VRsCation

I have yes... a couple of niggles after I picked it up and dash rattles which took a few trips to solve.

Happy New year everyone. Well I have been thinking for a little bit now about the KW Variant 2 suspension I have on my car, the way the car handles is amazing when you are pushing on and the ability to adjust the height has already proven worth while now I have my 15" winter steelies fitted. What I have thought though is that seeing as in reality the car is actually getting driven by the missus to and from her work which is a 10 mile daily commute in slowish traffic over pot holes and drainage grates the suspension is actually proving to be a little bit wasted and tough on the spine. So if interested in getting your self a set of KW stainless Inox Variant 2's with adjustable rebound which are only 3 months old then let me know... they cost me near enough a grand so would like to think £750 would be a reasonable asking price. Obviously the suspension is still attached to the car at this point but I will get it removed within a week or so of someone showing genuine interest. I know this should end up in the classified section but as the parts are unique to the VRS estate Fab2 then I hope the admins don't look at me in a dim light.

I actually thought the standard suspension was rather soft! Certainly the car's composure through corners was a little wallowy so I fitted KW coilovers and a rear antiroll bar and it is now super firm and quite crashy but mega composed no mater what I do with the steering wheel. I guess its a case of what you have driven before and what kind of driving you do that will influence your thoughts of how a car rides.

I have a rattle on the bottom right hand side of the instrument binnacle, it will be going into the garage on Wednesday for the 2nd attempt to stop it! The cause I think is the instruments not been bolted/clipped into place tightly enough and the outer dash flexing on top of it. The drivers headrest when pulled out to the second click has a vibration noise coming from it..If I lean my head against it whilst driving it stops... I have dropped it to the 1st click and it seems to of stopped mind! I also have a slight high frequency rattle coming from the arm rest area... not located it exactly yet!) I get a fair bit of rattling from all 4 doors, this I think will only stop if they pulled apart and damping material stock onto them. I think my coilover suspension has accentuated a lot of this 'loose' trim noise and I look forward to seeing how the taller profile 15" winter tyres damp everything .

I am starting to really find the limits of the brakes now. more initial bite and high load power are needed for me to feel more confident I think. Pads will be getting changed once we see off the winter months.

I know Polybushes tighten everything up but do they also introduce more vibration into the chassis and therefore the cabin?

That's my aim too!

Excellent choice of car and colour, I think we should have a Green Estate meet set up at some point.. we are a growing breed of daring colour choosers!

Sorry Guys but won't be able to come down and meet you all now... I will try and make the next one though!

Now I have my coilovers and RARB fitted with approx 40mm drop my VRS estate is a lot more planted and the braking seems more sure footed in that there is a lot less weight transfer going on and that seems to keep the brake balance more neutral.

I look forward to seeing this!

I to have found 'S' mode a little pointless, the high revving constant throttle just seems to have the engine working a lot harder than it needs... the gearbox is so quick at picking another cog that I find I can be tootling along at 2000rpm in 'D' and then a quick flick on the paddles and I have full bore power in a split second. The full manual mode is great I find for getting a shift on, been able to engine brake and balance the car more through the throttle is great (my new suspension is greatly assisting this mind). In full manual I also like how it never bogs down if you are hard on the brakes and don't get the gear dropped in time, the car is always at the just about ready revs as it drops through the gears despite me controlling through the paddles. Does that make sense? The only annoying thing about the whole gearbox experience is that the paddles are a little hard to reach when the wheel is turned beyond 90°, I find I can't quite reach my fingers onto the paddle as I am pulling the wheel round. If the paddles were wider and a little more stuck out towards the rim I think that would solve the problem.

Bite the bullet and get the sat nav, it makes the dash feel a much posher thing to look at and it really is a nice bit of kit to use, I have the bluetooth and parking sensors and they all integrate into the screen beautifully.

And also from you guys over at Awesome, good to see you on the ball.

Fantastic response from Whiteline, this is why I got the Whiteline ARB for my car.. the Bwr19Z BTW! Customer service is what marks out the best products in my opinion!

I've often thought of doing this as I think the stereo sounds a lot better as well If the car is less tinny. How much has all the kit cost?

I think I shall be looking into that, I very much doubt a standard car comes out the factory perfectly balanced!

Where did you get the weighting done? was it expensive and what was involved?

Hi Pitbull, which pic to remove? And yea I need to edit the photos.

I know the vrs can drop to the 15" 195's I'm going to get some vag rims off eBay that a place is supplying brand new and fit my snowtracs that I ran on my stilo.

£90 fitting which was about 5 hours work all in too, I have a very good relationship with the garage mind! I imagine the estate is more aerodynamic compared to the hatch but handling should be fairly equal what with wheelbase and suspension having identical setups. I can't wait for the power mods now as I like to have something new to look forward to.

The car is dropped equal front and rear! It highlights how much more gap there is on the front arches. I think I will get the jack under the car this weekend and alter the rear height back up by 10mm, it may help reduce the slight twitchiness too. The ARB is set in medium for now, I thought that was the best place to start. Wibb, if you got your car done too then we will continue to look like twins!

Your right, the new parts have gone on and no computers have been plugged in to tell the car anything, I was half expecting a flash of some warning lights such as the ESP as it calibrated to the new balance but that didnt even happen!

Well here are some photos of my car with the before and after look of it having the coilover suspension fitted. Also I will update soon with a little report of how it is driving. Before: During: After: Initial sensations from driving the car are that it feels a lot lighter and more nimble, the turn in is so much faster that it almost feels nervous! The car is pretty much rock steady when braking and accelerating and only a sharp fast turn takes it from been dead flat and pushes the body over. I have only really had a short blast in the wet the other night and the roads were way to slippery to push it through any corners, the extra stiffness make the car feel a bit twitchy in fact! I need to do a few more miles as well as have the wheel alignment checked once I have let the springs settle in a bit... then I can give a proper test of the new set up. Has anyone else had such an upgrade done to their car yet? It would be good to know their experiences.