Cooper_GTI Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 My GTI seems to have developed a rather dangerous fault.When braking fairly hard, it will wander all over the road and generally pull in any direction it pleases.I originally thought it was a brake imbalance, but the pulling is not consistant. Sometime it pulls to the left, sometimes to the right.When cornering and braking at the same time, well, it feels like it's gonna pull you off the road and it nearly has ojn a few occassions! Just to let you know:I'm running brand new pirelli's all round, tracking is fine, brakes are 6 month old G60's, theres no play in the wheels bearings, all bushes seem tight. Could it be knackered front coilovers, as one is weeping oil?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon5 Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Are there any perfectly flat roads near you? Try and find one and test the brakes - try and establish what is going on.Do any have your wheels have more brake dust on that the others?May be worth getting a garage to have a look at it on their MOT brake tester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Well i've tried doing loads of firm braking from 30mph (not so noticeable) to 100mph (have to keep feathering the brakes to stop it spinning).I just cant identify the problem! It seems to dive to the front right most of the time, but sometimes it goes front left and it contiuously wanders all over the road under braking. Brake rollers might be the only solution to see if it's the brakes or something else thats wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon5 Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 What brakes do you have on the rear? Are they in decent condition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 The rears still look brand new. When i got the car 10 months ago i put all new brakes on it. I think it could be these crappy AP coilovers. They really are cheap ****e. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbo Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 (edited) The rears still look brand new. When i got the car 10 months ago i put all new brakes on it. I think it could be these crappy AP coilovers. They really are cheap ****e.I get this occasionally and i also have AP's, they'll be going as soon as i can afford some KW's, they really are complete crap!Are your's unacceptably crashy too? Edited July 28, 2011 by bobbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 My AP's are completely the opposite. They're too 'comfortable', resulting in excessive body roll and i'm assuming this braking issue is down to the coilovers too.Theres a lot to be said for a good fixed height kit, such as koni/bilstein/spax etc. Thats what i'm going for next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Turns out its down to tracking, at least that's what the garage thinks.I've had it on the brake rollers and there was a 26% difference in the brakes, but apparently thats nowehere near enough to make the car swerve under braking, even though it'd be an MOT fail... It's going in for tracking/camber tomorrow, so i'll report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 I'd say tracking too. My local 'national tyres' does four wheel laser alignment for a tenner with no reciept. May be worth trying yours ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treblet Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Bad camber will cause excessive braking pull as the car will dive into and out of tramlines in the road surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defcon5 Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Bad camber will cause excessive braking pull as the car will dive into and out of tramlines in the road surface.When you say bad, do you mean un even, or just a lot of negative camber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_M Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Check your shocks are not leaking as one could be failing, and exposing itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted July 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Both the shocks are leaking, but it doesnt seem to have affected the shockingness. It only bounces once when you put pressure on the front corners.I'll report back tonight when i've had the geometry setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikerz Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Its eth shocks mate! change them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKA Silver! Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I say get your geommetry corrected first, then move onto the shocks if it doesn't improve it.Massive camber and uneven road surface will be bump steer heaven. And if your shocks are weak too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonball Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 If its lowered your probably getting bump steer.When braking hard the weight is transferred to the front increasing the already bad bump steer.Or it could be the inbalance from a leaky shocker or worn arb bush if it has them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver! Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 I get terrrific bumpsterr on roads like this,but nothing that makes me feel outof control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonball Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 Because of the increased angle of the lower wishbone on lowered cars, the bolt going through the back bush in the arm compresses against the rubber bush. Rubbers natural tendancy is to push it back. This pushing and pulling affects bump steer as well as steering angles.If the bush is fresh it copes with it for a while so you wont feel out of control, once it starts to ovalise it can start to pitch you all over the place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Right, got my geometry set up.My wheels were both toeing out 10 and the camber was -5.5 on one wheel and -3 on the other. I now have got 1 toe out and -1.2 camber.It now handles like a go-kart, BUT, IT STILL DOESNT STOP STRAIGHT!The brake rollers showed a 24% descrepency, but i am under the impression that this would not cause such a noticeable pull under braking, especially as it is still considered an MOT pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper_GTI Posted August 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Well it was national tyres who said the tracking was fine, so they obviously couldnt be arsed to set it up. Either that, or their tracking gauges are bent to oblivion!It's not quite as easy as just "replacing the shocks" unfortunately. AP want to sell me the whole insert for £180 each! I'll probably put a fixed height kit on it when i've got some money spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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