High Speed stability ?

Hi guys,

My main problem is, I want more high speed stability in my mk1. 200+ km/h. And I would like to hear if anyone have succesfully changed Caster angle and felt this help with the stability ?

Other things that would help with stability ?

I have changed alot on my car so it is for sure not original.
I have the JOM blueline suspension and Urethane bushings in front. To get better suspension and the car low enough I made two top mounts that raised the top bearings 2", this gave me more suspension travel, but also locked the top mounts in their position, since the spring now goes inside a tube that barely fits. Is I want to move the top mount further back, I need a shorter damper, otherwise I would be on the bumpstop.

I also made balljoint extenders to get better angle on the lower arm, and im now thinking if I could move the balljoint a bit forward to increase the caster angle, and then give me more stability.

Maybe I should mention that I have no sway-bars on the car. I'm also thinking on getting on from a scrapyard to mount on the rear axel, i read that this should be the way to go. What do you guys think ?

Maybe peoble with good handling low mk1's would like to share their suspension setups?

thanks

Why do you need stability at that speed?

I'd say without ARBs (GTIs came with front and rear as standard) you'll suffer. Also, different castor from side-to-side (it is measurable, but not directly adjustable, but its related to camber) is going to lead to instability.

A nicety is also to balance out the corner weights - being a LHD car really helps here, because the engine is on the right.

Beyond a certain speed its more aerodynamics than suspension tweaks which will help - assuming its properly set up suspension without missing or worn components.

ETA Also, not going too low helps. I used to have it really low, like 90mm, but reverted to 50mm as a sensible setting (dimensions based on 20mm being GTI and 0mm being non-GTI).

well its a R32 swapped car, so it would be nice to have it a bit more stable in high speed for more comfort on Autobahn   No, its really just because I feel the car is scary in high speed, and since I lowered the car (dont know how much exactly) I though it had something to do with wheel geometry.

ARB's is for sure something I need, I read that many don't seem to feel difference with the front one, and with my already nose heavy car I planned on skipping that and add one on the rear (also read that that really helped alot of guys)

What is your 2cent about ARB's ?

thanks for the idea of balancing out corners (simple and usefull)

Aerodynamics is def. something I thought about, I have the GTI front spoiler, but is their anything else that is prove to help with stability ? Or is the rear spoilers just for looks ?  

Did you have the car re-aligned after it was lowered?

ETA regarding the R32 swap, what I would do is compare the front axle weight of a standard car with your car; then whatever percentage greater yours is, adjust the spring rate, damping rate and stiffness of the ARB by that amount, to ensure its balanced. If you used coilovers to do the lowering then you can buy ones with adjustable damping, and you can disassemble them to remove and replace springs - outlets such as Demon Tweeks sell custom rate springs.

Did you relocate the battery or keep it in the engine bay? It might help a bit to relocate it, some VWs which used the 6 cylinder engine had it behind/under the front seats.

Only the front axle is re-aligned, and I have had the rear axle out, so maybe it is a bit off, I need to check up on that.

I would love to know the axle pressure on a standard GTI golf mk1 to compare ?? Any one ? I believe the 4dr is a bit heavier, so that would also be good to see.

the battery is in the trunk for weight    also washer fluid container  

about the adjustment of suspension, I will try to swap the JOM blueline springs with some springs from another set of coilovers from a passat vr6, I believe they would have a higher spring rate, but I dont know the excact amount.