FSD 'front lifting'...?

Brabazon

Brabazon

Member
I've had my FSD's fitted for a few weeks now on a TDi with standard springs (so it has the very slightly 'raised' front associated with this set up) and have noticed a few things. On motorways I've noticed that it gets a bit 'light' at the front at higher speeds, and seems to be really sensitive to crosswinds/turbulence from other vehicles. I don't remember this being really noticeable before - the car now feels a bit skittish and not as solid in a straight line. It's a similar feeling to the car pulling to one side, except that it's not just one side! It pulls left and right - whether it's just wind or camber/undulations in the road or what, it just feels so much more sensitive.

I'm wondering if the slightly higher ride height at the front could be messing up the aerodynamics a bit at high speed, and giving this 'light' feeling through the steering...?

Or is this a symptom of something else (I didn't change strut top bearings or any other components when having FSD's fitted)? Could something be loose?

Or is this normal?! I kind of miss the solidity of the old set up a bit...!

The other thing is that my pesky 'clunk' has returned when going over speed bumps etc. Just on driver's side... :(

Any thoughts...?

Cheers, Jon
 
I suspect it's something else. OTOH, I know someone who'd really, really like pics of your car after the operation, especially if you've got some "before" ones, too....

Did you change all the parts at the same time? or just the shocks?

Bret
 
Jon

I too have just had the Koni FSD upgrade fitted, together with Weitec 30/30 springs and ALL the replacement parts Schnelletrecker advised in his very extensive postings re. upgrading the A2's suspension.

After fitting the FSD/Weitec combo my initial reaction on driving the car was, "is that all? ... so, what's all the fuss about? ... seems to be SFA difference for £750+".

However, in stark contrast with your experience, having just come back from a blast to and around N. Wales over the weekend the transformation of my car's handling performance is dramatic.

To illustrate:
1. when motorway cruising the car is now rock steady, even in the violent crosswinds we've had since last Friday when the upgrade was done.

2. paradoxically, the suspension is firm but also seems more compliant with what were previously jaw-jarring surface irregularities now being reduced to just audible background noises.

3. the car now does roundabouts and sweeping bends as though 'on rails'.

4. overall, the car's handling seems much more confident and stable.

5. 'silent policemen' are now just gentle bumps.

There is, however, one downside - I wish my car had sports seats as my arse now needs to be velcroed down to enjoy the full benefit of my car's superior handling.

Conclusion re. your issues and advice for anyone having this upgrade done?

1. Don't stick with the standard springs. Make sure you fit Weitecs, or similar. I would recommend that, if using Weitecs, go for the 30/00 version because the net lowering of the rear suspension comes to minus 40mm rather than the 30mm one would expect with the 30/30 combo.

2. Anyone undertaking this upgrade should fit ALL the bits Schnelletrecker recommends to avoid the potential negative side effects of mixing new and worn parts.
 
Thanks alanm, I'm definitely not getting the 'on rails' handling that you describe, so will have to explore further. It has been really windy over the last few weeks, and I did think that this might have had something to do with it, but your experience says otherwise. It only becomes noticeable at higher speeds, really.

I should have done the whole Weitec thing at the time, but more fool me for trying to save a few bob...! Might be something to look into over the next few months...

Brett, I posted a before and after pic here a while ago: http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9568&page=13

The raising is only slightly noticeable, but not enough to look freakish in my opinion...

30/00's might go on the wish list though...

Jon
 
Have you checked the tyre pressures? also check all the wheel nuts are actually tight - a few years ago my car threw a wheel nut and then managed to loosen 3 of the others over the course of one journey due to the poor tightening - the car started to feel very very vague so I stopped and immediately saw the problem.
Failing that, dare I suggest whether the garage hasn't put everything back together properly?

I'll be doing a Weitec 30/30 with the FSD just as soon as I can find a local mechanic/garage in my area (South West London) who seems to have some reasonable ability/reputation... Have already ordered up the replacement spare/perishable parts...
 
My experiences echo alanm's too. I was thinking what have I just wasted my cash on when I drove off, but after 10 mins, a few roundabouts and bends and a couple of hard accelerations/brakings later, you realise what has happened to the car. It is tighter, smoother, quieter, more stable, less noisy and crashy... compliant without being sloppy and bouncy. It is a good combo for sure. I am glad I did the fsd/weitec package to mine. I can't see how they could be fitted incorrectly, so maybe the FSDs need a good set of lowering springs to work with. I can't comment as I have not had standard springs on with my FSDs, sorry.

Changing the rear springs is allegedly really easy and almost do-able yoruself if you have a couple of jacks. It would mean shelling out to have the front two springs changed again I guess. Good luck.

I very rarely have mine fully loaded so the 30/30 is good for me. You may find the 30/00 better if you regularly have full loads/people on board.

Cheers,
 
Brabazon said:
Thanks alanm, I'm definitely not getting the 'on rails' handling that you describe, so will have to explore further. It has been really windy over the last few weeks, and I did think that this might have had something to do with it, but your experience says otherwise. It only becomes noticeable at higher speeds, really.

I should have done the whole Weitec thing at the time, but more fool me for trying to save a few bob...! Might be something to look into over the next few months...

Brett, I posted a before and after pic here a while ago: http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9568&page=13

The raising is only slightly noticeable, but not enough to look freakish in my opinion...

30/00's might go on the wish list though...

Jon
Click to expand...


Hey Jon i ordered my weitecs from this company last week they said 3-5 days delivery from manufacture so should get them this week, then just got to save up for the rest of the stuff, seen one of the techs at work who normally services my car and he said about £80 to fit them (FSD's, weitecs and all the rest ) so pretty good i thought i would help so could get the price down, thats based on 4 hrs labour

http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/products/product_info.mhtml?product=3875175

this link is for the 30/00 i think they do do the 30/30's

Cheers Phil
 
Thanks Phil,

I had my eye on that link a while ago - should have forked out the extra at the time... :(

If anyone has handy links to where you can source bump stops, top strut bearings and the other things on Schnelletrecker's list that would be a useful resource on the forum too. I spotted top strut bearings on ebay a while back, but the seller didn't reply to my question...

Jon
 
Jon

I ordered all the bits from my local Audi dealers and they arrived the next day. They are stock items and most are common to those on the VW Polo.
 
It sounds a bit strange and if you also get the 'clunk', it could be something else?

Under strong side wind, the car isn't better or worse before and after FSD. It is a tall car and will always be affected somewhat, no suspension can fix that.

But the car is very stable at high speed, I can testify that at Snetterton track, which has straights long enough even my 1.4 petrol A2 gets to 90+mph. However, the car is very unstable under braking from that speed, I had to keep it dead straight and not do any trail-braking at all. Other high speed FSD characteristics is that it loves long bends at 80-90mph!

BTW, I'm with standard springs too!
 
Yes, it has been very windy here and yes my A2 has been blown about. I cannot say that my A2 was good in strong cross winds at speed before fitting the Konis. It is certainly no worse since having them fitted.

Clunk sounds from the front suspension are a common experience of mine. Drop links and ARB bushes seem to wear out after several tens of thousands of miles. Drop links are relatively inexpensive to fix. There is also an inexpensive fix for ARB bushes using Polo parts if I remember right?

I suggest you get the clunk investigated. Your next MOT test might reveal the source. I would wait and see if the Konis settle down before changing to lower springs, but lowering does seen to help when windy.

John.
 
I think the clunk might be ARB or drop link related. Am going to jack it up this weekend and have a good root around, although I've had it checked over in the past and it was ok. I thought the FSD's had cured it - it's certainly not as bad as it was - but it's still irritating me a bit...

Car sailed through the MOT the week after FSD's fitted, so it can't be something too noticeable...
 
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