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Tech | Suspension Tuning A good place to start your own SportTuning program is with your car's suspension. The rewards are great: a Volkswagen with a tuned suspension is an excellent handling car. An AUTOTECH suspension system can make day-to-day driving or that special stretch of road a lot more interesting. And, if you're considering a high performance engine package, then a proper suspension base is essential. The choices available when upgrading your VW's suspension can prove a bit daunting at first. Nowadays, there are a lot of people out there selling VW performance parts and it seems more come along each day. However, there are very few that have been offering complete suspension solutions for these cars since the Mk1 Chassis was the one-and-only. AUTOTECH was there back then, and continues to engineer some of the best suspension components you can buy for your Volkswagen, no matter what chassis you drive. One of the things that sets AUTOTECH apart from many others is the fact that we offer a complete range of suspension products. Our products are designed to work beautifully on their own, but are developed to work in harmony together as part of the ultimate suspension. Educating yourself on some basic aspects of your car's design and gathering a bit of knowledge on simple principles of a car's dynamics can help to quickly clarify what your needs are and how to satisfy them. Take a look below, where we briefly explore some of these basics. The First Step Suspension tuning involves many interrelated components and takes some work to get it right. At Autotech, we've done that work for you. We've tried just about every combination imaginable. Some didn't work. Some were too harsh, too noisy. In trying all the different systems we identified many problem areas. Autotech has solved these problems for you. Our suspension components offer you the very best and are designed to function together as a balanced set. They offer significant changes for everything from grocery getters to Mk5 GTIs. The absolute cornering power is very much improved, the responsiveness radically increased, and the comfort level minimally affected. A plain vanilla VW model equipped with an Autotech SportTuning suspension will outcorner a GTI - and a GTI becomes downright serious. Your vehicle's chassis is subjected to many forces while traveling down the road. Many different elements affect handling, and handling affects how the vehicle reacts to different conditions. The optimum suspension should be compliant enough to absorb road oscillations in low traction conditions such as rain or snow, and be stiff enough to give you maximum "g" force when all-out driving on smooth, hard surfaces. We have found that providing the largest swaybar size and/or the stiffest springs and shocks may work great on a smooth highway, but can be disastrous on icy or bumpy roads. You must have a good balance for your vehicle to be ready for the large assortment of road conditions. To allow for these variations, Autotech incorporates well-engineered springs made of high-grade chrome silicone wire to give your car a lower, leaner, more aggressive look, while significantly improving handling. Roll Roll is one of the most common forces countered by suspension upgrades. As in the illustration, the vehicle chassis will try to lean excessively in either direction. The primary component that combats chassis lean is the anti-roll bar, or swaybar. Pitch This occurs on the transverse rotational axis. The forces of pitch cause diving under braking, or rear "squat" under acceleration. Both shocks and springs play an important role in reducing the amount of pitch, but only good, careful suspension design prevents harsh oscillations when combating this force. Yaw Yaw is a force directly associated with the vertical axis. This condition draws all of the suspension components into play. The ideal suspension on any vehicle should be designed to provide completely neutral handling during hard cornering. Most vehicles are factory-designed with understeer (push) to make the front end of the vehicle start sliding first under hard cornering. This approach is to help prevent the average driver from spinning off the road when decelerating in a corner. Stiffening your suspension one end at a time can induce severe "yaw" conditions. Over-stiffening the rear suspension can create excessive oversteer (tail-out). The opposite occurs when the front is overstiffened, creating understeer (push). Other Forces Many other forces during vehicle operation can affect your handling. Such things as shimmying (which is generally caused by loose steering components), surging (which can be caused by bad brakes, tires, wheels, or a varying road surface), and lurching (side-to-side motion caused by similar forces to surging). Your VW should receive proper periodic maintenance and repair to assure the best in performance handling at all times. The Ultimate Goal Balance is the key to having a vehicle ready to perform well in any environment. Autotech strives to offer you that capability. We've been through many different choices in the suspension game and can confidently offer you the best spring, shock and swaybar packages available. Comfort and handling are not mutually exclusive. Autotech's suspension pieces are proof that an automobile can both "ride" and handle. Even with a stock motor you'll benefit from the added capabilities you've given your car by fitting our SportTuned suspension components. Most garages, alignment shops, or VW dealers can install all of our products. A quality wheel alignment should be done when you make your improvements. Our testing indicates that the stock alignment specs are good for most performance driving. Slight alterations may be made to accommodate larger tires or to suit driving conditions. Recommendations Through research and development of chassis systems, we have arrived at what we think is the best combination for each type of vehicle. Please understand that these are only recommended combinations. They are a good place to start for those uninitiated with suspension modifications. We invite you to SportTune your vehicle for your particular needs and your driving requirements. Our technical department will be glad to assist you with any special requests or problems. The tech department can be reached during our business hours at (949) 240-4000. Mk1 CHASSIS Rabbit/Scirocco/Jetta 1: Swaybars - lightweight: 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs - AUTOTECH Shocks -  Bilstein HD or Sport Stressbars -  lower subframe, upper front and rear   Scirocco 16V: Swaybars -      lightweight: 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -      AUTOTECH Shocks -    Bilstein HD or Sport Stressbars -    upper front and rear   Cabriolet: Swaybars -  lightweight: 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -    AUTOTECH Shocks -     Bilstein HD or Sport Stressbars -    lower subframe, upper front and rear Mk2 CHASSIS Golf 2/Jetta 2: Swaybars -      lightweight: 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -      AUTOTECH Shocks -    Bilstein Sport or BOGE progas Stressbars - upper front and rear, lower front Golf 2 GTI/Jetta 2 GLI incl. 16V: Swaybars -     lightweight: 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -     AUTOTECH Shocks -     Bilstein Sport or BOGE progas Stressbars - upper front and rear, lower front   Corrado G60: Swaybars - lightweight: 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -     AUTOTECH Shocks -     Bilstein Sport or BOGE progas Stressbars - upper front and rear, lower front Mk3 CHASSIS Golf 3/Jetta 3 (4-cyl) Swaybars -     lightweight: 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -     ClubSport® Kit Shocks -     ClubSport® Kit Stressbars - upper front and rear (no rear on Jetta) lower front   Golf 3/Jetta 3/Corrado VR6: Swaybars -     ClubSport® adjustable 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -     ClubSport® Kit Shocks -     ClubSport® Kit Stressbars - upper front and rear (no rear on Jetta) lower front   Corrado VR6: Swaybars -     ClubSport® adjustable 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -     AUTOTECH Shocks -     Bilstein Sport Stressbars - upper front and rear (no rear on Jetta) lower front Mk4 CHASSIS Golf 4/Jetta 4/New Beetle: Swaybars -     ClubSport® adjustable 25mm front / 28mm rear Springs -     ClubSport® Kit Shocks -     ClubSport® Kit Stressbars - Upper front (except Beetle) and lower front Mk4 R32 CHASSIS Swaybars -     ClubSport® adjustable 25mm front / 22mm rear Springs -     Bilstein PSS Kit Shocks -     Bilstein PSS Kit Stressbars - Upper front B5 CHASSIS Passat Sedan and Wagon 1998on: Swaybars -     lightweight: 32mm front / 28mm rear Springs -     SACHS Sporting Kit Shocks -     Bilstein or SACHS Sporting Kit Stressbars - none Mk5 CHASSIS Jetta 5 2.5L: Swaybars -     ClubSport® adjustable 25mm front / 25mm rear Springs -     Shocks -     Bilstein HD or Sport Stressbars -   Golf 5/Jetta 5 2.0T: Swaybars -     ClubSport® adjustable 25mm front / 25mm rear Springs -     ClubSport® Kit Shocks -     ClubSport® Kit Stressbars -