Re: handling strange

[skerocdriver@juno.com (SHAWN C MEZE)]

On Wed, 22 Oct 1997 19:11:07 +0000 "Jay Docherty"
<jdoc@postoffice.ptd.net> writes:
>OK here is my car's suspension setup.  Neuspeed race springs, 
>Bilstein sport shocks and struts, Autotech lower sub-frame, Autotech 
>upper strut bar, Autotech hollow front lower sway bar and a Autotech 
>hollow lower rear sway bar.


There's your problem, -AUTOTECH SWAYBARS-


>Recently the bracket that hold the passenger side of the front sway 
>broke.  (the brackets autotech gives you are horrible)  Since this 
>happened the actually seems to handle better.  Rather then the front 
>end always plowing, I now get a slight sqealing front the rear tires 
>indicated slight oversteer.  Which I find good, very good.
>Is this just my  imagination or does it actually make sense?


Makes perfect sense. You've discovered what the boys at Shrine have been
preaching. They believe that a front swaybar is useless. They practice
the art of stiffer front springs to compensate for roll stiffness and
using an all beef rear bar. In getting ready to install a stock front
swaybar to test out the theory of the softer front bar with my Neuspeed
28mm rear bar and the inverted stock rear bar combo. Since ive added the
second rear bar, the car handles better on the autox course. (Just a
little but better IS better.) 

Now, as far as those Autotech brackets go, they're JUNK! They even got
the nads to sell what's soposed to be a "performance" bracket. They talk
about how better it is and charge you accordingly. (Cha-ching!) and the
so called performance brackets break just as easily. I've heard this from
the net, as well as a few new friends I met at the Velocity show who told
me this exact same story that ive heard elsewhere. 
The hollow bar is a novel idea, I got no beef with that, its the cheezy
cheap ass brackets they push off on their customers! 
NEUSPEED RULES DUDE! I believe that. When it comes to suspension pieces,
its gotta be Neuspeed. The rest of Neuspeed stuff is simply overpriced
novel items IMHO. (what's up with their $300 fuel injectors??) 


>Are my A-arms going to twisted abnormally by not having the front 
>sway bar connected properly?
>                                      Jay


No, you wont do any damage but what you will get is partial bar
stiffness. Turning one way, the bar doesn't work because its way up in
the air. Turn the other way and its now pressing down on the lower
control arm. (where the bracket is broken.) 
If I were you, id just remove the front bar all togethers, or get a case
of new brackets so you can replace them as needed. You might find that a
stock front swaybar is what you need to have that neutral balanced
cornering feeling? Maybe?? 
HTH!


              Shawn Meze
86' Jetta GLi           82' Scirocco GTi
The Fastest, Quickest, Cleanest and
best looking Scirocco in all of San Diego!
http://www2.netcom.com/~trnsfrma/vws.html
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