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danj.pdx

Strut/shock recommendation?

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danj.pdx

Hi,

 

I'm thinking about replacing the struts/shocks in my '92 1.6 GTi. Looking for recommendations on which direction to go.

 

I'd like to end up with stock or just a bit slightly firmer than stock ride & handling. I don't plan to go with coil-overs, stiffer springs or aftermarket swaybars. This is primarily a street car that may see a few laps at the track every now and then. I'd like to keep with the spirit and feel of the original setup.

 

Would you recommend:

  • OEM struts - brands like KYB, AL-KO, Marelli, etc.
  • Bilstein B4 or B6
  • Other?

 

Thanks in advance,

Dan.

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billybluesky

I fitted bilstein b6 's and found it transformed the handling  , maybe its just a personal thing .

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danj.pdx

Thanks for the input. With the B6 did you use stiffer springs & torsion bars, or standard, different bushings...any other changes besides the B6s? Is the ride still reasonably civilized on bumpy or pot-holed streets?

Again, thanks.

Dan.

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Daxed

billy is correct, it is personal, both in ride height looks, competence on track, fast road & keeping ones fillings in-situ  on the commute.

 

It's been so long since I've driven a car with A1 condition std setup that these comments should be taken accordingly.

 

I have B6 rears used in the most part with std TB's and ARB and for the last 3K with 25mm ARB & 21mm TB's, the rears originally had Koni yellow shocks and some sort of Koni springs I bought as a package and now  swapped out for Billie Grp N tarmac & Gramm springs (I'm heavier up front with a GTI-6).

 

Ride height here: kHfEWev.jpg

 

Car is my daily drive and is just about ok for an old man on UK roads when commuting, one of the finest mods I've made was swapping out Grp N top mount rubbers for std.

 

Track: I try to get out every month or two, the car is more capable than before, great fun and woefully inadequate compared to anything with a proper smooth surface track dedicated set-up. At my last day I had the privilege of passengering in a full set-up rally 1.6 (RAF boys you out there?), I had somewhere in the region of +140BHP on it, much better brakes & have no doubt it was a quicker than me. Couple of reasons though, I drive like Theresa May makes deals & I really REALLY don't want to stuff it.

 

Conclusions: No idea. As billie said it's personal, the money seems to be in std.

 

Whatever, just enjoy your brilliant car.

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welshpug

you mentioned oem then a few brand names, none of those are oem for a peugeot, peugeot made their own dampers!

 

my personal setup that I find works very well as a road car is Bilstein gravel dampers with 21mm torsion bars and a 22mm anti roll bar in the rear.  this I feel brings it a lot closer to how the 106 and 306 were set up as Standard, a slightly stiffer rear spring and roll without being excessive.

 

it is purely a road car, I dont personally feel the need to build a 'track car', you might as well build an actual race or rally car and compete if you wish to build a car for a specific purpose.

 

I think too many have slowly morphed perfectly capable road cars that would have done a trackday just fine, into a hugely compromised car that they eventually hate using on the road and barely use on track.

 

 

sorry for the rant, maybe:lol:

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Bakes100

As Welshpug says stiffening up the rear to that extent doesn't make it uncomfortable. I found the B6 front dampers to be superb and perfect for uprated road use however the rears are far too soft and I found myself bouncing along without pushing too hard. I run B6 dampers at the front with eibach 9001s and challenge spec dampers on the back which gives me the balance I'm looking for. B6s will also be fine with OEM springs.

 

I did run challenge spec on the front also however I found on the bumpy UK B roads it wasn't as predictable near the limit.

 

The B4 bilstein dampers are ok however if you subsequently then try a 205 with the B6 or challenge spec dampers your B4s will be up for sale...

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Tom Fenton
On 11/8/2018 at 8:41 PM, danj.pdx said:

 I'd like to keep with the spirit and feel of the original setup.

Bilstein B4 front dampers. Eibach springs. If you can get them OE 306 GTI6 rear dampers.

 

Don’t forget that your original dampers are well past their best so even standard replacements will be a marked improvement.

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danj.pdx

Thank you all for the input.

 

I've gone down the road of slowly converting a street car towards track day beast - and have walked over that line that one crosses as 'streetable' modifications give way to track oriented, then full on race car. Over the years I've built up a 944 that's street legal, but no longer something I want to jump into for a ride to the store. That may have something to do with manual steering & brakes, race seat, slicks, stripped interior, spherical bearing suspension, and a lumpy cammed LS v8. 

 

That said, fancy modern shocks - the 944 has Motion Control single adjustables - are actually pretty supple when dialed down to the soft settings. 

 

Based on input it's looking like the decision will come down to B4 or B6 Bilsteins. I'll let you know which direction I take things.

 

Again - thanks for all the input.

 

Dan.

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petert

Have you considered Spax?

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welshpug

probably the worst dampers I've experienced on a pug bar raceland ebay specials, Gaz were not much better, they just dont seem to get the damping right at all.

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Thijs_Rallye
On 11/10/2018 at 1:58 AM, welshpug said:

you mentioned oem then a few brand names, none of those are oem for a peugeot, peugeot made their own dampers!

Sachs and Boge were suppliers of Peugeot in that era. They most certainly didn't manufacture the dampers themselves.

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Andy

Lots of wise advice on here. For my road car setup, Bilstein B6 dampers all round, front springs are Eibach 7003 ( 7001 are also fine but about 10mm lower than the 7003’s) and standard rear bars . Result. Lovely to drive on the road and deals with bumps and poor road surfaces at least as well as our family BMW mini 

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Wallby

B6 dampers with Eibach 7001s on the front and Challenge rear shocks and standards bars on the back of my Rallye.

 

Fine on the road and great fun on track!

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danj.pdx

Follow up on this older topic.

 

I ended up installing B4 Bilsteins front and rear paired with the standard springs, as well as new strut bearings and aftermarket strut bushings. The combination feels right, although I've never driven an as-new GTi for comparison.

There were some knocking sounds coming from the front (on bumps) that I was having trouble chasing down. That turned out to be one or both of the sway bar drop links, so a new pair solved that problem.

 

Anyway - I really appreciate everyone's advice and input. The car got a fresh set of 15" Yokohama S-Drive tires (under $100 US each) and am totally happy with how the little Pug handles. What a fun little car.

 

Dan.

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dcc

For a road car the b4 and by are spot on. I think b8s drop the car a bit too much, which is often compensated for by using stiffer springs, ruins the road car aspect of them! 

 

Can't comment on those tyres, but glad to hear you made the right choice for you!

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205freak

I´ve struggling on which combo os shocks to buy, my set up for more than 10 years has been koni sport kit -40mm, need a change to something more road usable but keeping it lowered!
What are ppl thoughts on 306gti or zx 16v front dampers, bilstein b4 or the new koni str.t ??

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Andy

Bilstein B6 , Eibach 7001 or7003 springs , B6 rear dampers . For road use, job done .

Andy

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