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Rear suspension parts

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
Hi,

I’m in the process of upgrading some suspension bits and am looking for some advice.

I will be installing the following:

Ohlins road and track coil overs
034 front camber mounts
034 rear control arms
26mm H&R rear sway bar
Ecs tuning rear sway bar end links
Ecs tuning toe arms

I decided to take a chance on the ECS parts because they were on sale, and because I haven’t heard evidence that any of the other available options are significantly better.

I have seen a few people installing the 034 solid end links with the H&R sway bar, but some have complained about clunking either immediately or after just one season of driving.

Does anyone have any opinions about the ECS parts I’ve ordered? Should I just chuck them and look for other options — that won’t turn my car into rattle, groan, clunk, knock box?

Thanks
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
RE: the endlinks, I would suggest moog or superpro. Idk what the ECS links are, if they’re a poly design (which sounds likely based on their other branded parts for the MK7), they’re likely no different than superpro.

moogs require greasing every 5-10K. Superpros are maintenance free
 

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
RE: the endlinks, I would suggest moog or superpro. Idk what the ECS links are, if they’re a poly design (which sounds likely based on their other branded parts for the MK7), they’re likely no different than superpro.

moogs require greasing every 5-10K. Superpros are maintenance free

Thanks for weighing in. You are correct, the ECS end link contains a polyurethane insert — it seems very similar to the 034 or Superpro adjustable end link, at a lower price. I would have gone for the solid billet end links but I’m concerned about binding ... as there is now way to adjust for zero preload.
 

xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
Hi,

I’m in the process of upgrading some suspension bits and am looking for some advice.

I will be installing the following:

Ohlins road and track coil overs
034 front camber mounts
034 rear control arms
26mm H&R rear sway bar
Ecs tuning rear sway bar end links
Ecs tuning toe arms

I decided to take a chance on the ECS parts because they were on sale, and because I haven’t heard evidence that any of the other available options are significantly better.

I have seen a few people installing the 034 solid end links with the H&R sway bar, but some have complained about clunking either immediately or after just one season of driving.

Does anyone have any opinions about the ECS parts I’ve ordered? Should I just chuck them and look for other options — that won’t turn my car into rattle, groan, clunk, knock box?

Thanks
I have almost all of these parts, too.

The ECS rear end-links are not adjustable, so keep that in mind if you get into racing, you won't be able to corner balance the suspension. I got Verkline rear end links, fully adjustable and spherical too.

The coils probably come with 400 in/lb springs front and rear. Your car will understeer terribly, or at least as much as stock. I ended up at 425F 750R springs for autocrossing.

Your front shocks will likely need to be set to full soft. Any more than a few clicks from soft, and the front gets too stiff and unersteers more.

The rears you can turn up maybe 1/2 way or so, about 20 clicks, until the rear bounces less to your liking.

I would not use the 034 front camber mounts. They don't allow the strut to articulate during cornering and compression which puts stress on the strut. It's less of an issue with Ohlins since the strut is inverted. I would get either Ground Control or Vorhslag, both have spherical mounting.
 

Escape Hatch

Autocross Champion
Location
USA
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
moogs require greasing every 5-10K. Superpros are maintenance free

I have greased my Moogs once in 35k miles out of precaution but feel it was unnecessary. They make zero noise and have had zero issues. The 5-10k you state is from Moog?
 

NopeR

Autocross Champion
Car(s)
18 Golf R
I would not use the 034 front camber mounts. They don't allow the strut to articulate during cornering and compression which puts stress on the strut.

How so?
 

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
I have almost all of these parts, too.

The ECS rear end-links are not adjustable, so keep that in mind if you get into racing, you won't be able to corner balance the suspension. I got Verkline rear end links, fully adjustable and spherical too.

The coils probably come with 400 in/lb springs front and rear. Your car will understeer terribly, or at least as much as stock. I ended up at 425F 750R springs for autocrossing.

Your front shocks will likely need to be set to full soft. Any more than a few clicks from soft, and the front gets too stiff and unersteers more.

The rears you can turn up maybe 1/2 way or so, about 20 clicks, until the rear bounces less to your liking.

I would not use the 034 front camber mounts. They don't allow the strut to articulate during cornering and compression which puts stress on the strut. It's less of an issue with Ohlins since the strut is inverted. I would get either Ground Control or Vorhslag, both have spherical mounting.

Hey, thanks for all the good information. The ECS links I purchased are the adjustable ones. Nevertheless, had I known about Verkline, I would have purchased parts from them instead. Is there a local dealer?

Sucks about the camber plates.... I only got them because people I spoke to, told me the ground control plates are noisy. I’ll have to look into them now, and sell the 034s.
 

xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
Hey, thanks for all the good information. The ECS links I purchased are the adjustable ones. Nevertheless, had I known about Verkline, I would have purchased parts from them instead. Is there a local dealer?

Sucks about the camber plates.... I only got them because people I spoke to, told me the ground control plates are noisy. I’ll have to look into them now, and sell the 034s.
You have to order from Verkline, overseas.

Some people, or one person in particular, had a bad experience with GC. There are plenty of satisfied customers, including me who experience no issues.

The 034 camber plates will work, it's just a very hard "bushing" that the strut is attached to, and it has very little give.

Lesson learned is, don't order parts, then ask for feedback on said parts.
 

xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
IMG_3762.JPEG

The rubber "bushing"

If you have a say, you want a spherical bearing instead of a rubber bushing. The bushing pushes against the strut's movement. This is particularly harsh on the shock shaft and adds premature wear to the inside of the shock body. Avoid this if you've paid money for aftermarket struts.
 

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
You have to order from Verkline, overseas.

Some people, or one person in particular, had a bad experience with GC. There are plenty of satisfied customers, including me who experience no issues.

The 034 camber plates will work, it's just a very hard "bushing" that the strut is attached to, and it has very little give.

Lesson learned is, don't order parts, then ask for feedback on said parts.

When I mentioned Ground Control, I was referring to people I spoke with locally that had experience with them. I did ask about 034, and those I asked hadn’t mentioned the issue you pointed out. Thanks for doing so.

All is not lost as it looks like I still have time to modify my order... Ohlins still hasn’t sent my Coilovers to ECS. ECS doesn’t have many options besides Superpro and 034 so I’ll have to source the mounts elsewhere.
 
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xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
You have to order from Verkline, overseas.

Some people, or one person in particular, had a bad experience with GC. There are plenty of satisfied customers, including me who experience no issues.

The 034 camber plates will work, it's just a very hard "bushing" that the strut is attached to, and it has very little give.

Lesson learned is, don't order parts, then ask for feedback on said parts.
Here is how you should stack the parts you will get, with the 034 top plate to work with the Ohlins
IMG_3763.JPEG


IMG_3766.JPEG


What you want with a spherical bearing looks something like this EDIT (this is the ground control top mount)
IMG_3456.JPEG
 
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xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
In the 034 photo are those “spacers” supplies by Ohlins? It looks like they reduce the degrees of freedom in which the strut can move. Is that correct?
Those adaptors and reducers come with the kit to attach to OEM top mounts like the 034. They do restrict shock movement (no spherical) and the springs are not truly co-axial like the bottom photo which result in non-linear spring compression.

This method should be avoided at all costs.
 

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
Those adaptors and reducers come with the kit to attach to OEM top mounts like the 034. They do restrict shock movement (no spherical) and the springs are not truly co-axial like the bottom photo which result in non-linear spring compression.

This method should be avoided at all costs.

But what about people that run with the OEM top mounts then? Does Ohlins recommend to never use the OEM top mounts? If so, they should consider packaging with top mounts like the KW Clubsports. I guess they just figure that anyone buying coilovers wants to run extra negative camber and will buy top mounts.

I hope all of this is included in the instructions.........
 

xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
But what about people that run with the OEM top mounts then? Does Ohlins recommend to never use the OEM top mounts? If so, they should consider packaging with top mounts like the KW Clubsports. I guess they just figure that anyone buying coilovers wants to run extra negative camber and will buy top mounts.

I hope all of this is included in the instructions.........
Ohlins does not warn against OEM top mounts and they probably don't include top mounts because of the wide variety of situations and to keep costs down. With top hats these coils would be over $3000.

The instructions are not great, I learned this mostly by trial and error, which is why I'm passing this all to you.
 
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