Suspension Upgrades mk2

[bbob203]

What have you done to improve your stock suspension on your mk2? Im going to do some vr6 strut mounts and r32 rear control arm bushings. Ive got some clunking and rattling going on up there and its annoying. The oem suspension stuff on these cars last like ice in warm water. I got all the stuff for the vr6 mounts at the junkyard for like 8bucks just have to replace the rubber donuts and the bearings.

[jboogie13]

ive got some koni yellows w/adjustable rebound on neuspeed springs from an a3. its a much more "stout" feeling ride, but i like it. shes getting all new strut mounts soon, and when i feel like dropping the subframe again poly sway bar bushings.

[bbob203]

As far as i can tell Running poly rear control arm bushings is a bad idea unless your car is lowered and your control arms are parallel to the ground. But the front control arm bushings it seems like running them is beneficial from longevity stand point. A lot of places are selling kits that mix the rear r32 with front poly bushing. Seems like the r32 solid rubber bushings are the best way to go if your at stock ride height. Haven't found any conclusive info on wether or not poly is a good decision on the sway bar links and bushings on stock ride height. I don't imagine it would be very problematic on a daily driver with stock right height though. The reason that the poly bushings can problematic is that they are stiff and the outside circumference doesn't want to move relative to a fixed center hole thats why they work better on a lowered car.


I think my final front end setup will be
r32 rear control arm bushings poly fronts
poly sway bar links and bushings
vr6 heavy duty strut mounts and bearings

Hopefully this will cure my clunking and keep it away for awhile..

[bbob203]

Can anyone tell me what size my sway bar is on a 91 jet 1.6? 17mm or 19mm?

[jboogie13]

not sure, i dont plan on changing the rear bushings until i absolutely have to. My car is lowered so anything stiffer is better. im young and dont care about a comfortable ride yet so racecar is it . not sure on swaybar size, but i can crawl under mine right quick when i get home. willing to be its 17mm though

[bbob203]

any experience with REAR sway bars on an mk2?

[R.O.R-2.0]

any experience with REAR sway bars on an mk2?

all mk2s after like 88 or 89 came with rear sways as standard..

my 92 Jetta GL has one in the DRUM REAR BEAM..

[bajacalal]

any experience with REAR sway bars on an mk2?

The rear sway bar (the one that's integrated into the subframe) does make a difference.

I put one on my car and it sure sticks to the road, I've never been able to break the tires loose, and it corners without a lot of body roll.

I also have stiffer struts than stock and wider tires than stock.

[bbob203]

Mine definitely doesn't have one. Baja which one did you use?

[R.O.R-2.0]

any experience with REAR sway bars on an mk2?

The rear sway bar (the one that's integrated into the subframe) does make a difference.

I put one on my car and it sure sticks to the road, I've never been able to break the tires loose, and it corners without a lot of body roll.

I also have stiffer struts than stock and wider tires than stock.

its integrated into the rear axle beam, not the rear sub frame.. a mk2 VW doesnt even have a rear sub frame technically.. thats probably what you meant tho..

its AMAZING the difference when you go from having no sway bars, then you upgrade to a rear bar, then finally upgrading to front AND rear sway bars.. then the car REALLY sticks to the road.

Mine definitely doesn't have one. Baja which one did you use?

probably the OEM one integrated into the rear beam.. i do believe you can remove them from one axle, and install it into another..

if i were you, i would just find a rear beam with disk brakes, and swap the whole thing in.. all of my mk2 cars have GTI/GLI disk rear beams.. i prefer the GTI/GLI beams over the regular golf/jetta beams because of the extra 1.5" of wheelbase.. the GTI/GLI beam is longer from the mounting hole in the bushing, to the spindle nut.. it makes the rear tire sit centered in the rear fender when you drop the car a bit..

[bajacalal]

Mine definitely doesn't have one. Baja which one did you use?

They're found in the GTI/GLI models only.

its AMAZING the difference when you go from having no sway bars, then you upgrade to a rear bar, then finally upgrading to front AND rear sway bars.. then the car REALLY sticks to the road.

I'm not sure what size my front sway bar is... it there that much difference between the 17 mm and 19 mm units?

i do believe you can remove them from one axle, and install it into another..

I think it's welded on... I'm not sure though, and I guess welds can be removed.

But the easiest thing to do, by far, is to remove the entire axle assembly from the donor car, with everything attached- brakes, e-brake cables, etc... It's only a couple bolts and it doesn't weigh that much.

if i were you, i would just find a rear beam with disk brakes, and swap the whole thing in.. all of my mk2 cars have GTI/GLI disk rear beams.. i prefer the GTI/GLI beams over the regular golf/jetta beams because of the extra 1.5" of wheelbase.. the GTI/GLI beam is longer from the mounting hole in the bushing, to the spindle nut.. it makes the rear tire sit centered in the rear fender when you drop the car a bit..

I never actually realized that it affected the wheelbase. After I did the swap, somebody who has seen the car many times pointed out that he thought the rear wheels looked like they sat differently in the fender wells. I told him he must have been spending too much time with a bong in his hand.

[bbob203]

some mk2's had 19mm some had 17mm front sway bars. don't know why but all companies stock different size and say to make sure you order correctly.

[R.O.R-2.0]

Mine definitely doesn't have one. Baja which one did you use?

They're found in the GTI/GLI models only.

its AMAZING the difference when you go from having no sway bars, then you upgrade to a rear bar, then finally upgrading to front AND rear sway bars.. then the car REALLY sticks to the road.

I'm not sure what size my front sway bar is... it there that much difference between the 17 mm and 19 mm units?

i do believe you can remove them from one axle, and install it into another..

I think it's welded on... I'm not sure though, and I guess welds can be removed.

But the easiest thing to do, by far, is to remove the entire axle assembly from the donor car, with everything attached- brakes, e-brake cables, etc... It's only a couple bolts and it doesn't weigh that much.

if i were you, i would just find a rear beam with disk brakes, and swap the whole thing in.. all of my mk2 cars have GTI/GLI disk rear beams.. i prefer the GTI/GLI beams over the regular golf/jetta beams because of the extra 1.5" of wheelbase.. the GTI/GLI beam is longer from the mounting hole in the bushing, to the spindle nut.. it makes the rear tire sit centered in the rear fender when you drop the car a bit..

I never actually realized that it affected the wheelbase. After I did the swap, somebody who has seen the car many times pointed out that he thought the rear wheels looked like they sat differently in the fender wells. I told him he must have been spending too much time with a bong in his hand.

no sir.. the GTI/GLI rear beam is longer by ~1.5"

the location of the rear tires changed on both of my mk2 cars, with the beam swap..

your friend may have indeed been spending too much time with the bong, but he was still right.. lol.