Progress Thread - My vRS so far

[saint1d]

Magifoam works a treat and is biodegradeable. Better than other foams I've tried. Not used Bilthamber so cant comment on it.

[Scott Howie]

what kind of fitment does yours need? autobrite do loads of connectors

[mike07vrs]

Thanks for the suggstion mate.

Scott there isn't a connector type available for the Stihl PW unfortunately, about the only type the HD lance wont fit

[mike07vrs]

Well this weekend I wont be driving the vRS, instead i'm insured on my dads 08' BMW 320d for the trip to Goodwood Revival. I can see myself wanting to change a few things after driving the BMW, primarily the steering wheel as mine seems bland and boring when compared to the M Sport one he has, i'm thinking Audi S Line or S3 if I can source one. Will probably do the short shift mod as well as from what I've read its easy to do and makes a big difference. Also next week once i'm back i'll book the car in for a 4 wheel alignment and see if the garage will adjust the coilovers as well just to save me the hassle of doing it.

[saint1d]

Is the beemer standard?

[mike07vrs]

Is the beemer standard?

Yeah with the M Sport package, very smooth acceleration though I did miss the vRS

[mike07vrs]

As some of you may have noticed I was doing really well not spending any money on the car this month, all I had planned on doing was getting a 4 wheel alignment done (£66) however during the alignment it came to light that both my console bushes have failed (explain the squeaking noise i've been hearing) so i've bought Superpro bushes;

Front Wishbone Front Bushes

Front Wishbone Rear Bushes

22mm FARB bushes

Just bought all the bushes for the front end as I was going to do it at some point anyway, i'll be buying the rear beam bush next month along with the dogbone mount.

The 2 wishbone bushes cost £111.45, ARB bush was £25.80.

I'll post a picture of the alignment test results later.

[TimVRS12]

As some of you may have noticed I was doing really well not spending any money on the car this month, all I had planned on doing was getting a 4 wheel alignment done (£66) however during the alignment it came to light that both my console bushes have failed (explain the squeaking noise i've been hearing) so i've bought Superpro bushes;

Front Wishbone Front Bushes

Front Wishbone Rear Bushes

22mm FARB bushes

Just bought all the bushes for the front end as I was going to do it at some point anyway, i'll be buying the rear beam bush next month along with the dogbone mount.

The 2 wishbone bushes cost £111.45, ARB bush was £25.80.

I'll post a picture of the alignment test results later.

Bloody hell, what's wrong with the Cupra ones?!

[mike07vrs]

Bloody hell, what's wrong with the Cupra ones?!

That was for the front and rear bushes. I've heard the SuperPro are better and easier to fit.

[TimVRS12]

That was for the front and rear bushes. I've heard the SuperPro are better and easier to fit.

For the price I'd hope they fitted themselves!

Cupra console (rear wishbone) only cost £15 for the pair.

[mike07vrs]

For the price I'd hope they fitted themselves!

Cupra console (rear wishbone) only cost £15 for the pair.

They come as two parts so fitting is apparently very easy.

I was reading through a thread last night which stated the FARB was 18mm thick not 22mm so I've emailed Awesome and asked them to change the order, fingers crossed they get my email before they dispatch

[mike07vrs]

Okay so Friday afternoon I started stripping down the front suspension ready for the replacement Superpro console and front wishbone bushes. Everything started off fine until it came to removing the 18mm bolt that goes through the wishbone into the console unit, it went from being pretty tight too completely solid. After a while I decided to stop and give it a go on Saturday (went to a Beer Festival ). Anyway got back on the job Saturday, should mention the bushes did not arrive so it was looking like I'd have to strip it all down and wait till Monday to replace the bushes (no big problem, just a bit of an inconvenience), my FARB bushes arrived, turns out they are 2mm too small so they need to go back, if Awesome will get back to me that is! Back onto the 18mm bolt, tried everything including the blowtorch but nothing worked then it sheared so this started an all new problem. Ended up removing the entire console unit from the car. Took close to an hour too drill out the bolt, went to the scrappies and got a replacement bolt so not a huge problem, at least I wasn't looking at having to replace the console unit *spoke too soon* .

The other side came apart without any trouble, the bushes arrived on Monday so set to work getting them fitted. Spent a good while faffing about until it was back together, went to tighten up the 18mm bolt, everything was going fine then it went loose, tightened it up, went loose again, the threads in the console unit were knackered. When we tried it on the bench we tightened the bolt all the way into the console however when the wishbone is in place only an inch worth of the threads in the console unit is used, these ones were ruined hence why it wouldn't tighten. So another spanner thrown into the works!

Decided to rebuild the other side and deal with the problem later, however exactly the same thing happened to the apparently "good" console unit, this leads me to believe that whoever replaced the bushes previously has crossthreaded the bolt (easy to do since its a fine thread bolt). So I have two console units with ruined threads. I either buy new ones or try something different. Decided instead of forking out a probable £200ish my dad and I would retap the holes to M12 x 1.5 course thread and get some longer (20mm longer) high tensile bolts and use them. The only ones my dad could get are allen head with a chamfer so he machined up special washers for them so they dont dig into when tightened.

Hopefully this should solve the problem and save me a few £££'s instead of replacing the parts. Simple job turned into a bit of a nightmare.

Anyway after that long spiel heres some photos I took along the way;

Sheared bolt

Console Unit & Wishbone removed

Space where they should be

Console bush not under load

Console bush under load

Remains of the console bushes

Easiest way I found to remove the front wishbone bush was to use a hacksaw or if your lazy (like me) a grinder and chop one side off then push out

Remains of the front bushes

I decided whilst the wishbones were off to give them a clean, remove the rust and respray.

And another thing I managed to break

I'll get photos off the new bushes etc up tomorrow with hopefully some of the console units, wishbones and everything else back in place!

[DanGum]

Sounds a horrible job mate lol. Few cans of beer needed afterwards i expect!

[Fabia_19]

Gutted for you!!! Doesn't look like a quick job! :(

[TimVRS12]

I feel for you mate. Had the feeling too many times where everything goes wrong!

Hope you get it all sorted.

[mike07vrs]

Sounds a horrible job mate lol. Few cans of beer needed afterwards i expect!

Gutted for you!!! Doesn't look like a quick job! :(

I feel for you mate. Had the feeling too many times where everything goes wrong!

Hope you get it all sorted.

Cheers Guys, its been a nasty job but it could have been a lot worse to be fair, however its all sorted now

[mike07vrs]

Okay so i'll pick up where I roughly left off.

Heres a few pictures of the new high tensile bolts with custom washers.

New vs Old

Washer

SuperPro Bushes

Refitting it all did not take long and was fairly straight forward.

The new bolts go much further than the originals but do not interfere with the wishbone.

The difference they've made to the cars handling is unbelievable, I know my old console bushes were ruined but the car feels completely planted and the steering is excellent, it goes exactly where you want without any play. I'm planning on replacing my dogbone mount and rear beam bushes with SuperPro equivalents in the next couple of weeks as well as hopefully changing my FARB bushes however i'm still waiting to hear back from Awesome GTI if they'll accept my return in exchange for bigger bushes. Then it'll be decision time, 312mm brakes or remap, feel free to offer up an oppinion!

Lastly a few shots of engine bay after I gave it a quick clean, pretty much happy with the way it is right now.

[grr666]

Cars looking great Mike!

Very jealous of your workshop too :yes:

[TimVRS12]

Top work mate!

312mm brakes > Remap.

[mike07vrs]

Cars looking great Mike!

Very jealous of your workshop too :yes:

Thanks Garry, to make you a little more jealous, its being extended. It'll have enough room for 6 more cars and a car lift

Top work mate!

312mm brakes > Remap.

Thanks Tim, I think thats what i'll probably end up doing.

[Huxley vRS]

Good progress mate!

[mike07vrs]

Good progress mate!

Thanks mate appreciate it

Just noticed that I was under the impression I'd bought SuperPro console bushes and front wishbone bushes, this isn't the case its actually Powerflex ones! Guess thats what happens when your going between a few different sites looking for the cheapest Either way there still superb!

[Fabia_19]

Got the job done quickly

Engine bay looks top class!

[saint1d]

Good job done. Had Powerflex bushes fitted to my wife's old Ford Puma a few years back, the difference in handling was fantastic.

[Dark_Hero]

Nice work mate. I've got the powerflex ones myself and theyre superb. Good to see your car's fixed now :-)