i've just had a "quick blast" out in the car... by that i mean one of those last minute decisions to turn down a nice country road.. anyway, the steering on the car is usually ok under normal driving circumstances, but when i decided to turn into colin mcrae and take the bends a bit fast, the steering was very very slow to respond..

the oil is ok, PAS pump drive belt is ok, there are no oil leaks from the steering ram, pipes etc, so i'm left wondering why the steering felt heavy in places, and is this a common feeling amongst other Vrs owners..

andy

Have you checked your tyre pressures recently?

yes mate, just done it now and they are ok

you say "ok" the book pressures are not the best pressures for the car.

I think they did a lame estimate when making the sticker on the pump flap.

I'd say 36-38 psi on the front and 32 - 34 on the rears.

1st set of Tyres I had were ran on the official figures (32 front 30 back I think) and front tyres were worn badly on the edges at 8k miles

2nd set of tyres I am using 36 psi and they have worn very evenly and at 13k miles and still going strong. ame tyres just different pressures.

I use to run 215/40/R17 on the front of the astra coupe at around 34-36psi and rears at 30-32.

Depends what size wheels are on the VRS? 17's? As a rough figure i've been told to use double of what the wheel size is.

Another vote for between 36 and 38psi on the fronts here. At this current time I'm running 37 and the tyres are wearing perfectly.

you say "ok" the book pressures are not the best pressures for the car.

I think they did a lame estimate when making the sticker on the pump flap.

I'd say 36-38 psi on the front and 32 - 34 on the rears.

1st set of Tyres I had were ran on the official figures (32 front 30 back I think) and front tyres were worn badly on the edges at 8k miles

2nd set of tyres I am using 36 psi and they have worn very evenly and at 13k miles and still going strong. ame tyres just different pressures.

Never thought of that my fronts did wear out pretty quick on stock pressures and most of the wear was on the shoulders..

i've got mine at 32 all round. gonna pump em up to 36 at front and 32 at rears, and see what that does... perhaps it just me being picky about the steering... just had the fabia back out now and it seems to be different every time you drive.. but i'm just a moaning ****.... plus the roads around wakefield/leeds are crap at the best of times!

just had the fabia back out now and it seems to be different every time you drive..

I find that too - Sometimes the whole car feels leaden and sluggish, and sometimes it just flies!

its a weird feeling... do you find that you never seem the have the same driving position??? i'm forever adjusting my seat, and when i'm finally comfy, the next day when i get in, it feels completely different... i also find the car doesnt like bumpy roads!!! by that i dont mean big potholes, but just the normal roads.. yes, the suspension si good, but the car bangs and rattles alot!

its a weird feeling... do you find that you never seem the have the same driving position??? i'm forever adjusting my seat, and when i'm finally comfy, the next day when i get in, it feels completely different... i also find the car doesnt like bumpy roads!!! by that i dont mean big potholes, but just the normal roads.. yes, the suspension si good, but the car bangs and rattles alot!

Bang and rattles, drop links, ARB and or consule bushes. Would explain the iffy steering.

PAS pump doesn't have a drive belt it's electro mechanical, I think you may be confusing the air con pump for the PAS pump. That pump can demand 60 amps at times, so make sure your battery is good.

yeah i have just realised is electro/hydraulic... that could explain why it went heavy, probably the pump trying to keep up cos i was going thru a nice chicane! battery is brand new so it should be ok.. as for the suspension bushes, can anyone reccomend the best place to buy upgraded ARB bushes EG the whiteline ones?

I know it's difficult when your eyes are glued to the road during enthusiastic driving (as they should be!) but are you sure you didn't get steering warning light flashing briefly. These cars are pretty common for naff steering angle sensors. It would be worth having the ECU read for any fault codes, and even better to have a live scan done with VAGCOM to make sure the pump is receiving the correct signals.

i didnt notice anything, but i had a dash full of lights... tracky control was turned off, low washer botle warning was on, and low fuel light was on!!!

yeah i have just realised is electro/hydraulic... that could explain why it went heavy, probably the pump trying to keep up cos i was going thru a nice chicane! battery is brand new so it should be ok.. as for the suspension bushes, can anyone reccomend the best place to buy upgraded ARB bushes EG the whiteline ones?

There's all manner of people on here who can source and fit uprated bushes, have a look in the Site Partners section of the forum.

SEAT Cupra console bushes and a set of Polyurethane (Powerflex or similar) ARB bushes are what you need. The Poly bushes do creak a bit though!

what are the console bushes? ARB bushes are no problem to do, but i'm unsure of what the console bushes are

what are the console bushes? ARB bushes are no problem to do, but i'm unsure of what the console bushes are

Console bushes are the bit the rear end of the wishbone fits into. The bushes are 'voided' to give slightly less road noise, but they tend to fail at about 30,000 miles. The SEAT Cupra bushes are solid so last a lot longer. Not the easiest of jobs, as you need to make up spacers and threaded rod to pull the new bushes into the console.

There's an excellent DIY how to in the reference section.

i think that'll be a job for whilst i'm at work.. got all the gear a HGV garage needs, so some of it might come in handy for doing those bushes... then again, might be just as cheap to have someone else do them.. i hate working on cars!!! how much are you looking at for a set of console bushes?

Console ones are about £7 each.

can you pick them up from VW dealers?? there is a VW dealership bout 2 mins from my house?

I think you can adjust the steering weight via vag com