Re: Annoying Rattle

[jamie vondruska <jamie@obs.net>]

What's up Jay,

One other area to check on the rear suspension is the perch that the spring
sits on. VW uses some type of goo where the spring contacts the perch to
hold it in place. Under full rebound the spring may have come loose from
the goo causing the rattling or clunking that you are hearing. Next time I
see you, take me for a ride so I can hear it.

Also, the squishy noise you hear from the stock shocks is normal. The stock
shocks are single piston Monroes that aren't very good. By nature of their
design (cheap and single piston) they have a tendency to transmit even the
smallest bumps through the whole front end (noisier over bumps). This gets
progressively worse as the miles accumulate.

I recently replaced the shocks and springs on my '95 GLX with Boge Pro-Gas
and Neuspeed Sport Lowering Springs. The ride is pleasantly firmer but the
harshness has been taken out of the small bumps. The Boge's are a
gas-charged dual-piston design that is more forgiving of small bumps. In
general dual-piston shocks (Boge's or Koni's) will give a better ride than
a single-piston (Bilstein) design. The disadvantage with the dual-piston is
that they are not as "accurate" as a single piston. The single piston will
give the most feedback to the driver at the expense of ride quality. My car
rides better now than when it was stock plus it handles ten-fold better
(not to mention looks much better).

Regarding chip questions, the chip by design will look to the mass air flow
sensor to check at what velocity the air is coming in and will adjust
accordingly. So if you modified your airbox you shouldn't need a custom
programmed chip. Likewise for the exhaust. If the amount of air were to
change beyond the normal tolerances built into the chip (Schrick Manifold,
VSR, etc) then it would be necessary to custom program the chip.

As far as the wax on the lower black panels, I went to a power-wash
self-service car wash and used a brush (like Andy mentioned) on the stuborn
parts, and was able to get most of it off. FYI, the Zymol waxes won't leave
residue.

- -jamie