Noob - TDI Sport 130, ride quality??!

[dan98]

Hi yall
Just got a TDI Sport 130, wowed by the power and economy
Its a nifty little motor but i find the suspension plain potty!
It seems really hard but not in a sporty way, rather more in a bumpy leery way- (I'm coming from a Mk2 Golf gti by the way)

Ive searched on the forum and you guys are talking more about lowering and coilovers -
however I'm not actually needing sporty handling as its mainly long distance motorway driving, so could anyone suggest a way to sort this?
Maybe dampers/springs from a TDI Sport 100 for example? Or does this suffer the same problem?
Maybe parts from a Polo?

Or perhaps someone knows an aftermarket kit which will sort the ride quality out whilst keeping the road holding and handling (not lowered)

Any thoughts appreciated,
Cheers
Dan

 

[Bondiblu]

What mileage is yours on? If it's clocked up some miles it may be worn and feel worse than it should be. The MK4's are known for their sh*t ride quality. When I got mine, I had to replace suspension all round (with standard/ unworn) to get it half decent again. I did consider putting the standard TDI 100 springs on and then fitting cupra dampers, but never got around to it.

 

[dan98]

Thanks Bondiblu

Its supposedly on 58k, so not high miler - although there's a loud clonk when going down country lanes from the passenger footwell, so obviously this needs sorting first (reading the forum it might be broken a.r.b. or bushes)

Sounds like you had the same idea as me re. springs, have you driven the TDI100?
And why Cupra dampers...are they less bouncy?

Cheers,
Dan

 

[cheshire cat]

on my MY'03 1.9PD Sport I replaced the rear dampers with Bilstein STANDARD replacements and this improved things a bit, if doing it again I would use Polo or FabiaVRS I don't think the springs would do mutch, the rebound rate on the Ibiza shocks is very high compared to similar kept the front standard

 

[MikeO]

The simple answer here (and sorry if some disagree) is that the standard suspension is RUBBISH in this car. Only "real" answer, is decent replacement springs and shocks! and I've had one since they first came out. And it's the first thing I got done / sorted / changed.

I could not agree more with your description if I wanted to...

"but i find the suspension plain potty!
It seems really hard but not in a sporty way, rather more in a bumpy leery way"

SEAT basically tried with this car, to get a suspension set up that married a "sporty" ride with a "comfort" ride and failed miserably. It's neither fish, nor fowl (or should that be "foul"?).

In my opinion (and that's all it is).... messing around with the standard set up, is a waste of time. You might be able to "make it a bit better" but the only "real" solution, is replacement springs/shocks.

Have fun.

 

[dan98]

Mike,

Thanks for confirming.... and also for coming tantalisingly close to helping with a solution!
I can well believe it will take more than a tweak to really sort the thing out.

I notice "Seat Sports suspension and strut brace" in your sig - is this what did the trick for you?
Is that a kit you purchased from Seat as an upgrade...? Or something from a third party?
BTW what happened to the first engine then? I was lead to believe they were practically indestructible.
Questions Questions
Cheers,
Dan

 

[mrcoyote]

On my old TDI Sport I had the Seat Sport suspension kit which were Eibach springs with Sachs dampers and that fixed the bouncy handling without compromising the ride quality. Alternatively, muddyboots on here replaced his dampers with a set of Monroe something or other so it might be worth having a search or failing that asking him?

 

[adam kelly]

iv just got coilovers on mine its hard but on motor ways its not really that bad the standered set up feels alot harder i think.

 

[jase750]

is the SEAT sport set up still available anywhere?

 

[MikeO]

dan98

"I notice "Seat Sports suspension and strut brace" in your sig - is this what did the trick for you?"

Yep... improved it 100%. Without this, don't think I could have lived with the car long term.
Still have it. As I don't do many miles these days and have access to a couple of other motors as well.

It was the suspension kit mentioned by mrcoyote. No longer available I think. Though I suspect that there are still good quality kits out there if you shop around. Just don't go too over board with firming it up / lowering it. As your ride quality can go out the window. Though a lot depends on what you are actually looking for.

"BTW what happened to the first engine then"

Cambelt went after only 6 weeks (from new)!!! Manufacturing problem I suspect. And completely trashed the engine (BIG time). Took them almost 2 months to source and fit a totally new engine. Because as you say "I was lead to believe they were practically indestructible." and they don't just have them sitting on the shelf!

Got to admit that the car had more than it's fair share of trouble / problems in the first year. Settled down OK and still not a bad motor to drive.

 

[dan98]

Mike,

Ah OK , thanks for all that info. Do you happen to remember if the kit you have lowers the car at all? I've looked at Eibach springs but cant see a standard height option, only lowered.
I would even consider TDI 100 springs and dampers as no-one seems to moan about the ride on these..must try to get a drive in one.
Sorry to hear about the engine - bit of a shocker! at least it was a free swap though

MrCoyote -
thanks for your info too - again can you give any other clues or specifics on the setup you had?

Many thanks to all, great place this
Dan

 

[MikeO]

dan98

"Do you happen to remember if the kit you have lowers the car at all?"

Indeed it does. But not by a great amount:

Front before:

Front after:

Pictures taken back in 2003 to satisfy a similar thread to this one.

The front drop looks a bit more than it actually is, as camera angle not quite the same.

Rear drop was not quite as much.

 

[Leigh15]

I would even consider TDI 100 springs and dampers as no-one seems to moan about the ride on these.

I wouldn't recommend the PD100 setup - it's horrendously crashy - every time mine hit a ridge in the road or even the smallest of potholes, it jarred through the car so hard that you'd think something had broken! If anything, although similarly crashy the FR I had before was better

I now have a mk2 Leon FR with the optional 18" wheels - which everyone seems to slate for being too hard and crashy - and it's night and day better than the Ibiza

 

[dan98]

Well i've just completed my usual 250 mile journey back to London, and its unbearable, way worse than my old Golf.
Such a shame- the gearbox/engine is astounding at high speeds


Leigh15 thanks for that, i take your word for it, and will exclude the 100 option.

Mike - Guess that leaves the Sachs/Eibach route, although i baulk at the thought of splashing out hundreds only to find that its not quite the same stuff as you have, and makes things worse.

Maybe i'm barking up the wrong tree altogether with this ibiza thing, and i'll sell it for a Golf. Could be its just not gonna do the job after all.