Chassis upgrade?

[Dennis]

Hi guys,

As i now got some more power in the engine my interrest has shifted to the chassis, as it is a diesel economy is involved and though there are some very cheap suspension kits on the ebay my experience tells me that cheap is as soft as the standard chassis.
Maybe someone has the experience to recommend a kit that suits both the sporty driver and the thin wallet? it´s a djungle out there!

All the best

Dennis

[Tom]

Cheap tends to mean solid as f*ck in the coilover department. I have TA Technix and they're sub 200quid and they feel like coilovers, definately not soft, but im young and feeling bumps really dont bother me

[4WayDiablo]

You can spec what poundage springs you get

[ozonehostile]

ta technics are amazing value for money, real good way to get started in the world of coilovers IMO

depending on how you like your car to ride dictates how far to go with the suspension mods, the next obvious step would be to get a gti rear beam with the thicker torsion bars and arb

[Piggy]

yeah a budget upgrade would be to rip the beam, front arb and shocks off a gti and put eibach springs on the front as the diesel is lighter on the front end than a gti

[Ed Doe]

As above, rear beam from a GTi6 or Xsara VTS if you can get hold of one, then arb springs and DAMPERS of a GTi6. If you want to go another step on, get b8 dampers all round with eibach springs for the fronts, but they'll cost you about the same as a mid-range set of coilies (Gaz GHAs or kw v1s).

[Dennis]

Ok so TA technix work fine and has decent quality? Where Can i order them with different spring rates and that Will ship to Sweden?

Has the 2.0 s16 and the gti6 the same arb and bar thickness? Can i use from a vts also?
It would be Nice to get bigger brakes at the same time!

[Just Sean]

ebay for the coilolvers mate, email the seller and ask about different poundage.

Hdi has 266mm and gti6 has 283mm brakes. Either will be bigger than the DT brakes

[Ed Doe]

TA Technix are harsh as fook, corrode if you look at them funny, the internals aren't up to much, and if you don't get the right springs will result in pretty unbalanced handling.... but most on here love them... If your budget will only stretch to ta technix, then get hold of some b6s for the same budget...

Not sure about the arb from the s16, but I'm pretty certain the VTS has the same one as the '6...

Rob the '6 brakes then!

[Dennis]

Bilsteins are Good but a Little over the budget for this car.

Are there any more decent suspension kitd out there? Coilovers are really not neccecary and i like the thought of getting Four New dampers etc.

Are there any brand that should be avoided?

[Ed Doe]

so what is the budget? Realistically if you think that new stock dampers are going to be more expensive than ta technix, you're better off finding some '6 dampers and lowering springs to suit your car...

[sam]

Save your money and get D2's I regret selling mine

[Dennis]

I already have two summercars that zaps Money(plus house and kids!) and the 306 is my daily driver. It has 340000km on the clock and if i would buy used gti parts in Sweden they have probably done at least 150000-200000km. Thats why it feels better to buy a fresh kit.
The budget is about 200pund for dampers and springs and on ebay they start from 130pund, i know that i get what i pay for but i try to find the balance between Money and a decent upgrade.

If using lowering springs with standard shocks doesnt the spring come loose when jacking the Car up? Thats an mot fail here in sweden.

---

We have a spax suspension kit on the 309 budget race car(we have a team at work) and it works ok(we won last year!) though the shocks are to soft for track they would be Good for the street. The trouble is that the dampers are to Long to hold the springs in Place with the car jacked up, clearly faulty made!

[Piggy]

either that or the springs are made for those shocks!

[C.A.R.]

I'd only recommend TA Techniks coilovers if you wanted a cheap way to lower your car and weren't concerned about chassis performance. Seriously; they're probably worse than the standard setup.

[darrenjlobb]

TA Technix are harsh as fook, corrode if you look at them funny, the internals aren't up to much, and if you don't get the right springs will result in pretty unbalanced handling.... but most on here love them... If your budget will only stretch to ta technix, then get hold of some b6s for the same budget...

Not sure about the arb from the s16, but I'm pretty certain the VTS has the same one as the '6...

Rob the '6 brakes then!

There not harsh as f*ck if you have the right springs, have had mine fitted for 3 years, and still adjust like brand new, and havcent had a single issue in the 3 years ive had them...no leaks, no problems, there cheap coilovers, but handle well, drive well, and at the end of the day do everything they need to do for a 306 ROAD car....

I'd only recommend TA Techniks coilovers if you wanted a cheap way to lower your car and weren't concerned about chassis performance. Seriously; they're probably worse than the standard setup.

Totally dissagree, the stock setup is like a boat / gives you no confidence at all, Ive driven my car on TA units for years and drive it pretty damn hard, and love it, ive also driven cars with GHA units (infact, I have a set of gha units) and quite frankly you can hardly tell a difference from a performance point of view on the road....

[Ed Doe]

I'd only recommend TA Techniks coilovers if you wanted a cheap way to lower your car and weren't concerned about chassis performance. Seriously; they're probably worse than the standard setup.

I've been trying to say this...

If your car is a daily, steer clear of Ta Technix imo. Mine is harsh by a lot of peoples standards, I run it as a daily at the moment with decent Gaz coilies on it, and as soon as I can afford to I'll be getting a 2nd car. It's too uncopromising for a daily.

But if you've only got a budget of £150 and have practicaly sold yourself mentally on a set of new coilovers, then nothing we can say will change that. however for my money you'd be absolutely bonkers to look at them over even a used set of gti6 dampers and springs...

[Tom]

If coilovers are to "harsh" for you, your too old imo

[C.A.R.]

I've never driven a 306 on 'comfort' suspension though, and there are only 2 setups on any 306 in factory spec - it's either Sport or Comfort. XS, XSi, GTi6/Rallye, DTurbo all got 'sports suspension' (according to the brochure anyway) while all other models got wallowy comfort spec suspension.

IMO there is quite a bit of roll in standard form but the setup is far from soft! It's very controlled and balanced whilst being somewhat harsh over rough ground, but it's never 'boat like' unless something is broken...

[Just Sean]

I'd only recommend TA Techniks coilovers if you wanted a cheap way to lower your car and weren't concerned about chassis performance. Seriously; they're probably worse than the standard setup.

I've been trying to say this...

If your car is a daily, steer clear of Ta Technix imo. Mine is harsh by a lot of peoples standards, I run it as a daily at the moment with decent Gaz coilies on it, and as soon as I can afford to I'll be getting a 2nd car. It's too uncopromising for a daily.

But if you've only got a budget of £150 and have practicaly sold yourself mentally on a set of new coilovers, then nothing we can say will change that. however for my money you'd be absolutely bonkers to look at them over even a used set of gti6 dampers and springs...

Instead of getting a second car... why dont you just buy a box of tampax for your drippy fanny... you massive minge

[C.A.R.]

Instead of getting a second car... why dont you just buy a box of tampax for your drippy fanny... you massive minge

Haha, people have cars for different reasons, why not have the best of two worlds without compromise?

A TA Techniks setup is cheap for a reason.

[lolsteve]

Jom coilovers? you'll have to get 206 ones but they will fit anyway
only £138+£12 irrc
http://www.jomcoilovers.co.uk/coilovers.php?car=23595
Cheaper than ta's and been in a slammed polo with joms and it's pretty comfy for the lows

[Dennis]

I will not use my car as a trckday car but has anybody timed the car on track gti6 chassie vs. TA technix?
If they arent faster the are useless except for lowering?

[Ed Doe]

Dennis it's unfortunately not that simple. On really smooth tarmac ad generally found on a racetrack you can run gar stiffer setups, because there are no bumps to unsettle the handling. On the road cheaper coilovers with incorrectly specked spring rates will result in a very stiff front end that 'skips' over bumps and actually ends up reducing grip.

As I said personally I'd stick with oem springs and dampers if you're doing it on your daily, as the comfort will be better. But if you're looking solely for a cheap solution to slamming your car then the ta technix will achieve that.