Project EconoPolo (aeromodding a VW)

[viio]

Last weekend I fitted new lower suspension springs (as recommended by Vekke some time ago). I went for Apex springs for a 35mm drop front and rear. The whole job was completed in about 2 hours with help from my dad. We also fitted new front brake discs and pads as the old ones were warped and rubbing (thanks to kingsway for recommending I check those).

Quite a difference in spring size, and they're clearly quite tired old springs:


and the rears:


And a comparison of the ride height old vs new:




Tomorrow's job is to disable my aircon, and if the weather is nice I'm going under it to fiddle!

[kingsway]

Strangely enough - since I dealt with my binding brake, my FC doesn't appear to have changed at all!!!

[viio]

A few jobs completed today, the first one being disabling the aircon.

I used an old belt and cut it into a strip, then used it to measure the required length for the remaining wheels. Then my dad took it to his friends at the motor parts shop and got a new one at the required length. Here's the old versus new:


And here it is fitted, with the aircon pump no longer whirring away! Success!

[Vekke]

Your MPG has improved nicely with the mods and should improve even more when weather gets warmer .

Do you use venting when you fill up? I think you should be able to put 55 liters to your tank...

[viio]

Venting? What's that?

New belly pan got fitted today:


Full write-up here:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...pan-21344.html

[aerohead]

She's lookin' like a Ferrarri under there! Really nice! The gods of the troposphere will be smiling.
Maybe not so for Big Oil.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by viio

Venting? What's that?

It's a contraption that prevents you from carrying extra weight disguised as fuel

New belly pan got fitted today:

That's pretty neat and tight around the rear wheels !
Nice job !

[Vekke]

Very nice looking undertray. If you drive higher speeds you might need some more connecting points. Specially in the front I needed to add a rigid bar to stiffen the panel. It started to hit ground first at 140 km/h speed and after that also at lower speeds. So it broke the panel a little bit.

Did you make a hole for the diesel cooler? If you have one there under the car you need to make a hole. Diesel will otherwise get so hot that the plastic tank will melt or that is at least a risk.

Tank venting is this piece what I took out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHZTq...7&feature=plcp

You will get 10 liters of more fuel when you press that nibble when filling.

[viio]

I certainly like the convenience of carrying 10L more so I don't have to fill up so often. I'll take a look at that, thanks for the guide Vekke.

I'm going to the gym this morning so that's about a half hour trip, I'll check the temperatures under the car when I arrive, including the diesel cooler to see if it will need a hole cut. I might need some more holes under the exhaust anyway.

[Vekke]

I dont think you will need to make any more holes for exhaust pipe cooling. I tested that in my Lupo with so that I drived the car like a lunatic for 20 km and then measured the pipe temperatures from small holes with laser temperature gun. I could touch the pipe with my hand where the smooth underside panel was.

First series of those high fuel pressure diesels that was a big problem that the plastic fuel tanks melted. Solution was to add that diesel cooler. I dont know if the fuel temperatures get so if you drive the car fuel efficiently.