Next stage for the Leon - do i/dont i?

[Pabs]

calling all modders AND non-modders and general know-all's on the forum:

I havent done anything to my car for a while (money not permitting)
Now after thinking about the situation, and hoping my cash situation also changes in the near future, i am wondering what to do.

Do I modify my car further than it already is? If so, what route/what should i do next? The way i see it whatever i do is going to be quite expensive, so i am trying to weigh up my options.

Things i havent touched yet are Suspension, FMIC, Exterior lights (angel etc) wheels, ARB's, bigger turbo....

I decided to tidy up my ICE install and if I do anything want performance mods if anything - just cant decide what to do..

So comments/opinions guys - what do i do next? Nothing? Everything?
Cheers

 

[warren_cox]

Quaife LSD

KW Variant 2 coil overs

Neuspeed ARB's

 

[Pabs]

what exactly will i gain from a quaife LSD - i dont really know what it does
why coilovers and not just sports suspension?

 

[Saul]

FMIC, coil overs, h&r arb's (be a lot cheaper than neuspeeds)

eliminator turbo maybe???

 

[Pabs]

tbh dont think the quaife is for me - did a search and read up on it - think more important things are needed first.

Seems like ARB's are highly recommended - surely doing these at the same time as suspension helps? Or can u just do ARB's on their own, and then suspension later if needed?

I suppose the question is - does suspension give noticable better performance? I know a lot of people do it for looks (ie lower) which i would only drop it a bit anyway..

 

[warren_cox]

what exactly will i gain from a quaife LSD - i dont really know what it does
why coilovers and not just sports suspension?

Quaife LSD will help you maintain higher levels of grip through corners and accelerate out of them with greater grip/accuracy as it allows the inner wheel to turn less and the outer to turn more (imagine the outer wheel has to turn further than the inner wheel in a corner - this device tries to equalise this effect) - I believe this is the case and am open to better advice on this. Focus RS has one.

Coilovers are generally more ride adjustable than generic sports shocks. You an dial in rebound and compression adjustments to affect the way the car rides through the bumps, and the rate at which it uncompresses back to full ride height.
Also you can adjust ride height quite specifically.

 

[Pabs]

yeh thats kinda what i thought - but i recon once my suspension is installed/setup i would never change it - which i see as being the bonus of coilovers.... Other than that and the assurance u get matched dampers/springs, is there any other reason for going to coilovers? I know the FK kit is recommended through searching on here...

 

[warren_cox]

mate of mine supercharges VR6 golfs and 1.8T's Mk2 Golfs.

He used to use FK's but has recently gone in favour of the KW's. Not that there is much worng with the FK's (dampers are made in China I think, but thats not all bad). He said that the KW's seem to withstand more long term abuse (but do cost more).

Coilovers allow you to tunes your suspension more specifically according to road surface / driving conditions but it is true you don't tend to change them much once they're set right.

Suspension makes a massive difference. I drove Ruddmeisters car with his Bilsteins back to back with mine. He has ARB's to. The car felt beautifully neutral and it just stuck to the road. Very confidence inspiring and none of the slightly ponderous characteristics you get from the OE kit.

His grip would mean that he could just run away from a standard car in the twisties and even a mapped car as it struggled to plant its power down. An LSD would improve it again.

It helped having the 2 cars side by side as you could feel the difference better. its so much harder to assess a mod on your own car after its done from a before / after perspective.

 

[Empi5]

FMIC, coil overs, h&r arb's (be a lot cheaper than neuspeeds)

eliminator turbo maybe???

My Coilovers are going on on the 5/12 and the Garage have recommended I go for the ARB's. From reading previous post, it looks like all i need is the rear ARB,

I need to source them myself, wheres the best place to source H&R ARB.

 

[Tallpaul]

are you gonna do track days? if so are you gonna take them seriously or just do it for the experience?

assuming the car is just for the road and the track once in a blue moon, i'd get the coilovers (best you can afford) and the ARB's (again money permitting).

I'd also go for the FMIC to get the best out of REVO stage 2 (i fancy one too if anyone wants to start a group buy ).

Finally i'd get some alloys, once the car is lowered some nice 18"s will finish it off.

Don't bother with things like Angel Eyes, this time next year they'll get the same reaction as Lexus rear lights do now!

The only other thing i'd consider with your car is maybe a change of seating... Retrim, Recaros etc

 

[Scotty_b]

BigBoysToys recomended KW's but looking at the price there almost double the Eibach (sp?) or FK kit. Im with Pabs on this one, once there set thats it i wouldnt touch them again. So i find it difficult to know which ones to put on mine

How many miles has your car done pabs? Im sure they could do with being updated (ok yours wont be bad but you will notice the differnce)

Mian thing here i think is how much are you willing to spend? and how long are you planing on keeping the car?

 

[Saul]

eibach are a quality proven set-up

http://www.h-r.com/index.php?sprache=en

 

[Pabs]

i have always been on the same mind - i am gonna keep this car for as long as possible - its currently on 48-49k i think and coming up to the end of its warranty (feb)

I am trying to decide if i should keep putting money on the car or if i should use the money elsewhere - i know i really should be saving for a house and more important things but due to my recent circumstances i NEED to have a hobby/social life or i risk my health again. i love cars and my leon is really a bit of a hobby - although its an expensive one :S

I dont want to throw £1000's at my car - I have already spent a lot on it but, having said that, i am not going to cut corners and do a sh*t job - if the standard kw/fk kits are not worth doing then i will spend a bit more and do the next best thing.

I do want to do the FMIC - i feel my car needs it - its just a lot of money by the time labour etc has been added.

I like keeping my car looking fairly std from outside - bit of a sleeper so i dont do bodykits etc, just a few minor bits here and there.

Finally I doubt i will do track days etc, although it would be a good experience - its just used for general road use.

 

[Scotty_b]

This may sound silly mate but have you got the room to get another car on ramps etc? You could spend time restoring/doing up and older VW or seat, be far cheaper than modding the leon, plus if it all goes wrong you wont have f*cked up your dailey drive. This way stress would be at a minumum as you can do it as and when you like and learn a few things in the process?

 

[Pabs]

scotty, definately something i will have in the future. Unfortunately living in a flat with parking space for 0 cars its hard enough for me and my missus to park at night - its along a fairly busy road as well which scares the pants off me - u seen the yaris advert on tv yeah "you could love it too much"??? Well thats me - looking out my window every few hours to make sure no chav is breaking in or smashing my wing mirror (already been done once on my ex company car)

My brother has got his wankel engine into his old-shaped beetle (0-60 in about 3-4secs now ) and he has also just picked up a mk1 golf gti for him to do up - his beetle got stuck on a speedhump 2 days ago (silly boy lol)

I would love a project car. But until i get a house its a no-go.

 

[BeezerDiesel]

Why not go halves with your brother on one of his project cars, that way you can work and learn together, and I take it he has somewhere to park them when they are being dismantled and reassembled???

I know of a set of low mileage Koni adjustable suspension (not coilovers) that could be on sale in the not too distant future.....just right for a Leon Cupra.....

 

[cpufreak]

banshee motorsport do a discount if you mention you're from seatcupra.net
http://www.bansheemotorsport.co.uk/

I got my KW V2s for my ibiza from them for about £550 I think.

 

[Pabs]

I know of a set of low mileage Koni adjustable suspension (not coilovers) that could be on sale in the not too distant future.....just right for a Leon Cupra.....

well let me know cos i might be interested......

My brother is in Hertfordshire. I am in Southampton. A little bit of a treck (2hrs) for working on a car every saturday

 

[BeezerDiesel]

well let me know cos i might be interested......

Cool, will do

My brother is in Hertfordshire. I am in Southampton. A little bit of a treck (2hrs) for working on a car every saturday

Ahh, hadn't thought about that! My bro lives about 150 miles away from me too, but I still forget about these things!