Guest BrainFluid Posted February 13, 2006 Right. Theres going to be a lot more permanant weight in the boot of the TD and seen as I use a trailer pretty often too, I'm going to need to tweak. First choice is off too the scrappy to get some suitable shocks. Any advice on what model I should keep an eye out for? Second choice is to buy a pair, again any advice & would it only be the shocks that need thinking about back there? One thought that has crept into my mind is wether it is safe to firm up the rear end and leave the front as standard. I have absolutly no experiance in suspension set up's so forgive my ignorance or the puppy gets it. Nate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
veloce200 3 Posted February 13, 2006 Right. Theres going to be a lot more permanant weight in the boot of the TD and seen as I use a trailer pretty often too, I'm going to need to tweak. First choice is off too the scrappy to get some suitable shocks. Any advice on what model I should keep an eye out for? Second choice is to buy a pair, again any advice & would it only be the shocks that need thinking about back there? One thought that has crept into my mind is wether it is safe to firm up the rear end and leave the front as standard. I have absolutly no experiance in suspension set up's so forgive my ignorance or the puppy gets it. Nate. The shock itself isn't the answer to this one. Updated torsion bars would be a better bet or consider raising the ride height a fraction to take account of the loads. You can move the height around 1.5-2mm at a time if you remove the torsion bar at both ends and use a dummy shock. Measure the centres and increase the distance by 1mm and you gain up to 3mm in ride height. It does seem to vary this relationship though. The beam guide says it's about 1:1.5 ratio - some official Pug stuff says 1:3 but in practice I've found it varies depending on the cars torsion bars/weight and preload. For Towing you don't want the thing sat on the bumpstops or I can see a nasty accident waiting to happen. You want a firm but well damped set up with plenty of travel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted February 13, 2006 Thanks for the info Veloce200. The haynes manual doesnt give any info on how to just replace the rear torsion bar, but I've seen the article on replacing the whole rear beam. Would you suggest this would be the way to go? If so which 205 do you rekkon I needs to swipe for a replacement? Is the gti's uprated enough? Also, are you saying that a standard set of shocks will be adequate? You want a firm but well damped set up with plenty of travel. Like I said I have no previous experiance with suspension or its key words, plz could you extrapolate a little? Thanks very much. Nate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
veloce200 3 Posted February 13, 2006 (edited) Thanks for the info Veloce200. The haynes manual doesnt give any info on how to just replace the rear torsion bar, but I've seen the article on replacing the whole rear beam. Would you suggest this would be the way to go? If so which 205 do you rekkon I needs to swipe for a replacement? Is the gti's uprated enough? Also, are you saying that a standard set of shocks will be adequate? Like I said I have no previous experiance with suspension or its key words, plz could you extrapolate a little? Thanks very much. Nate. If you measure the torsion bars (if you haven't got vernier calipers then meausure the circumference with a piece of string or wire as it will provide a more accurate measurement) and then it would be possible to know if the GTI setup would add spring rate. Someone on the forum might know what the TD bars are anyway? What weight are you towing? Edited February 13, 2006 by veloce200 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted February 13, 2006 Oh, the weight vairies. If theres a lot of wood to move about or somthing thats pretty heavy I just load her up untill any more seems unsafe... So meausre the circumference of the bar not the length right? Full beam swop over, correct? And, sorry to be a pain, please can you explain what a 'firm well damped with plenty of travell means' Its the 'damped' thats confusing me mixed with the 'firm' bit & 'plenty of travell' the shocks or the arm? Thanks again. Nate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 242 3 Cars Posted February 14, 2006 On my STDT I rebuilt the rear beam a few weeks ago & the original stuff was XS spec & not GTi as previously thougth. (TD's were rumoured to have GTi running gear all round but this has been proven as incorrect a few times now ) The torsion bars on mine before rebuild were 18mm & the ARB was 16mm . Post rebuild they are all 19mm. I just need the GTi rears shocks to match & I'll have full GTi suspension on it. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
veloce200 3 Posted February 14, 2006 (edited) thanks Graham. OK then you could indeed swap the whole beam but if your t.arm shafts are in good nick may as well just stick some bearings in and swap the torsions and arb. what i mean by firm and well damped is you will be carrying greater loads so the upgrade to 205 gti will help. Well damped means using a good quality rear damper that can cope with the loads - suggest Bilstein monotube rears. As for travel you need the ride height set to cope so that when you load up and lose an inch of travel you still have the same travel as std. By travel i mean how far the trailing arm can move before it hits the bumpstop , if for instance you came down a hill under braking and hit a big bump and hit the stops with a trailer it could get dangerous. I'd try setting the gaps between the dampers to 335. I'd keep front ride height std. It's making me think this, maybe I need another 205 to tow my 205 track car ! Edited February 14, 2006 by veloce200 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted February 14, 2006 Nice one. Thanks very much Veloce So I've got plenty to be getting on with now eh!? Hi ho , Hi ho, its off to tweak we go... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
