So after a quick chat with DPM performance the other week a little gift turned up for me today!!!!!

On last MOT it flagged up a slight leak on passenger front shock and therefore was perfect excuse to get a full set of Bilstein B4 sports . Didn't really wanna go lower just replace with something a little more purposeful and these seem to get a pretty good review! Twice thickness of the standards on further inspection so should help once on! Unfortunately Bilstein have a back log on rears so only fronts at the mo and rears in hopefully about 4 weeks!

So a pre pod update. Had a little play and trial fit today of the slicks after having them fitted and balanced last week. Played about with tyre pressure too and I think I may need to refine this further on the day depending on how the runs go and traction etc! Also just to make sure nothing is catching as the 235 slicks do have quite a bit more poke! If it does nothing else it adds to the fun

I am fortunate to have a long private drive so was able to run up to make sure all is well. First pressure was at about 25lb which was slightly too low I think so took her to 29 which seems ok but as said may need adjusting on the day!? We'll just have to wait and see. Unfortunately broke a socket on the breaker bar but big bro came to the rescue with a new half inch drive socket so all is good!

Just got to clean her up tomorrow now and hope weather holds!!

Ok so thought I'd do a brief overview of Spring fest as well as an update on how she went on Sunday !

I've been to this show for years now and always enjoy being at the Pod. I think as I've got older I've become less interested in the static shows and spent more of my time at race tracks/Motorsport events where you can see some beautiful cars but still see some of that performance actually being used which Spring fest falls into.

It was definitely busier this year with some large club displays (Cupar.net and Vagtuning to name 2 big ones) and there was a ever expanding show and shine display, plus more cars running the strip than last year! Last year I managed 7 runs against 5 this year in more time!! Good for spectators though! It was nice to see some well executed cars in the show and shine but it seems to be more and more new metal with air and wheels-which IMO is not really showing much effort! For me it would be all about a well put together mk2 golf that's seen 25 years plus of wear and still in great condition! Anyhow on the strip Rtech and dark side were well represented as usual as were VWDRC and there were a handful of road going daily cars pushing some very quick times in the 12's!! All in all a good quality show and always good to see fireforce do its thing -running a 5.7 1/4 on Sunday !

So some data from my day! I took the slicks to use and kids seats out (actually minimal weight but didn't want stuff rattling around) as well as space saver. The day was cold, frost on fields on way up, at about -.5 on first thing and got to about 10 so a really cool day. Positive was the head wind was minimal which can be a bit of a bugger at the Pod at times because it's so open. First 4 runs were on the slicks with an initial run on 14.89, slightly slower than my previous best, but a better terminal speed of 97 -4 miles quicker than last time when I put in a run .2 sec quicker which shows the difference a bad head wind can make !(which was the case last year) . I did struggle to hook the slicks up and keep any kind of heat in them due to the strip being busy, even though I was giving them a good burn in the trough on route to the start -which made her squirm her way up to the Christmas tree!! My best on the slicks returned a 14.62 -fractionally better than my previous 14.68! So for the sake of comparison I changed back to my bridge stones for what was my final run of the day. Getting on the launch control can be trickier than you think as in my personal experience you ideally need to stage before the other guy to buy you the precious seconds to engage launch. Managed to get a decent launch on this run, traction off and In sport mode ( which seems best option although I'm yet to try in manual mode) and managed to put in a pass of 14.29 with terminal of 98! Personal best and really happy with the result. Ultimately I think the day was too cold for slicks, the car just didn't work well with them but I did manage more consistent times than last year with 4 of the 5 runs in 14's although I struggled to nail a decent reaction time with all being .7-.8 as compared to gaining a few .4 's last year and a personal best of .2's!

Ultimately whenever I go up the strip I'm only ever racing myself and I think with a bit more practice with the car and better reaction times I can maybe shave a bit more time of that still but very happy as is for a big old family hack fully loaded with all the modern comforts and beat a few cars I expected not too-notably a stage 2 golf 20v turbo and a hybrid Ibiza tdi which bogged badly from the start-always interesting to see your results vs other metal

Last mention I must make (and to bring reality back to what really is bloody fast) my brothers ed30 running that day-stripped seats and Kevlar bucket, 460 Bhp/ 440 lb running a 12.2 @ an eye watering 121 terminal speed in a road going golf!!!

Anyway quick snap of el Diablo Blanco in the fire up lane

So little update on the suspension build. Whilst under the car realised the drop links were pretty likely the originals (and welded tight) so decided to change for new ones along with top mount bearings. Thought if putting some decent shocks on might as well make everything else nice and new as well!

So front bilsteins, drop links and top mounts on

I must admit before even getting rear sorted (which is probably the worse end) the car feels more connected with the road now. There is a hump back bridge I travel occasionally that always produces a considerable wheel hop even at low speed-so tried it out on the new front end and significantly reduced , more feel and connection so looking forward to getting rear done now to see how the whole package does

Next rear bilsteins n new bump stops when they arrive!

So been a while since I've updated this but been up to my eyes in work following a promotion and having bought a third car(206 Rolland Garros paid peanuts for ftw) I've not used it as much!

Anyhow rear bilsteins and bump stops fitted a couple of weeks ago and now the whole car feels considerably better! Suspension feels tight yet comfortable, corners and bumps absorbed much better and handles very well! Very happy with the choice and worth the price!

To be honest for the amount of cash I've spent on the upgrades on the suspension I could of got a cheap coil over kit with change ! However it was never about lowering and so if you are looking for better handling without lowering or compromising on the ride I'd recommend the Bilstein set up all day long!!

Might now try and get up to gti festival with her if work allows!!