front end haha.


Isn't the RSR roll bar the one that has the main hoops connected to the middle of the rear brace, rather than directly to the chassis points? It blows my mind people are paying 3x the price of an autopower bar for something so badly designed.

View attachment 282983
The photo here is the Audi RSR RSR roll cage. Im not sure why someone would put that in the hatch version. Maybe its for looks?

I use this version
https://studiorsr.com/products/volkswagen-mk7-gti-roll-cage-roll-bar

Which is much more fitting for my application.
I personally like how mine looks over the Autopower version. Also the install is pretty smooth!
The price however is much less smooth but safety is safety.
 

Lord_Flexington

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Syracuse
Car(s)
15 MK7 GTI LP PP
What exactly are folks feeling with a front strut tower brace?
The front end gets super "tight"

I equate it to my most hated phrase "it drives like its on rails" which is terrible analogy (to me)

You turn the wheel left and it feels like its got 20lbs of extra "force" acting on it.

The front feels like it only wants to continue in the direction the car is currently traveling at.

Ooh another one

You know that feeling when a dog/toddler wants to go inspect something in the grass but you want them to stay on the path/trail? Like the pulling?

Feels like that.
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion

2019 Golf R

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Charlotte, NC
Front strut bar is a low cost and easy change to try out. My experience with it echoes others in this thread. It's noticeable in the steering input and over driveways. Considering the cost and ease of install, worth trying/testing. The internet advice of 'being mounted so close to the firewall that they don't work' really depends on the vehicle, much like the FSB debate.
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
Front strut bar is a low cost and easy change to try out. My experience with it echoes others in this thread. It's noticeable in the steering input and over driveways. Considering the cost and ease of install, worth trying/testing. The internet advice of 'being mounted so close to the firewall that they don't work' really depends on the vehicle, much like the FSB debate.
I always want to do a blind "Pepsi Challenge" test with these....effectively tell you it's stock when it's on and on when it's stock and see what the person thinks is going on/if they can actually tell or just go with what is being told to them.
 

mrmatto

Autocross Champion
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Car(s)
2024 GTI DSG
"The car may feel better with the part installed, but does it actually perform any better? Without testing, you can’t tell. And the answer is often no."
I feel strongly that just because bracing doesn't impact suspension that doesn't make it useless. Less body flex feels better, and if your car feels better you drive better. Things like a strut brace do close to nothing from a technical standpoint to improve the car's performance. But it makes the car feel more connected and less floppy, and that translates into more confidence. Useless for a pro or super experienced racer? Probably. Useless for most everyone else? I don't think so.
 
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