K20205 5 Posted November 1, 2020 I just lowered the rear of my 205, the rear end is solid now there is no travel, what can be the cause of this? when i jack it up the wheels travel up but when its on the floor the rear wont travel at all, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allanallen 528 2 Cars Posted November 1, 2020 Too low at a guess, sat on bump stops and/or the damper is fully compressed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jord294 87 Posted November 1, 2020 1 hour ago, K20205 said: I just lowered the rear of my 205, the rear end is solid now there is no travel, what can be the cause of this? when i jack it up the wheels travel up but when its on the floor the rear wont travel at all, Lowered too much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 1, 2020 17 minutes ago, jord294 said: Lowered too much. Would it cause any issues? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,621 Posted November 1, 2020 very little grip Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allanallen 528 2 Cars Posted November 2, 2020 If it didn’t cause issues cars wouldn’t have suspension! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,621 Posted November 2, 2020 probably handles like a gokart. i.e s*ite. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Telf 222 2 Cars Posted November 2, 2020 I'm always puzzled by the requirement to mess with ride height. The design engineers must have been onto something when they designed the GTI. Handles great but still it gets messed with. I just don't get it . Not just with the 205 but most cars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barneys66 120 1 Cars Posted November 2, 2020 12 minutes ago, Telf said: Not just with the 205 but most cars. Most cars look better lowered Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Telf 222 2 Cars Posted November 2, 2020 Just now, barneys66 said: look Well thats OK then. My car looks nice if I don't drive it 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 3, 2020 The height was already played around with, one side was lower than the other, i tried to correct this but i must have lowered it too much now, Next week im just going raise it and hope its all level. does the arb need to come out or just remove the 13mm bolt and that it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,000 Posted November 3, 2020 The ARB doesn't need to come out, but probably easiest to take it out as you've no idea if it's been put together with the two end plates aligned or not, and if the ARB is pre-loaded it'll mess with ride height and handling. By far the easiest way to set the beam height and make sure it's the same on both sides is to use a dummy shock - which could be as simple as a length of wood with two holes in a set distance apart. Are you still running standard 19mm 205 GTi torsion bars? If so, 322mm between holes is standard height, and somewhere in the region of 315-310mm works for lowered cars, depending how long you want it (shorter distance equals lower). Uprated/thicker torsion bars need to be set at a shorter distance for a given ride height. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 3, 2020 The rear is totally standard as far as im aware. ill just make a dummy damper and place that in there and adjust accordingly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Telf 222 2 Cars Posted November 3, 2020 7 minutes ago, K20205 said: ill just make a dummy damper and place that in there and adjust accordingly Thats how I set mine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 14, 2020 Ive been to the garage this week and i have managed to raise the rear but there is still no travel when the car is on its own weight, does the rear arb need to be pre loaded when the rear is in the air or should it be set when all four wheels are on the ground,? when lifting the rear there is travel going up but when its down it really stiff? I also had a hard time fitting on of the arb plates on as one side didnt line up? its got koni rear adjustable dampers would that have anything to do with it being so stiff? i uploaded a video of me jacking the rear up and have a look at the rear travel. https://streamable.com/18d8wy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,621 Posted November 14, 2020 there should not be any preload in the arb, if the bolt will not go in the hole easily then the height of the arms is not equal. koni dampers are decent, can be a little stiff if adjusted to extremes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 14, 2020 (edited) 34 minutes ago, welshpug said: there should not be any preload in the arb, if the bolt will not go in the hole easily then the height of the arms is not equal. koni dampers are decent, can be a little stiff if adjusted to extremes. I just read on one of the topics about why it wont line up and i found out to be that the arb bracket has a groove on one side and on my one someone had played around with them, i redone it by setting the groove facing the 8mm bole hole location and refitted; it now lined up but its still the same, can there be too much load on the torsion bars? What if i remove them and refit it? Would it release the tension? the back end has been played around with too much and im starting to doubt that it can ever be back to normal again. Edited November 14, 2020 by K20205 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,621 Posted November 14, 2020 unless its bent it can always go back to normal, you fit the arb when the arms are under no load after fitting the torsion bars, so should be even either side if assembled competently. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 14, 2020 29 minutes ago, welshpug said: unless its bent it can always go back to normal, you fit the arb when the arms are under no load after fitting the torsion bars, so should be even either side if assembled competently. Tomorow ill just take the two 13mm bolts on the arb brackets off and the remove the torsion bars one at a time and re install and hope it fixes it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jord294 87 Posted November 14, 2020 K20205 I'm happy to put this right for you, if can wait till lockdown lifted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 15, 2020 22 hours ago, jord294 said: K20205 I'm happy to put this right for you, if can wait till lockdown lifted Thank you mate, i think i found why, its the dampers, they are too too stiff, i removed both of them and there is travel without any dampers inplace, i even had a hard time pushing down the dampers down by hand.. can i just replace them With oem spec ones or should i just keep them? they are koni series 30 dampers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,621 Posted November 15, 2020 dampers will not be the cause, they have no effect on the ride height. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 16, 2020 13 hours ago, welshpug said: dampers will not be the cause, they have no effect on the ride height. The height is fine, there is no suspension travel, the dampers are just too stiff. i ordered a set of oem ones let me see how it is with them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jord294 87 Posted November 16, 2020 Are the koni adjustable? If so, perhaps wound up to maximum setting?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
K20205 5 Posted November 16, 2020 2 minutes ago, jord294 said: Are the koni adjustable? If so, perhaps wound up to maximum setting?? Yes they are adjustable, its got only 3 adjustment point and even on the softest setting its hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
