Aluminium Suspension Components from 8P S3

[mlhj83]

I understand that both the Mk5 Golf and the 8P A3 share the same chassis to a certain extent. I would be interested to know whether there is any possible way to find out whether the aluminium steering knuckle and control arm of the S3 can be fitted on the R32 without changing the suspension geometry. The only bit of info which I can find is that the R32 has a wider track width than the S3.

[Nelson_R32]

I understand that both the Mk5 Golf and the 8P A3 share the same chassis to a certain extent. I would be interested to know whether there is any possible way to find out whether the aluminium steering knuckle and control arm of the S3 can be fitted on the R32 without changing the suspension geometry. The only bit of info which I can find is that the R32 has a wider track width than the S3.

Did you manage to get anywhere with this?

[mlhj83]

I have been pestering Ed and the team at APS for the past month about the possibility of transplantation of the aluminium components but unfortunately, the alu. components from both the Mk2 TT and 8P S3 cannot be fitted to the R32. Man, was I disappointed with the news. Could have potentially shaved off approx. 10kg of unsprung weight from the front axle. Oh well, at least my custom AP discs are nearly 4kg lighter than the oem discs. Next up the list of weight saving would be the wheels.

[Nelson_R32]

I have been pestering Ed and the team at APS for the past month about the possibility of transplantation of the aluminium components but unfortunately, the alu. components from both the Mk2 TT and 8P S3 cannot be fitted to the R32. Man, was I disappointed with the news. Could have potentially shaved off approx. 10kg of unsprung weight from the front axle. Oh well, at least my custom AP discs are nearly 4kg lighter than the oem discs. Next up the list of weight saving would be the wheels.

Did they say why? I mean they shouldn't be any weaker than the steel ones? And AFAIK the R32 shares the same arms with a 1.4 Golf!

[mlhj83]

According to them, it's due to differences in dimension.

[Mook]

Given the cost of the OEM parts, have you thought about looking at the KW kits? They all alloy and if you go for the V3 kit you get fully adjustable suspension for height, bump and rebound, better handling and less weight.

I ran the KW V3 kit on my R32 and have a full kit on my S4 now. Well recommended

[mlhj83]

Given the cost of the OEM parts, have you thought about looking at the KW kits? They all alloy and if you go for the V3 kit you get fully adjustable suspension for height, bump and rebound, better handling and less weight.

I ran the KW V3 kit on my R32 and have a full kit on my S4 now. Well recommended

I would love to have adjustable coilovers but I'm terrified by the detriment to ride quality however minor it may be. Also, I feel that the Mk5 R32 is already low enough, and have managed to scrape the flexible piece of plastic lip just below the bumper every now and then when driving around urban areas no matter how careful I am.

With regards to ride quality, it's not so much the comfort that I'm worried about, but rather the punishment the rest of the suspension and steering components have to go through. Also with coilovers, I tend to find that when you reach the limit of adhesion whilst cornering hard, especially in the wet, traction/grip is lost suddenly rather than progressively. Apart from trackdays, I do like to drive my car through lumpy, bumpy and twisty roads (some dirt/gravel roads on occasions) . Even with the oem suspension, I do find that the dampers are unable to cope when going over a series of successive lumps and bumps, especially under moderate-heavy braking when the suspension is not able to keep tyres on an uneven road.

I have looked at custom valved and springed Ohlins based on dyno testing and corner weighting, that allows me to maintain oem ride height, whilst having full adjustability for compression and rebound (over 20 settings for each), and they guarantee the ultimate balance for track and road use. Best of all, they have assured me that the ride quality will be better than oem without being wallowy at the same time. The only problem (and probably the biggest problem) is that they cost upwards of 4k. Obviously, it'll be silly of me to be spending that much just on suspension for an R32.

What are your thoughts? Cheers.

[Mook]

The ride is actually more supple with the KWs. It firms up on cornering, so this should fix your problem. There's other products on the market like the Bilstein PSS9s, but I'm talking from experience, rather than spinning you some bullsh*t

Bear in mind that you don't have to drop the car with the V3s - you can leave them at standard ride height.

Your loss of adhesion is primarily down to the tyres and how predicatible they are eitehr in the wet or at the limit of adhesion in the dry. Toyo R888s are great and there's some fantastic Hankook's on the market as well that are very progressive. I can't remember which ones at the minute - two good mates run them on an Evo 8 and MR2 turbo. I was very surprised by them.

I agree that spending upwards of £4K on a suspension upgrade is excessive. You're driving a 1.5 tonne lump of Golf with a non-permanent 4WD system - it's very difficult to strike the balance of how much you spend versus how much real value you're adding to your driving experience.

HTH

[mlhj83]

Cheers, I'll probably hassle Ed at APS to let me try as many coilovers as possible to see which will be most suitable for my application.