My A2 has been afflicted for a while with the wobbles at various speeds. Some things have helped (it got much worse around last autumn) and others haven't.
One thing which I'd been assured had been done and obviously hadn't is a decent alignment. My wobbles just got a *lot* better. I'll be taking the wheels to be balanced again this week as we're off up north on Saturday.
So: Alignment can help wobbles, no matter whether you believe it or not. Seems counterintuitive, but that doesn't make it any less true ;)
- Bret
27/05/2012
22/05/2012
a2 suspension revisited and extended
Following on from this, I'll expand it : http://kivikuvat.blogspot.com/2011/11/post-on-something-completely-different.html
There are multiple options:
- FSDs are soft-ish
- Bilstein B4s are "standard", B6s a tick harder and B8s shorter
- Monroe reflexes are supposed to be the "same tech" as FSDs, but cheaper
- Spidan springs are as "standard"
- Weitec springs are harder
- Eibach / ABT springs are a *tick* harder than standard
Tyre pressures make a huge difference. I was running 2.3 all round on my car and then changed it to 2.7 or so at the back. The crashiness over potholes increased - and massively, too. I drive a set of gravel roads regularly to the stables and the holes don't change *that* much, so I know where they are - and the difference is amazing.
I much prefer the 2.3 setup.
Wheel weights also make a huge difference, so lightweight wheels with low profile 15s, Spidans and FSDs are probably the softest / most effective "magic carpet" combo you will get. B6s will also be not far behind. You will still get roll and nod, but not too much.
FSDs also seem to not be consistent between one batch and another.
From here:
- minimal roll, nod, squat is probably acheived with Koni Yellows, Oz Ultraleggeras in 17x7 with 205/40R17 and Weitec springs.
Alternative? Silverline with the Stainless parts or it will no longer be adjustable after the first winter ;)
- medium comfort with some roll, nod, and squat: 16" 195/45R16 Oz Superturismo, B6, Weitec or ABT / Eibach
- high comfort with some sportiness left: 195/50R15 on, say TD Pro Race or other 6.5 - 7J x15 *light* wheel, B6 or FSD, Eibach, possibly Weitec
- comfort: B4, Spidan, pepperpots with 185/60R15.
Do not forget to check the droplinks and the antirollbar mounts as if they are loose or worn, you will get crappy handling. You should also think about the lower balljoints and therefore wishbones including their rubber mounts if you want to tighten things up. Rear mounts are more difficult to replace but only about €20 each in Germany.
So:
- Replace your droplinks
- replace the ARB mounting points if you haven't already
- Ensure your tyres / wheels are conducive to the ride you're looking for; note also the relative size of teh tyre to the wheel
- a 195 tyre on 7J will be nearly stretched, on 6J it will be much softer as a result.
- Check your wishbone mounts front and rear, they may be OK, maybe not. Replace for optimal results.
Parts list:
8Z0 412 301 - front bump stop (2 pieces)
6Q0 512 131 B - rear bump stop (2 pieces)
6N0 412 249 C - strut bearing (2 pieces)
also recommended to exchange especially in case of high mileage:
8Z0 511 149 A - rear, bottom spring yellow PUR rubber seat (2 pieces)
1J0 512 149 B , rear, top spring black hard-rubber seat (2 pieces)
6N0 413 175 A - dust protection for the front damper piston rod (2 pieces)
1J0 513 425 A - dust protection tube for the rear damper piston rod (2 pieces) -
8Z0 411 315 D - droplink (2 pieces) (REPLACE with MEYLE HD version, but make 100% sure you have the correct tool to tighten them!)
suggested to exchange due to possible rust pitting:
N 019 530 3 - screw (6 pieces)
N 101 064 02 - nut (4 pieces)
N 101 389 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 078 03 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 613 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 102 861 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 104 018 01 - nut (2 pieces)
N 905 173 02 - screw (2 pieces)
N 906 484 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 909 081 01 - nut (2 pieces)
- Bret
There are multiple options:
- FSDs are soft-ish
- Bilstein B4s are "standard", B6s a tick harder and B8s shorter
- Monroe reflexes are supposed to be the "same tech" as FSDs, but cheaper
- Spidan springs are as "standard"
- Weitec springs are harder
- Eibach / ABT springs are a *tick* harder than standard
Tyre pressures make a huge difference. I was running 2.3 all round on my car and then changed it to 2.7 or so at the back. The crashiness over potholes increased - and massively, too. I drive a set of gravel roads regularly to the stables and the holes don't change *that* much, so I know where they are - and the difference is amazing.
I much prefer the 2.3 setup.
Wheel weights also make a huge difference, so lightweight wheels with low profile 15s, Spidans and FSDs are probably the softest / most effective "magic carpet" combo you will get. B6s will also be not far behind. You will still get roll and nod, but not too much.
FSDs also seem to not be consistent between one batch and another.
From here:
- minimal roll, nod, squat is probably acheived with Koni Yellows, Oz Ultraleggeras in 17x7 with 205/40R17 and Weitec springs.
Alternative? Silverline with the Stainless parts or it will no longer be adjustable after the first winter ;)
- medium comfort with some roll, nod, and squat: 16" 195/45R16 Oz Superturismo, B6, Weitec or ABT / Eibach
- high comfort with some sportiness left: 195/50R15 on, say TD Pro Race or other 6.5 - 7J x15 *light* wheel, B6 or FSD, Eibach, possibly Weitec
- comfort: B4, Spidan, pepperpots with 185/60R15.
Do not forget to check the droplinks and the antirollbar mounts as if they are loose or worn, you will get crappy handling. You should also think about the lower balljoints and therefore wishbones including their rubber mounts if you want to tighten things up. Rear mounts are more difficult to replace but only about €20 each in Germany.
So:
- Replace your droplinks
- replace the ARB mounting points if you haven't already
- Ensure your tyres / wheels are conducive to the ride you're looking for; note also the relative size of teh tyre to the wheel
- a 195 tyre on 7J will be nearly stretched, on 6J it will be much softer as a result.
- Check your wishbone mounts front and rear, they may be OK, maybe not. Replace for optimal results.
Parts list:
8Z0 412 301 - front bump stop (2 pieces)
6Q0 512 131 B - rear bump stop (2 pieces)
6N0 412 249 C - strut bearing (2 pieces)
also recommended to exchange especially in case of high mileage:
8Z0 511 149 A - rear, bottom spring yellow PUR rubber seat (2 pieces)
1J0 512 149 B , rear, top spring black hard-rubber seat (2 pieces)
6N0 413 175 A - dust protection for the front damper piston rod (2 pieces)
1J0 513 425 A - dust protection tube for the rear damper piston rod (2 pieces) -
8Z0 411 315 D - droplink (2 pieces) (REPLACE with MEYLE HD version, but make 100% sure you have the correct tool to tighten them!)
suggested to exchange due to possible rust pitting:
N 019 530 3 - screw (6 pieces)
N 101 064 02 - nut (4 pieces)
N 101 389 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 078 03 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 613 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 102 861 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 104 018 01 - nut (2 pieces)
N 905 173 02 - screw (2 pieces)
N 906 484 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 909 081 01 - nut (2 pieces)
- Bret
07/05/2012
couple of shots from yesterday...
I was out and about yesterday and have a couple of shots I don't find too shabby...
and then for the afternoon:
There will be more in my g+ stream this week. - Bret
and then for the afternoon:
There will be more in my g+ stream this week. - Bret
06/05/2012
quick update about ZFS
another update on my ZFS box; it would appear that the cache disk didn't survive the last reboot. That's not really a problem (it was a slow disk anyway) but still, the machine didn't really say much, just the status of ZFS now brings up a "removed" ... ah well, I don't appear to have lost any data, so there's no problem.
Now to see when we can afford an SSD for cache.
The scrub I ran last night after heading off to bed was the first one in a month. 78kB of errors... on consumer disks, running 24/7. That's really not too shabby at all.
- Bret
Now to see when we can afford an SSD for cache.
The scrub I ran last night after heading off to bed was the first one in a month. 78kB of errors... on consumer disks, running 24/7. That's really not too shabby at all.
- Bret
01/05/2012
crashplan - or at least backups
... so now, I need to really, seriously start thinking about backups.
I've got 1.25TB or so left of 4, so I need a decent sized plan. 3TB isn't too far over what I figured would happen, either.
So now I need to get the backup plan sorted and working. Even with a 10Mbit upload (which I don't have), the backup is going to take a while. So I think it will be plan B... which means I need some more storage space.
I think I'll be getting another 6TB of space and then shift that to an external box, so I can add the remaining 2TB to the set while the other data is safe on the 6TB bundle.
Should be easy, right? Well, I should have a very large array at work in the next few weeks to play with, so that will put me in good stead for the speeds I can expect.
100 MB/s --> 6GB / min --> around 3 hours per terabyte. I won't be copying it over with rsync, either, I have had a couple of interesting experiences with that in the last few days. Maybe set the disks up as a new vdev and then copy everything? But it's only a one-time thing, so maybe I can survive with it taking time.
When I've worked it out, I'll post about it. 150MB over eSATA would help, though. If I can get drivers, the PERC/6 might also work well, as then I could slap all of the disks in the one box. But the box is nearly full as it is, so it needs to be replacements rather than additional disks. Which is another problem I'll deal with when I get to it.
In the mean time, disk prices have also dropped nicely again, so I might even be able to afford the new space.
- Bret
I've got 1.25TB or so left of 4, so I need a decent sized plan. 3TB isn't too far over what I figured would happen, either.
So now I need to get the backup plan sorted and working. Even with a 10Mbit upload (which I don't have), the backup is going to take a while. So I think it will be plan B... which means I need some more storage space.
I think I'll be getting another 6TB of space and then shift that to an external box, so I can add the remaining 2TB to the set while the other data is safe on the 6TB bundle.
Should be easy, right? Well, I should have a very large array at work in the next few weeks to play with, so that will put me in good stead for the speeds I can expect.
100 MB/s --> 6GB / min --> around 3 hours per terabyte. I won't be copying it over with rsync, either, I have had a couple of interesting experiences with that in the last few days. Maybe set the disks up as a new vdev and then copy everything? But it's only a one-time thing, so maybe I can survive with it taking time.
When I've worked it out, I'll post about it. 150MB over eSATA would help, though. If I can get drivers, the PERC/6 might also work well, as then I could slap all of the disks in the one box. But the box is nearly full as it is, so it needs to be replacements rather than additional disks. Which is another problem I'll deal with when I get to it.
In the mean time, disk prices have also dropped nicely again, so I might even be able to afford the new space.
- Bret
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