New to the car scene have some questions.

[redranger00]

I have a 2003 passat glx and was wondering what i could do to stiffen up the suspension some. Ive noticed signifigant body roll on the car in turns and would like to either minimize it or get rid of it completely. Im new to the car thing. i own a built ford ranger so this is new to me.

Thanks
Andrew

 

[Gambba]

It depends on a number of things, the main one is money, but I'm going to assume that you're on a limited budget and therefore you're looking for the most cost effective solution available. For me I would look at some lowering springs, which range between 70-150 pounds (US$130-210) and for me I would choose either Eibach (www.eibach.de) or H&R (www.hrsprings.com). You will need to decide on what sort of drop you want, 35mm is the norm, and 50mm is quite possible I would imagine on the Passat without problems.

This will improve both looks and handling in a massive way, further improvements can be made with a coilover set (Strut and spring change), strut brace, anti roll bars and your wheels will affect handling also. You need to define what you want to acheive and a possible budget and what suspension set up you passat has as standard, sports?

 

[austurbo]

I have a 3BG Passat, the first mod i did was to replace the springs with eibach, it lowered the car by 30mm. Could have gone lower, gee these cars have a huge gap in the tire well. Anyway as Gamba stated the eibach dramatically improved the feel of the car, I wont say it changed handling by much because springs alone wont do much. In order to get the most out of the car you need to do the shocks as well my preference is for Koni but there are other brands you can choose from. Next if not before get yourself a rear swaybar, this is a must have mod it will significantly reduce understeer on your car. Lastly get a front lower tie bar this will add rigidity to the front end thereby increasing steering response.

Oh should add I have all these mods except for shocks which are still oem. So atm I am very happy with the setup but I know I will be even happier once I replace the shocks. One more thing coilover are not necessary if you don't want ride height adjustment, they are the most expensive suspension option you can get and for most unecessary. Once installed I doubt you will bother adjusting them.

Keep it on the road.
Walter