stripethree

Eleven months after purchase the GTI successfully passed emissions again today. I must be doing something right because looking at the records it barely passed last year while this year, I shouldn’t have even been worrying about it. While the car was on the rollers during the test I noticed a wobble in the front wheels. I couldn’t help but crack a smile, thinking that of course it’s running better than it even has in my hands, there must be something that needs attention. The other part of cracking the smile was the thought of doing something fun with the car.

The truth is, I’ve been plotting suspension work for some time. The wobbling could be worn out ball joints, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, or a combination of all three. Or wheel bearings, but ah, hopefully not. All these things were on my list to replace, along with other wear and tear parts of the suspension, because they are inexpensive and straightforward (save for the bearings…) to replace and would provide some great improvements for the car. The question becomes, as it always is, ‘if I’m going to take all that stuff apart I might as well replace or upgrade [insert parts here]‘.

I would love the car to be lower. How low? Who knows. Drop springs or coil overs? Hmmm… the saga continues…