tt wishbones

[mat20vt]

i'm looking at using tt wish bones on the A3 quattro, will get them fitted along with my new bilsteins.
been quoted a all-in price of £388 for the front pair, that does include everything to bolt on tho.
does anyone know where i could source them cheaper?
not sure where the garage got that price from, maybe dealer. forgot to ask
any help would be good!

 

[dan_a3]

Do they just fit straight on or are there any modifications that need to be done? If not, just ring round some motor factors. That sounds like alot of money to spend for what it is. Are there going to be any major benefits for 400 quid?!!!

 

[mat20vt]

there lighter, and a handling improvement, and for £400 i hope there made of gold! didnt think they were that expensive....
will try elsewhere 2moro

 

[grathies]

Are they really that different from the standard Items? TTs arent that well spec'd standard suspension wise compared to the A3 Q Sport

Their made at the same factory from the same materials, usually the main difference would be the bonding mounts in the unit... Just seems like a bit of an odd concoction. Be better off getting Poly bush's pressed into your existing arms

 

[c16wko]

tt wishbones are same as s3 iirc?

 

[1animal1]

surely if TT wishbones were better than the S3 items, then they would have fitted them perhaps?

 

[mat20vt]

i thought i read on here tha people swap them due to them being forged and lighter?

 

[grathies]

First Ive heard of it? Lighter isnt gonna always be better as far as components like that go, personally if your after strenght you could just get a set seam-welded and then bush it up?

Dunno about forged ones, seems like a bit of an overkill for such a mass produced car as the TiTty? Id be happily proven wrong tho

 

[mat20vt]

i was keen to try, but at £400 its too much of a gamble.

 

[c16wko]

was looking at replacing the rubbers in my wishbone, but apparently cant as there a single forged piece, same as tt. :s

 

[grathies]

But all rubbers are pressed in... how could you forge metal around a rubber mount without burning it thru?

 

[god_thats_quick]

If the A3Q is different to the S3 suspension set-up wise (I can't remember) then you'll need new ball joints as the A3 is different. You can get the bushes and places like APS will now swap them over for cheaper than new wishbones, the S3 wishbones are around £150 each now from memory - I should really remember as it was painful when I paid for new ones.

 

[1animal1]

euro parts, 35 squids for a standard 1.8T wishbone lol....with all rubbers...no ball joint though

 

[evotista]

Here's my 2p

tt wishbones are the same as S3 wishbones. Certainly the later model variants are forged and suposedly lighter than standard A3 1.8T or 1,8 TQ wishbones. However the main benefit is the ball joint arrangement is different compared to 1.8T and the ball joint/wishbone interface is slotted. This can be taken advantage of in terms of the suspension setup,..allowing you to dial in significant negative camber eg, -1.0 degree or even more. This can therefore improve significantly the handling sharpness of the car.

Also, you can install a DEFCON kit on the tt wishbones (see tt-forum) which is another excellent handling mod....this to my knowledge is not possible on standard 1.8T wishbones since the bush diameters are different....there's lots of good feedback on the tt-forum for this mod.

The only forum person i'm aware of who's put tt wishbones on his 1.8 TQ is "ANDYTQ"...with i think reasonable success...pm him to find out more. In terms of price...i was quoted £89ish + VAT per wishbone last year from VAGPARTS...you would also need S3/TT ball joints....and i think maybe even S3/TT trackrod ends to fit to a 1.8T/TQ.

HTH

 

[HTC]

Just to add, the other main point of fitting TT/S3 withbones to an A3 is to reduce negative camber change on turns, keeping the tyre in better contact.

The forged items have a lower positioned ball joint to cater for the lower ride height of the S3 compared to the A3.

To fit them you need to also swap the whole stub axle and bearings because the tapers on the ball joints differ between s3/tt and a3 applications. You can machine the ball joint to fit, but its a tad dodgy in my opinion.

With this lot fitted and using the defcon bushes (if using mk2 tt or s3 wishbines) the turn in, stability on corners and feel is highly improved. However, its a lot of work and money that many people don't bother with because you can get similar effects by fitting an uprated rear anti roll bar which sorts out diagonal weight transfer on corners.

If you are really into your handling, its a good mod. I've got stub axles from an R32 golf ready to go on mine, I just can't source a set of MK1 TT wishbones with the extra front protrusion required to fit them with my early style front ARB.

If anyone has a set, let me know.

 

[god_thats_quick]

I know there were two versions of the S3 wishbone with different sized bushes as well, I'm just not sure if the ones on the early S3s were the same as the early TT wishbones.

I've got two at home off my car, I might have a look at the part number when I get a few minutes.

 

[HTC]

Its a possiblity, though I thought the S3 came out slightly after the TT handling issues were addressed? Either way its possible to achieve the precise turn in with the defcon bushes.

If the wishbones you have some extra blobs of metal sticking out from the leading edges, I'll take them off your hands if you want to sell them. I need a set of this type for my car.

 

[jojo]

I have apparently the later lower track arms of a facelift 225 model fitted to my car, they told me they we're lighter and slightly different shape, but the fixing points are the same... this is what AmD told me when I had them replaced whilst they were still trading in Bicester.

 

[HTC]

I can't see how they are lighter. The later ones look pretty much the same but with the larger front bushes for more induced understeer.

Top pic - old type
Bottom pic - late type

Just to clear any confusion. Forget the front protrusion oin the pics. This is just for me to send to breakers yards.
There are three types of wishbone.
1. Early type, small bushes, blob on front for very early roll bar mounting
2. Early type, small bushes, no front protrusion
3. Late type, large bushes, no front protrusion

Some more reading and pics here.

 

[ANDYTQ]

Hi guys been there done that,for not much gain i might add,my original wishbones were pressed steel type with very little adjustment for camber.I fitted later s3 forged wishbones,ball joints,track rods and ends,but i am still only getting 3/4 deg of neg camber max,perhaps i need to change stub axles too,or is the subframe different on the quattro compared with the s3?or even longer slots on some s3 models?I will get it sorted this year,i have spent a fair bit on suspension and need to get more camber for maximum benefit from the other mods.Perhaps i need to compare basic measurements with a s3 .I hope this helps .Cheers Andy