Leon cupra .....shocking handling !?!?!

[woodlehouse]

Hi

i have a 2001 leon cupra 1.8t

i have found that this car handles like a complete pig in the wet , propper rear end slide happy ...............why ????

Span it at 25-30 mph off a roundabout about a month ago , thought it was the knackard rear shox ( completely stock height etc )

since then i have fitted hottuning coilovers & adjustable front arb links , 18" bbs ch reps with toyos on the front & brand new budgets on the rear

but still in the damp & wet its appaling , feeels more dangerous in the wet than my 300+ bhp rwd skyline did , STILLSLIDING THE ARSE END OUT , JUST DONT HAVE ANY CONFIENCE IN IT & NEVER MIND ADD MORE POWER

whats the crack with this ??? Anyone

 

[james walker]

well if youve fitted cheap coilovers and cheap rear tyres on the rears, then why are you shocked it handles poorly?

fwd cars argubly need better tyres on the rears, or just but good quality all round. hottuning wont improve the handling really as they are low end budget coilovers.

id suggest you search for handling mods on here and start from there.#

 

[traumapat]

if youve got no rear ARB fitted but youve tightened the front up then youve unbalanced the car.
budget tyres on the rear.... you should have the best grip on the rear.

 

[DPJ]

Try the Toyos on the back before you do anything else, Danny.

 

[mALLA]

drop the tyre pressure abit on the rear. what u running?

 

[ScoobyJawa]

Rear ARB, front struts, decent suspension and bin the crap tyres - job done

 

[munkyboy]

I would get some good quality tyres on the back as this will improve the handling a lot more and it will also give you your confidence back. Get the ARB's uprated front and back and maybe a strutbrace to finish it off.

Mine handles like a monster compared to standard and have never had any issues when i have felt no confidence

 

[zigojacko]

I encountered this problem a while back also funnily enough, I too span my Leon (1.9TDi 52 plate) round a roundabout in the wet going about 20mph. Although I am still really cautious, it doesn't seem too bad now although I have an ongoing problem where my rear offside tyre loses pressure much quicker than the nearside rear, it's as if it is a slow puncture but I've changed the tyre and still got the same problem.

I am having to re-pressurise my tyres on a weekly basis but find my handling appears to be okay if my front tyres are at 32psi and rear tyres are at about 33psi, I also plan to invest in some more expensive tyres on the rear once I've sorted this pressure problem out, as the tyre goes soft so quickly at the moment, it's making the treat wear thin so I don't want to fork out for top of the range tyres only to ruin though so quickly as I do a ridiculous amount of mileage. Heh

 

[Andrewcupra TDI]

have u pranged your rim ?? perhaps its not sealing tidy

 

[zigojacko]

have u pranged your rim ?? perhaps its not sealing tidy

How would you do this? Do I have to take it to the garage in order to get this done?

 

[epts2008]

I encountered this problem a while back also funnily enough, I too span my Leon (1.9TDi 52 plate) round a roundabout in the wet going about 20mph. Although I am still really cautious, it doesn't seem too bad now although I have an ongoing problem where my rear offside tyre loses pressure much quicker than the nearside rear, it's as if it is a slow puncture but I've changed the tyre and still got the same problem.

I am having to re-pressurise my tyres on a weekly basis but find my handling appears to be okay if my front tyres are at 32psi and rear tyres are at about 33psi, I also plan to invest in some more expensive tyres on the rear once I've sorted this pressure problem out, as the tyre goes soft so quickly at the moment, it's making the treat wear thin so I don't want to fork out for top of the range tyres only to ruin though so quickly as I do a ridiculous amount of mileage. Heh

That pressure sound a bit too high for me I only have a little 1.4 16v leon its lowered
35mm and running 225/45 17 goodyear eagle f1 assy's on it but I run the tyres at the tyre pressure that the italian police use on theirs which is 32psi front and 27psi rear I can still do small roundabouts at 30ish and its alright.
If I was you I would lower the rear tyre pressure and try it

Also in regards to your tyre pressure going down you need to take the wheel to a tyre garage get them to pop the tyre off the rim then go round the inside of the rim where the tyre seals and clean the black rubber off the rim using a wire brush and a semi blunt knife also get them to change the valve and valve stem. This should solve the problem

 

[woodlehouse]

well if youve fitted cheap coilovers and cheap rear tyres on the rears, then why are you shocked it handles poorly?

fwd cars argubly need better tyres on the rears, or just but good quality all round. hottuning wont improve the handling really as they are low end budget coilovers.

id suggest you search for handling mods on here and start from there.#

cheap tyres yes my fault but donr knock the hottuning coilovers as ive ran them on a brm 16v 1.9 mk2 for 3 years & even now i sold the car they are still fitted to that car which is now a full blown track racer in the open championship & its kicking arse

hottuning sell em for £169.99
the following companies re-brand hottuning coilovers & sell em on for more

raceland
v-maxx
janspeed
reinsport
& a few others that i cant rememebr all for upto £399.99

i have been doing my research on the leaon & seem to be finding everone who owns a car built around the mk4 platform like the leaon mk4 , a4 etc say the rear handling is very very poor regardless of mods due to the rubbish solid beam axle set up , only the independant stuff is any good on the 4 motions etc in the mk4 & r32

im considering selling the car due to this or ripping the engine out & dropping it in a mk2 golf or jetta & busting teh rest of the car up

 

[NickT]

Try the Toyos on the back before you do anything else, Danny.

Would def agree with this before you shell out any more money, would only take an hour of your time and you should notice a definite improvement.
Also, as JW suggested, there is a shedload of people on here who've all been down the handling road from mild to extreme, could do a lot worse than learn from there experiences...

...feeels more dangerous in the wet than my 300+ bhp rwd skyline did...

On a slightly different tack, I will be the first to admit I know next to nowt about Skyline's but I do believe they have a number of 'driving aids' to keep you on the blacktop, regardless (within reason) of whether you are driving like a loon or not?
On the assumption that was your previous car maybe your expectations are a little high or your driving style might need to change as you don't have the 'assistance' you enjoyed with the Nissan?

Aw fecks sake, Taxi!

 

[DPJ]

That pressure sound a bit too high for me I only have a little 1.4 16v leon its lowered
35mm and running 225/45 17 goodyear eagle f1 assy's on it but I run the tyres at the tyre pressure that the italian police use on theirs which is 32psi front and 27psi rear I can still do small roundabouts at 30ish and its alright.
If I was you I would lower the rear tyre pressure and try it

............

I run 36psi all round on mine (225/40/18) and have for the last 4 years....

 

[Willie]

The back end of my motor is the same set up as your, as standard.
With good tyres, slight ride height drop and good coilovers I'm pissing all overs 4WD cars on most corners on the track.
"i have been doing my research on the leaon & seem to be finding everone who owns a car built around the mk4 platform like the leaon mk4 , a4 etc say the rear handling is very very poor regardless of mods due to the rubbish solid beam axle set up , only the independant stuff is any good on the 4 motions etc in the mk4 & r32"

And as for fitting £169 coilovers to a 'Full blown track car', PMSL

 

[Willie]

I run 36psi all round on mine (225/40/18) and have for the last 4 years....

me 2
Found this to be the best tyre pressure for handling purposes, even using this as a hot tyre track pressure with great results

 

[traumapat]

i have been doing my research on the leaon & seem to be finding everone who owns a car built around the mk4 platform like the leaon mk4 , a4 etc say the rear handling is very very poor regardless of mods due to the rubbish solid beam axle set up , only the independant stuff is any good on the 4 motions etc in the mk4 & r32

im considering selling the car due to this or ripping the engine out & dropping it in a mk2 golf or jetta & busting teh rest of the car up

matched shocks and springs, rear arb . running goodyears all round and ive had no problems with the rear end. car is very balanced.

with your set up youve increased front end stiffness and placed most of your grip there. The rear end isnt helping the car at all hence it letting go.
Id get the car to a respected tuner for advice but i think a rear arb will let the rear join in with the handling more. better balance.
Mismatched tyres have often been a problem in previous threads. Rear cant keep the same grip levels as the front and tends to swing out particularly under braking.

Mk4 platform isnt perfect but i think youve modded it wrong. Where did you get the advice?
why no rear ARB?

 

[james walker]

cheap tyres yes my fault but donr knock the hottuning coilovers as ive ran them on a brm 16v 1.9 mk2 for 3 years & even now i sold the car they are still fitted to that car which is now a full blown track racer in the open championship & its kicking arse

hottuning sell em for £169.99
the following companies re-brand hottuning coilovers & sell em on for more

raceland
v-maxx
janspeed
reinsport
& a few others that i cant rememebr all for upto £399.99

i have been doing my research on the leaon & seem to be finding everone who owns a car built around the mk4 platform like the leaon mk4 , a4 etc say the rear handling is very very poor regardless of mods due to the rubbish solid beam axle set up , only the independant stuff is any good on the 4 motions etc in the mk4 & r32

im considering selling the car due to this or ripping the engine out & dropping it in a mk2 golf or jetta & busting teh rest of the car up

of which all the other listed companies are budget brand.

399.99 is still cheap for coilovers. look at weitec, kw, koni for quality

handling can be made very good.trust me mine is, with the right mods. upto you but adding crap coilovers and crap tyres doenst mean the mk4 platform handles badly, just means the equipment on it is poor.

 

[james walker]

i would suggest the following....

1. bin the hottuning
2. bin the budget rears

3. add a rear arb.
4. add tt wishbone bushes
5. new top mounts
6. new arb mounts
7. uprated dogbone and engine mounts
8. quality suspension setup
9. full 4 wheel laser alignment after all that

10. add a quaife or wavetrac diff

this will then handle as good as youll ever want it to.

 

[lukecupra2001]

because everybodys made of money arent they?

the wife span my car the other day on a wet roundabout at 15mph (ish) fitted 4 new f1s same roundabout same weather no bother.i

ts cheap tyres that the problem not if spent money on cheap coilovers.ive had standard suspension for over 4years and the only time i had problems is when ive had any other tyre except f1s,even t-1r's it didnt like.

standard sizw cupra wheel aswell 205-55-16 with 35psi in alround.