H&R Monotube Coilovers

As you know, the current SuperSport dampers has reached its EOL and replacement is inevitable. Instead of going through the same route of short stroke dampers again and again, I've decided to bite bigger bullet for this H&R Monotube Coilovers and it's finally here courtesy of Speedzone. The price offered by them is well almost the same offered by most of my regular online websites, and yeah it's no brainer really not to go for it. And I'm still banging my head that I should have gone for this in the first place years back!

Part Number: 29379-2 (9N3 GTI)
Dampers Construction: Inverted Monotube.
Damping Adjustable: No. 30% stiffer fixed damping from factory. No mentioned of spring rates.
Ride height adjustable: Yes. As much as 20-50mm front and 20-60mm rear.
Rebuildable: Officially not serviceable in here.
Front Spring Rate: Not known, Rear Spring Rate: Not known.
Top Mounts: Use back the stock rubber top mounts.
Price: RM4k landed

Finally after a month of waiting :)

The package with ever willing non-payable model lol

It's inverted monotube alright

Unofficially, the dampers made by Koni

90k kms service

With the car’s mileage approaching 90k kms, another major service is imminent. This time around, the refreshment job was ‘contracted out’ to two of my regular workshops 1) Auto World Service & Repair; and 2) Ever Auto. Both are good in their own way and among the very few that I can leave Pocong without worries. Here’re the breakdowns of my bitter pills:

Engine Oil: Liqui Moly Top Tech 5w40 RM275.00
Oil Filter: VW 1.8T (06A 115 561 B) RM35.00
Labour: Engine Oil, Oil Filter & Spark Plugs RM80.00
Bushing: ECS Rear Axle Bushing Kit RM252.64
Brake Pads: ECS Red Stuff (Front) RM0.00
Brake Pads: ECS Red Stuff (Rear) RM205.91
Spark Plug: NGK Platinum V-Power BKR7E RM50.00
Coolant: Redline Water Wetter RM55.00
Brake Fluid: Motul Dot 4 RM44.00
Thermostat: Wahle 82 Deg Thermostat RM61.59
Labour: Axle Bushing Pump RM25.00
Labour: Installing Radiator Thermostat RM45.00
Labour: Skimming Brake Rotors RM50.00
Labour: Installing Rear Axle Bushings RM280.00
Labour: Installing Brake Pads & Brake Bleeding RM80.00

Total RM1,585.06

And that’s going to be the end because I’ve found out that the SuperSport dampers are getting weaker by the day. So coilovers are inevitable and now I’m at cross road between BC V1 or H&R Monotube Coilovers. Come to think of it, I should have went for it in the first place back then….sigh…oh well

SuperSport Shocks - Installed & Shakedown

The Pocong finally has gotten itself new SuperSport short stroke dampers to work alongside with H&R spring. But it wasn’t smooth sailing “waiting & be happy job” on Saturday I thought it would.

First off, Alex’s Ever Auto don’t have 36mm axle socket so they can only replace the rear dampers. Decided not to be a patient man, I went to Auto Reign to get the front replaced. Guess what they too don’t have that axle socket hence they need to take out both driveshafts to yank out the whole knuckles to replace the dampers and yes it took them 3 hours. Then only I took the car to Mun Jee to get it realigned and balanced. That’s a good 7 hours of waiting and RM384 of labour charge debited from my credit card…

The outcome was a mixed one. Because the SuperSport casing and its rod is shorter and thicker than original, the ride height went down ~10mm on all for corners. At this point, I was worried whether 1) Is there have enough suspension travel? 2) How am I going to go through speed bumps on full load?

That would have to wait until initial shakedown today. Both me and my brother on Fiesta 1.6S took the tight twisties of old Gombak road towards Genting Sempah and then Jalan Genting Highlands towards the peak.

What I can say now is that it rides with more immediate feedback through the steering, it corners flatter and cover more ground in terms of lateral grip with more fluidity rather than outright harshness. And speaking of fluidity, I sense that the SuperSport dampers give much more composure dealing with uneven and bumpy roads which means I don’t need to slow down to readjust the music volume and my wife shouldn’t get sick every time traveling on long distance.

In all honesty, I doubt SuperSport is as good as the established H&R Cup Kit and Bielstein B12 in terms of sharpness but it should be a bit more comfortable and definitely the most bang for buck upgrade. Having said that, you can’t use it with stock spring as the housing is a wee bit shorter. Next up is FMIC and full exhaust and of course it’ll be done in slow, cheap but definitely special on the Pocong. :)

This Audi 100 Wagon is the grandpa of soccer mum's as it has Porsche 944 2.7 turbo and Brembos all around.

Stock Sachs vs SuperSport

Ever Auto managed to install the rears only

Mun Jee did the alignment trice to get it right :)

New ride height...the rear is wee bit too low

Shakedown of both Pocong and Fiesta went well but that Fiesta needs to get up to pace for more thrilling sunday drive

Very foggy morning in Genting Highlands

SuperSport Dampers

After so many of tak percaya ding dong by Kastam in regards to the price, at last the SuperSport dampers finally reached home. I can’t blame them really because in UK websites, they’re retailing almost £60 per piece. Oh well, I just can’t wait to get it installed at Alex’s place tomorrow followed by a little shakedown test on Sunday :)

SuperSport Dampers (1 set): €125
Shipping Charges: €69
Total: €197

SuperSport Dampers

There’s nothing much to write about on the Pocong nowadays as I’m pretty much ‘content’ with the current setup. It now has adequate juice to keep up with most cars and has reasonable feel for handling and grip on the twisties.

Yeah, I can wish a lot more but a lot more means more money which I can’t afford to unnecessary spend and make time out of my even busier schedule than before. Besides, the tuning effort might not be worthwhile because probably at the end of the day, if I want to get a focus driving horse, I’d be better off with RWD NA S2000 or yeah in my wildest dream … ahem pristine Duke 916!

That can only realize in some years to come and for Pocong now till then, what I can do is giving it good refreshment maintenance but not necessarily TLC kind. And that brings me to suspension dampers. As it clocks slightly shy of 61k kms now, the dampers are starting to show signs of softness. I remember vaguely that my old Waja stock dampers ran out of steams after 10k kms of usage, so at 60k kms is quite alright in my book of thoughts.

My original plans of getting a coilovers was almost dead set until I realised it’s going to set me back into broke warning signs in my head and nowadays I’m driving it in a very civilized aunty-like way as rempiting workout of the past has now transferred to gokart. Hence, coilovers is pretty much overkill really.

So finding the right dampers replacement is the way to go. I just found out that there’s a brand called SuperSport which is a sister company to Spax is offering sport dampers for Pocong. When they meant sport dampers, it’s the usual stuff - shortened and slightly larger piston rods, partially foreshortened housing for more suspension travel, 30% uprated damping than stock, gas assisted, heavy duty and 12 months warranty etc. And having read reviews coming from VW junkies in the states and UK, it’s the best bang for buck and rides well too. But what’s not usual is the price. Having looked at orangetuning.de, it retails at €128 for a set of four (inclusive 19% VAT)!

Having done the math, it should cost me €110 at most plus shipping another ~€50-60 which is still way cheaper than source original dampers locally and almost Proton like costing which is great. On another note, I seriously doubt it gives the same feel as the Bielstein B8 or H&R cup dampers but I’d be very satisfied if it can gives 70%-80% the same feel. That said, I buying one otherwise it’s going to be H&R cup dampers which is additional €100 up. Hmmm….

€110 is darn good value for money!

SuperSport PU Top Mount for paltry sum of €55

Plan B Option - H&R cup dampers. Going this route means no budget for Alpinestars Tech 1-K :(

K-Sport GT Pro Coilovers

I've got an offer for this. Supposedly, it's the same thing as the D2 but at cost price which way below any other on the market (published £526.81) and yet I just don't know whether to bit the bullet or not. Spec wise is pretty impressive but ride will not be soothing to my spine as the spring rate circa 7kg fr and 5.3kg rr. Key features of this coilovers:

-Inverted steel shock absorber for durability
-Lower center of gravity and higher chassis rigidity
-Designed to reduce friction for cooler shock oil temperature
-Inverted design like vehicles in WRC and all JGTC cars
-36-way adjustable dampening
-Made from high quality 6061 Aluminum with T6 for increased hardness
-Compression/Rebound adjustable
-Adjustable spring perch for height adjustment
-Adjustable body allowing maximum suspension travel
-Pillow Ball Top Mount w/ adjustable camber (not available for some models)
-Monotube High Pressure Design reduces oil leakage
-Electroplated body for protection from corrosion and rust

Arrrgghhh!