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83TQC handling (fwd)



Hi Folks,
 
> I am interested in advice/opinions about how to make my car handle better. It
> has stock suspension, 80K miles, no rear antisway bar, and 7"Fuchs wheels
> with 205/60-15 tires.
> The quality I do not like is that "floaty" feeling-- body roll in turns, and
> diving when under hard braking. I am not looking to make this a track car,
> just a more sure footed road car while maintaining ride comfort. The Eibach
> springs I understand come in two varieties, progressive and linear, the
> progressive being too soft on the intial travel and too firm when wound up,
> the linear too firm in general or they lower the car too much. Can I achieve
> the ride I am looking for with just shocks?  Konis vs. Bilsteins vs? Are gas 
> shocks the way to go?  I know there are alot of personal preference variables
> but I would appreciate any info that can be passed on. Thanks
> RDG51@aol.com.

I'm a little confused - your '83 should have a rear anti-sway bar. Plus, at
80K miles, your original struts are definitely worn out. So at this point, 
anything you do to your suspension will yield an improvement. The first thing
I would do in your case is find the rear anti-sway bar, then replace the
struts. I haven't replaced the struts in mine yet, so I don't have too much
advice on that topic. Boge, Bilstein, and Koni are all good, I've heard. 
Springs are a different story. I've heard good and bad things about every 
brand of spring available. The best bet might be to get the springs from
an post-'84 ur-quattro, and also the 8x15 wheels with 215/50-15 tires. 
I have 205/60-15 snow tires on mine right now, and they add massively to
floaty, yucky handling. And replacing strut mounts, control arm bushings,
ball joints, tie rod ends, etc will help tighten things up.

Good luck, and let me know what you decide on doing.
-- 
Bryan Gunn                  Email: bgunn@voicetek.com 
Voicetek Corporation          Tel: 508.250.7998
19 Alpha Road                 Fax: 508.250.9378
Chelmsford, MA  01824