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Track use coilovers

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
It wasn't a rebuild candidate. The swaybar endlink bracket snapped off. It was the second occurrence. It had been rewelded once, but it was determined that it couldn't be welded a second time.

Just bad luck or do you use a crazy still sway bar or something?
 

jmason

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Frederick, MD
How should I put this diplomatically? I f&@$d up the installation because I’m an idiot? I used a spacer that came with the Superpro end links. I should not have used it. As a result, I installed the end link incorrectly, producing a torque on the bracket. It ultimately failed. I will say the failed weld didn’t look that good. No penetration into the strut tube.
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
How should I put this diplomatically? I f&@$d up the installation because I’m an idiot? I used a spacer that came with the Superpro end links. I should not have used it. As a result, I installed the end link incorrectly, producing a torque on the bracket. It ultimately failed. I will say the failed weld didn’t look that good. No penetration into the strut tube.

Interesting.

The shop that performed the Superpro LCA, Strut Mount and FSB end link install on my car made the decision not to use that spacer- they gave it back to me when I picked up the car and said “we tried the install with this part but there’s a conflict there we’re not comfortable with!”

I was a little concerned because the instruction sheet clearly diagrams the install with the spacer, but it’s been 6 months now and a couple track days just fine without that spacer.
 

jmason

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Frederick, MD
As I was waiting for my replacement suspension, I learned that the spacer shouldn't be used on lowered cars. Huh? I can't figure out what the spacer was supposed to accomplish.

When I installed my replacement coilovers, I did not use the spacer. Seems to be just fine without it, which is supported by your experience. Good to hear.
 

jmason

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Frederick, MD
I no longer have it, so I can't measure it. I would guess about 1.25" long.
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
Probably caused some binding.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
1.25"!?!? Yeah, that doesn't make any sense...

EDIT: I probably would have followed the instructions and jacked it up too...That's definitely on Superpro to correct the documentation or not ship the spacer. If I were you, I'd contact them to see if they'll cover at least a portion of the cost you incurred for the flawed design/documentation.
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
C0225327-FB2D-42BC-B1F5-9044E44CE99C.jpeg


Found this pic online for Audi S3. That’s the spacer.
 

20ls01

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Texas
Car(s)
GTI 2016
Been using my KW street comforts on the track. Great dual duty coilover. Little soft on the track with KW recommended settings though. Too much work to remove the rear shock to adjust rebound. I wish the adjustment was at the bottom :(
 

Gvazquez

Go Kart Champion
Location
North Carolina
The spec coilover for spec boxsters is still the PSS9 I believe. Take that for what it's worth...

I have the PSS10 currently, but haven't had a chance to get them on track yet this year. I almost went with the Ohlins, but my takeaway from local racers was that for twice the price, you don't quite get twice the coil. They're a bit better for sure, but not 1400$ better. FWIW on full soft, the Pss10 are stiff on the street, but don't punish you like the MSS springs and 034 springs (I wanted to keep DCC like a fool at one time). On full hard I drove over a train track and felt as if someone ripped a disc out of my spine.

It also comes down to how well you know how to setup your car. While most people can mess with a single adjustable to tune rotation just fine, stepping up to a 2 way starts to get more complicated and a 3 way is outside the scope of the majority of people who track their cars. Let's not talk about 4,5-way setups, bump stop tuning, etc. I would say start with what kind of tire you'd like to run, and build around that. If you plan to go to a slick ever, you need at least -3.0 camber front, and preferably -3.5-4.5. If you're running a slick, you'll also want to be running springs in the 650#+ range. That kind of setup on a 200TW street tire will just tear up the tire.

AST, Moton, MCS, Ohlins, Bilstein were my considerations. AST/Moton wouldn't give me any data or information on their dampeners, except for "Our dampers are really powerful so you can run soft springs". MCS I could only get from ground control it seems and ground control's level of communications was so poor (we're talking weeks of lag and following up to get responses), and considering how often those need rebuilt I decided that kind of service wasn't worth it. My friend waited for 12 weeks for a rebuild on a single MCS strut for his M3... Ohlins communication, detail, and quality all seem top notch and I would have pulled the trigger on them, except I had quite a few other things that happened all at once (popped a rim, changing jobs, new baby, blah blah blah life) and I just couldn't justify 2800$ vs 1300$ when I also needed a new fire suit and a couple rims :).
Very insightful info and thanks for educating me on those things. I'm on the fence about running slicks but I can run the camber too if need be. My spring rates might be too soft for that so I guess moral of the story is build around your tire setup.
 

Gvazquez

Go Kart Champion
Location
North Carolina
I suspect that VWR coilovers are relabeled/rebadged AST 5100 coilovers. They look just like my ASTs on my Mini.
I thought this same thing. I read somewhere that they "teamed up with AST" on the design being inverted dampers and all. The only thing I see better about them is they come with nice camber plates
 

Gvazquez

Go Kart Champion
Location
North Carolina
Been using my KW street comforts on the track. Great dual duty coilover. Little soft on the track with KW recommended settings though. Too much work to remove the rear shock to adjust rebound. I wish the adjustment was at the bottom :(
I'm sure those are great but I have that fear about all of their coilovers. Theres a good deal in classifieds section on v3s for 1400 bucks but I cant imagine them being worth me selling my setup for and purchasing them.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
Very insightful info and thanks for educating me on those things. I'm on the fence about running slicks but I can run the camber too if need be. My spring rates might be too soft for that so I guess moral of the story is build around your tire setup.
Yes, most definitely start with a tire choice :).

I'll add that slicks will build a lot of confidence, but I absolutely would not recommend them to someone who doesn't have a good amount of experience (a couple hundred sessions at least) on a proper sticky tire, 100-200TW. They have no audible warning before they let go and you're moving much faster with much higher G. Where you were once going 75 and getting close to that barrier, you'll now be doing 85 and you may already be at 105% of what the tire can handle. Lack of experience + slicks is how a guy in an MR2 was facing the opposite direction with me coming at him at 70 mph. I chose to go into the grass rather than into him, and I was lucky to have the choice. :)
 
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