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Carter · 02-03-2007

Having posted a thread listing 2 of the main faults with my GT 3.2 I decided to put my money where my mouth was, and after some help from the forum and speaking to Chris at Gazzella I decided to go ahead and purchase some uprated dampers and front break pads.

As I don't go on track days I wasn't looking for a suspension setup that would be suited to a smooth race track, but at setup that would be more at home on your average 'A' or 'B' road. I wanted to concentrate on addressing the poor dampers and hopefully get away with keeping the stock springs, so after speaking to Chris at Gazzella I was seriously considering buying the Koni 'Yellow' top adjustable dampers. They didn't lower the car very much but enabled me to play around with harshness of the dampers. Apparently the softest setting was equivalent to the standard GT suspension. But after a quick glance in the boot of the GT it occurred to me that there would be no way of gaining access to the top mounts inside the boot to adjust the rear dampers once installed, meaning that adjustable suspension on the GT was a bit of a waste of time (correct me if I'm wrong). So non-adjustable suspension it had to be and the latest FSD dampers from Koni seemed a worthy alternative after all has been written in this forum and elsewhere on the net about them.

The other area I wanted to improve was the brakes. The Brembos were a big disappointment to me and I knew I had to get better pads to get the best out of them so after considering Pagid blues (which some have said are a bit harsh on the discs) and the Ferodo DS2500's (£152+vat expensive!) I decided to go for a pad that was 30% cheaper, Tarox Rallye+ 401's and as I don't do track days all I was after was some better brake feel and bite.

I went ahead and checked around on the net for the best deals, initially Gazzella seemed competitive but after checking a few other websites, Awesome Gti came up trumps with the cheapest set of Koni FSD's at £424.18 inc vat and delivery which was by far the cheapest I had found. They could also supply the Tarox pads for £95+vat which was also the cheapest I'd found. So £535.80 all in seemed a good deal for new shocks and pads.

Next was finding a garage to get this lot fitted and since I live in Edinburgh I had 3 main options Arnold Clark main dealer, Edward Labinjoh Alfa Specialist and McLennan’s Garage also an Alfa specialists. I had previously asked at Arnold Clark how much they charged to fit front pads on the Brembo calipers and they seemed to think they were a pain in the arse to fit so quoted me a whopping £250 including standard pads!!

Considering that the pads cost about £76 from a dealer that meant they were charging £174 just to fit them, they also quoted £129 inc vat for fitting each damper a total of £690 to fit 4 dampers and the front pads.

Next stop was Edward Labinjoh who is based in the city centre and they quoted £50+vat for fitting the pads and £380+vat for the dampers a total of £505.25. McLennan’s though, were by far the cheapest and I also got to speak to Stuart who displayed quite a knowledge of working on Alfa Romeo suspension. He suggested getting a full 4 wheel alignment done after fitting the shocks which costs £52+vat. His quote, to fit the front pads, 4 dampers and 4 wheel alignment was £256+vat which came to £300.80p

an absolute bargain in my view, which roughly works out at £50 for each damper and £50 to fit the front pads.

The GT is booked in next week to have the work done so I shall be posting my opinions once I have been out for a good drive...

02-03-2007	#1 (Post Link)
Carter AO Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 207 Member car: Golf GTi ED30	GT 3.2 with Koni FSD's & Tarox 401s Having posted a thread listing 2 of the main faults with my GT 3.2 I decided to put my money where my mouth was, and after some help from the forum and speaking to Chris at Gazzella I decided to go ahead and purchase some uprated dampers and front break pads. As I don't go on track days I wasn't looking for a suspension setup that would be suited to a smooth race track, but at setup that would be more at home on your average 'A' or 'B' road. I wanted to concentrate on addressing the poor dampers and hopefully get away with keeping the stock springs, so after speaking to Chris at Gazzella I was seriously considering buying the Koni 'Yellow' top adjustable dampers. They didn't lower the car very much but enabled me to play around with harshness of the dampers. Apparently the softest setting was equivalent to the standard GT suspension. But after a quick glance in the boot of the GT it occurred to me that there would be no way of gaining access to the top mounts inside the boot to adjust the rear dampers once installed, meaning that adjustable suspension on the GT was a bit of a waste of time (correct me if I'm wrong). So non-adjustable suspension it had to be and the latest FSD dampers from Koni seemed a worthy alternative after all has been written in this forum and elsewhere on the net about them. The other area I wanted to improve was the brakes. The Brembos were a big disappointment to me and I knew I had to get better pads to get the best out of them so after considering Pagid blues (which some have said are a bit harsh on the discs) and the Ferodo DS2500's (£152+vat expensive!) I decided to go for a pad that was 30% cheaper, Tarox Rallye+ 401's and as I don't do track days all I was after was some better brake feel and bite. I went ahead and checked around on the net for the best deals, initially Gazzella seemed competitive but after checking a few other websites, Awesome Gti came up trumps with the cheapest set of Koni FSD's at £424.18 inc vat and delivery which was by far the cheapest I had found. They could also supply the Tarox pads for £95+vat which was also the cheapest I'd found. So £535.80 all in seemed a good deal for new shocks and pads. Next was finding a garage to get this lot fitted and since I live in Edinburgh I had 3 main options Arnold Clark main dealer, Edward Labinjoh Alfa Specialist and McLennan’s Garage also an Alfa specialists. I had previously asked at Arnold Clark how much they charged to fit front pads on the Brembo calipers and they seemed to think they were a pain in the arse to fit so quoted me a whopping £250 including standard pads!! Considering that the pads cost about £76 from a dealer that meant they were charging £174 just to fit them, they also quoted £129 inc vat for fitting each damper a total of £690 to fit 4 dampers and the front pads. Next stop was Edward Labinjoh who is based in the city centre and they quoted £50+vat for fitting the pads and £380+vat for the dampers a total of £505.25. McLennan’s though, were by far the cheapest and I also got to speak to Stuart who displayed quite a knowledge of working on Alfa Romeo suspension. He suggested getting a full 4 wheel alignment done after fitting the shocks which costs £52+vat. His quote, to fit the front pads, 4 dampers and 4 wheel alignment was £256+vat which came to £300.80p an absolute bargain in my view, which roughly works out at £50 for each damper and £50 to fit the front pads. The GT is booked in next week to have the work done so I shall be posting my opinions once I have been out for a good drive...