whawker
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2009
- Location
- Austin, Texas
- TDI
- '10 Sportwagen TDI 6spd used to have '03 Jetta TDI wagon
Hi all, I've got some suspension lift questions and comments, I know there's some other threads on similar subjects, but thought it deserved a fresh thread..
I'm not off-roading my 2003 Jetta Wagon 5-speed much, just an occasional rough dirt road. But I do trailer a 1500-1600lb camper 6-10,000 miles per year, usually with the car also stuffed with heavy equipment, so I had clearance issues and have recently upgraded the springs and shocks. The car has 260,000 miles on it, so the previous OEM suspension was pretty tired.
I installed the Euro heavy duty rear springs (5 green dots part # 1J0 511 115 AN) that you can't get in the states (from Peter), Jetta automatic tranny springs in front (stiffer and longer, 2blue, 2 white dots part # 1J0 411 105 CD), also the 10mm front spacers. Then Koni FSD's all around. Finished this all up about two weeks ago.
I gained a bunch of things, most really nice, one or two not so much.
Nice:
First, absolutely amazing cornering and handling on winding roads with the car by itself. I drive fast habitually, and I gotta tell ya, this thing now approaches the Mazda Miata I drove for 8 years in handling and cornering. It's incredibly solid. I haven't pushed it all the way to the Miata's cornering speeds in known corners cuz I know the Miata will slide, but I'm not sure the Jetta wagon will slide instead of roll. Particularly with the increased height. (heh...)
Second, when the trailer is hitched up, I'm getting way improved stability and handling. The trailer previously was solid up to maybe 65mph, but above that could sometimes be iffy, any significant sidewinds, turns, bumps, non-smooth roads and it could start to fishtail. Now, it's pretty much solid as a rock at 70. Not planning on testing above that.
Third, I gained an inch and a quarter (maybe a little more) in hitch height on the back with the euro springs alone (I installed them first, about 9 months ago). And, the load carrying capacity was wayyy improved. Far less drop in back for a given added load.
Fourth, however, unexpected things happened on height when I installed the front springs, 10mm spacers, and Koni's all around about two weeks ago. I gained 1-3/4 inches in clearance on the front. That was good (though you gotta be OK with a four inch gap between the top of the front tire and the front fender...). BUT, I somehow *lost* 3/4" of an inch on the rear hitch height. Best I can figure, when the car elevated on the front, it pivoted on the rear axle and dropped at the hitch. I don't think the Koni's added to the rear dropped anything.
Not so much:
Fifth, the steering geometry unexpectedly changed. The steering wheel is now cocked about 43 to 45 degrees counterclockwise when driving straight down the highway. There is no pulling or misbehavior, it's just no longer aligned straight. There are two other consequences to this, one, the turn signals (particularly the right turn) no longer trigger off correctly, and two, if I *do* turn the wheel all the way to the right, the right front tire now rubs against the fender well or something. So I'm guessing the added height changed some geometry in the linkage, some bar or link needs lengthening or shortening?
So now for some questions. Anyone know what's involved in correcting the steering wheel alignment in this situation? I'm sure assuming and hoping it's an adjustable issue, maybe at the worst pulling a splined shaft and re-inserting? I know a couple of guys on the site have done this spring conversion, did they have the same steering issue? I've been assuming that my shop guy, who I trust, didn't do anything to the steering when installing the front struts and springs. Hope to hear from the folks who've been there and done that.
Two, I've kinda checked before, but are there any lift kits of any sort that I could use to get maybe an inch of height back on the rear? I've not heard of anything, so I'm considering taking the 10mm spacers back out of the front, I'd be OK going from height gain of 1-3/4 down to 1-1/4 inches in front if it gets me even a quarter inch back in the rear. But I'd really like a full inch or even and inch and a quarter more in the rear.
For the curious, on a separate subject, a history report. The car has 260,000 on the original engine, clutch, tranny, injection pump, and turbo. I've had it five years, 54K when I bought it. Fuel mileage is down about 9-10% from what it once was, I'm thinking I'm due for injectors for sure. Brakes, tires, and a MAF sensor at 80K have been it for drive train stuff. But a bunch of door latch, door lock, and window issues totaling about $1000 over the last five years, mostly at 125-150k miles. (Ha. '03's were supposed to have all that fixed.) Cabin blower motor at 175k. Battery. Glove compartment doorlatch recently. I get 70-75k consistently on the OEM Michelin XV4's, expect to replace the 4th set at 300k. I run them firmer on air pressure all the time, rotate mebbe every 20-25k. Oil changes, fuel filters, and timing belts religiously. Oil consumption currently is around 6500, maybe 7000 miles per quart. That seems to drop quite a bit when I'm towing, though. With luck and the creek don't rise, I'm hoping for half a million out of the car.
Thanks!
I'm not off-roading my 2003 Jetta Wagon 5-speed much, just an occasional rough dirt road. But I do trailer a 1500-1600lb camper 6-10,000 miles per year, usually with the car also stuffed with heavy equipment, so I had clearance issues and have recently upgraded the springs and shocks. The car has 260,000 miles on it, so the previous OEM suspension was pretty tired.
I installed the Euro heavy duty rear springs (5 green dots part # 1J0 511 115 AN) that you can't get in the states (from Peter), Jetta automatic tranny springs in front (stiffer and longer, 2blue, 2 white dots part # 1J0 411 105 CD), also the 10mm front spacers. Then Koni FSD's all around. Finished this all up about two weeks ago.
I gained a bunch of things, most really nice, one or two not so much.
Nice:
First, absolutely amazing cornering and handling on winding roads with the car by itself. I drive fast habitually, and I gotta tell ya, this thing now approaches the Mazda Miata I drove for 8 years in handling and cornering. It's incredibly solid. I haven't pushed it all the way to the Miata's cornering speeds in known corners cuz I know the Miata will slide, but I'm not sure the Jetta wagon will slide instead of roll. Particularly with the increased height. (heh...)
Second, when the trailer is hitched up, I'm getting way improved stability and handling. The trailer previously was solid up to maybe 65mph, but above that could sometimes be iffy, any significant sidewinds, turns, bumps, non-smooth roads and it could start to fishtail. Now, it's pretty much solid as a rock at 70. Not planning on testing above that.
Third, I gained an inch and a quarter (maybe a little more) in hitch height on the back with the euro springs alone (I installed them first, about 9 months ago). And, the load carrying capacity was wayyy improved. Far less drop in back for a given added load.
Fourth, however, unexpected things happened on height when I installed the front springs, 10mm spacers, and Koni's all around about two weeks ago. I gained 1-3/4 inches in clearance on the front. That was good (though you gotta be OK with a four inch gap between the top of the front tire and the front fender...). BUT, I somehow *lost* 3/4" of an inch on the rear hitch height. Best I can figure, when the car elevated on the front, it pivoted on the rear axle and dropped at the hitch. I don't think the Koni's added to the rear dropped anything.
Not so much:
Fifth, the steering geometry unexpectedly changed. The steering wheel is now cocked about 43 to 45 degrees counterclockwise when driving straight down the highway. There is no pulling or misbehavior, it's just no longer aligned straight. There are two other consequences to this, one, the turn signals (particularly the right turn) no longer trigger off correctly, and two, if I *do* turn the wheel all the way to the right, the right front tire now rubs against the fender well or something. So I'm guessing the added height changed some geometry in the linkage, some bar or link needs lengthening or shortening?
So now for some questions. Anyone know what's involved in correcting the steering wheel alignment in this situation? I'm sure assuming and hoping it's an adjustable issue, maybe at the worst pulling a splined shaft and re-inserting? I know a couple of guys on the site have done this spring conversion, did they have the same steering issue? I've been assuming that my shop guy, who I trust, didn't do anything to the steering when installing the front struts and springs. Hope to hear from the folks who've been there and done that.
Two, I've kinda checked before, but are there any lift kits of any sort that I could use to get maybe an inch of height back on the rear? I've not heard of anything, so I'm considering taking the 10mm spacers back out of the front, I'd be OK going from height gain of 1-3/4 down to 1-1/4 inches in front if it gets me even a quarter inch back in the rear. But I'd really like a full inch or even and inch and a quarter more in the rear.
For the curious, on a separate subject, a history report. The car has 260,000 on the original engine, clutch, tranny, injection pump, and turbo. I've had it five years, 54K when I bought it. Fuel mileage is down about 9-10% from what it once was, I'm thinking I'm due for injectors for sure. Brakes, tires, and a MAF sensor at 80K have been it for drive train stuff. But a bunch of door latch, door lock, and window issues totaling about $1000 over the last five years, mostly at 125-150k miles. (Ha. '03's were supposed to have all that fixed.) Cabin blower motor at 175k. Battery. Glove compartment doorlatch recently. I get 70-75k consistently on the OEM Michelin XV4's, expect to replace the 4th set at 300k. I run them firmer on air pressure all the time, rotate mebbe every 20-25k. Oil changes, fuel filters, and timing belts religiously. Oil consumption currently is around 6500, maybe 7000 miles per quart. That seems to drop quite a bit when I'm towing, though. With luck and the creek don't rise, I'm hoping for half a million out of the car.
Thanks!