Hunter alignment settings?

[FredBloggs46]

Hi Guys,

Had a 4 wheel Hunter alignment carried out yesterday after letting the newly installed H&R's settle for a week. Just a bit concerned that the settings that they have 'corrected' them to seem to be off from the ELSA Mk3 Scirocco settings?

The car is a 2013 R Line 130w TDi.

Any comments/insight would be appreciated.

Cheers.

[uklee]

They may have used Scirocco R settings rather than 'R line' . Either way , they look to have done a pretty good job in equalising the values across axle. The front & rear toe's are spot on , and you're only carrying an extra 0.5 degree of camber all round (compared to a stock R line scirocco) . As long as it drives ok with no steering wheel misalignment or pull/drift - then I really wouldn't worry.

Lee

[FredBloggs46]

Cheers Lee,

I was hoping that you would reply, didn't want to be cheeky and PM you though! Used the settings from an R, yes that's what I thought myself after looking at the ELSA file which I grabbed from another thread you posted on.

Just been out on a 30 mile trip, just a slight drift to left after 10 secs or so from the middle lane of the motorway over to the left, so spot on. Car feels much improved, more stable and sharper turn in. As I commented to my Mate, I feel it actually soaks up the bumps better now with the H&R's on compared to previous. I suspect that there is less rebound with them compared to stockers, which equates to less jarring when the spring becomes uncompressed after a load has been applied?

Cheers for your help

[uklee]

No Worries

Shorter springs nearly always have an increased (stiffer) rate - i.e a greater force is needed to compress the spring length by the same distance.
This is what gives you the reduced body roll expected from a 'performance' spring , and stops the dampers ( the part that controls compression and rebound) crashing into the bump stops. The spring rate can be 'played' with by the use of progressive winding (where the coils are closer together at one end when compared to the other) - effectively giving a 'softer' feel for the first few inches of travel , then stiffening up as travel increases , so it may be this that you're experiencing .

Lee

[FredBloggs46]

Makes sense, thanks for the explanation.