I\'m not too happy with the way my Passat behaves on rough roads - at the NSL it tends to be fairly bouncy/wallowy with too much tilt/lean on sharp bends, and has even scraped the ground, which is obviously not something I want to happen again. New shocks all round (fitted FOC under used warranty) helped to reduce but not eliminate the yo-yo problem - dealership has since checked again but found no problems (so they say). Anyway, I reckon that if I want to keep the car I\'ll need to sort this out myself, but I don\'t feel I have enough basic knowledge about the way shocks, springs, bushes etc work - I\'ve come across various brand names (eg Koni, Bilstein) and ratings but have no real understanding of their meaning. I don\'t want to spend a few hundred just to ruin the ride of the car, don\'t want to lower it because I think that would make the problem worse. I\'m thinking stiffer springs, but I don\'t know if such a thing exists which will keep the ride height the same while delivering the improvements I\'m looking for within a reasonable budget.
So - two questions: can anyone suggest a cure, and does anyone know where I can educate myself a bit better about all this? I\'ve tried searching this site and the forum, tried the how stuff works site, tried a couple of others too but if it\'s there I must have missed it and I\'m starting to get square-eyed from staring at the screen too long!
Thanks in advance.
andymc
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PS it's a 1999 TDi Sport with 105k miles up and 1 month of used warranty left.
andymc
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I hate to be pessmistic but if you are thinking of changing suspension components on a Passat you need all sorts of special tools and gauges. Your shock absorbers were probably getting tired but the springs are probably past their best. Sport models tend to get hammered anyway, that's why people buy them in the first place. Unfortunately this model of Passat did wallow a lot. The 2001 on models were much improved. In addition the sports models featured lowered suspension to start with. This didn't do much for ground clearance.
You need to find a suspension/tuning specialist in your area. If you post the area that you live in I'm sure someone will be able to suggest such a specialist. You won't get much sense out of a VW dealer unless you are very lucky!
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Andy - find the local motor club, one that tends towards rallying/road rallying and find out who they recommend.
Modifying suspension characteristics is very much a problem of trial and error. I wouldn't even bother asking a local dealer, unless they ran a rally team !
My guess is you that you are already right, what you need is stiffer springs, and I can't think of any reason that means that you must drop the ride height -let us know how you get on
Mike
just 'cos I know what I'm saying doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about
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Don't think about taking any components from a post 2001 model, I've got a TDI 130 with sports suspension, still takes a long while to settle fore and aft if it gets upset and ground clearance is a problem.
I've just had a cat replaced as most of the baffles had detached, the garage put this down to speed bumps?
Shock absorbers seem about right, springs do seem a little on the soft side. If you can find someone knowledgeable in VW you might find they do uprated springs for the East European/African market where the roads aren't up to our standards.
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As BertJ says, originially Sport refered to just the trim, not to the suspension.
My '97TDi110 Sport never felt floaty or wallowy at that mileage; indeed, when I drove it again the other week (my wife has it now) at 140k+ on original dampers, whilst obviously softer, there was no 'yo-yo'ing' evident. If the nearside is worse than the offside, than that indicates a problem?
If you wish to go down the modififications route, I thought Peugeot and Jaguar showed that the way to go for both good handling and ride was to use softer srings with quality damping, (although when the Sport suspension package became available on the Passat, most of our fearless door-handling car magazine journalists recommended it over the std setup).
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Thanks to everyone for the answers - at least I have a slightly better understanding of the issues for this model of Passat. Problem isn't confined to one side only - car rides evenly (in a straight line at least!). If no comparitively cost-effective solution presents itself, it'll be time to trade for a Mondeo TDCi or a Rover 75 CDTi or something along those lines. This car's age and current value mean that it wouldn't be worth it to me to spend more than £700 in total improving it - that includes a possible ECU remap if cleaning the MAF doesn't improve the performance. I'll feed back any outcome on possible suspension upgrades - the fact that new shocks were fitted fairly recently means I might look at stiffer springs now, unless I can sell the current shocks second hand somehow. Pity I hadn't thought of the stiff shocks/soft springs idea at the time the work was done.
andymc
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Andy,
Might be worth checking the actual suspension set up of the car first. I've just replaced and upgraded the shocks on my 97 TDI Sport and after contacting VW directly were told that there were a number of variations of suspension fitted at that time. It turned out that my car had the standard set up! The shocks have definitely improved things a bit although having previously had a Leon it was a bit of a culture shock. Mind you compared to the way that our recently inherited Corsa 1.7d handles its a joy!
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As I recall, the biggest problem with Passat handling stems from the forward location of the engine, acting as a pendulum where its CofG is forward of the wheel centres.
I think the trade-in route may prove to be the best option.
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Andy,
Its all that amber fuel you carry in the boot. Its no wonder your ass is trailing the tarmac!!!!!
If you want to try to understand the physics involved check out
www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html?menu....l
I am in no way connected with the above - just sound information explained in a clear way....
Cheers,
Leon
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Heheh - thank gawd it's not, or I'd be rightly scuppered! Fortunately, I get to drive the Leon most of the time (had a nervous passenger the other day who brought out my evil side, bwahahahaha), but I'd like a more rewarding drive when SWMO fancies a bevvy or we're going on a longer journey, plus the ability to drive on bad road surfaces at more than 45 mph.
Thanks for that link, it's brilliant - just what I was looking for. In fact it could even be a useful addition to the site links here.
andymc
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