suspension question

[chris285]

how do you know when your suspension is going or needs replacing?

i have the feeling my 1.4's is not what it was, i have done 67k and its a 99 plate mk2

it seems to give a lot of body roll if i hit a bump for what it should, i know the 16" mk3 cupra alloys would make a diff but it still seems too much imo

 

[spyke85]

Push down on the corners of the car, and when it rebounds it shouldn't bounce. I changed my standard suspension at around 55k, and it was messed up already by then.

 

[chris285]

well i got the car around 57k and wasn't sure on the ride then but the alloys helped

it was ok then as we did that test and it was fine, however i still might replace it

is there a good suspension set which isn't too expensive and would improve the ride and lower as well? also i don't want to make the ride really hard

 

[m0rk]

FK's have good road damping.

 

[spyke85]

well i got the car around 57k and wasn't sure on the ride then but the alloys helped

it was ok then as we did that test and it was fine, however i still might replace it

is there a good suspension set which isn't too expensive and would improve the ride and lower as well? also i don't want to make the ride really hard

Alot of people went with the FK suspension from Performance Driven, had it myself on my 1.4 for over 20k, lowered just nicely, and still had some comfort to it. What size alloys are you running?

 

[chris285]

got mk3 cupra 16" alloys one

anyone got a link to them so i can have a look at price atc?

 

[xJib]

There is a review on the main site.

http://www.seatcupra.net/FKsuspensionreview_ibizamk2gti.htm

http://www.performancedriven.co.uk

 

[chris285]

seems reasonable price wise

how much would an average place change to fit them?

 

[spyke85]

I had 20VT alloys on mine with the FK suspension, and can't complain at all about the ride. Whereabouts are you from, as if around Manchester I could recommend somewhere. Pic below is of my setup.

 

[chris285]

i am from lincoln unfortunatley and i have no idea what a good price for fitting them would be

edit - is that with a 40mm drop on yours? looks good whats the ride like in terms of speed bumps?

atm i tend to take them fairly gentley say about 10mph or so depending on the type of em

 

[xJib]

I say it would be about 3 to 4 hours work.

But if your handy with a spanner it's not that hard a job. Just make sure you've got all the right tools and about a day. Once fitted then you could take it to a good tyre place and pay to have the tracking and camber set.

 

[spyke85]

Its the FK suspension on mine, around a 40mm drop, and have no problems with speed humps, even with a lower front splitter, take them around 20mph no problem. Bought them from http://www.performancedriven.co.uk/ Just make sure you get track and camber done afterwards, otherwise if you forget like me you wear out new tyres very quickly!

 

[chris285]

i don't have the time or the skills to even attempt to do anything like that, i am guessing a couple of hundred to do the work then gotta get tracking and camber done afterwards

 

[ibiza_95]

a couple of hundred!!! ill do it for a hundred for you. its a piece of piss honestly. i live in wakefield, bout an hour or so from manchester. its only a case of unbolt and re bolt. if you cant do it get a friend to im sure £50 and a pint would do them.

as i say ill do it for £100 just a bit of a treck thats all.
then camber and alignment would cost you bout £30 for both.

 

[chris285]

i have just heard its a bit of a problem with the springs thats all

i will see when i get to the time of doing it anyway

 

[m0rk]

suspension is one of the easiest jobs once you've done it once. minimal tools, and virtually nothing to go array

 

[xJib]

All you need it as set of Spring Compressors, a good socket set and the right allen key/tool for the front top mounts.

 

[ibiza_95]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^6
tis true, very easy once youve done it once.
i needed to swap a suspension strut cos it was nackered and replacing a back strut on a mk2 ibiza took me about 20 minutes.