The Brady Bunch - Project Volkswagen Jetta 1.8t

After about 30 minutes wrestling with the thing, Jesse fitted the Forge inlet pipe and the numbers proved the NGP staff correct. We'd found an additional 13whp and 5 lb/ft. I was totally surprised but after seeing both pipes next to each other, you suddenly realize the standard inlet pipe is a bottleneck. It's certainly a very big number for such a cheap and easy upgrade.

Overall I'm thrilled with the work NGP carried out. To attest to the quality of their work, the professionalism these guys exhibited and their friendly manner, I can assure you my 600 mile trip from NY state was well worth the drive. I hope to have the pleasure of doing business with them in the future, and if you want to learn more about New German Performance, visit www.npgracing.com

And if you're interested in learning more about Vogtland and its products, visit www.vogtland.com

Keep Dubbin'.

The benefit of installing height adjustable suspensions like Vogtland coilovers is having the ability not only to adjust the ride height but to be able to corner weight balance the car as well. Corner weight balance is one of the most critical components in adjusting a vehicle's handling. Although not as critical on the street as the track, a balanced vehicle will provide an improvement in handling.

Ideally a car should have equal weight front to rear and side-to-side. However, this isn't always the case. Setting that aside, the ride height must be set first. It should be set with an average fuel load if you wish to be precise. If you're going to track the car with just a driver, place the driver's weight in the vehicle as well.

Once ride height is set you're ready to align the car. Note, an excessive drop won't necessarily mean the car will handle better. In fact, you can upset the handling if you drop the car too much and limit suspension travel.With the vehicle ride height, weight and alignment set, it's time to corner weight the vehicle. A set of accurate corner scales will reduce the headache of getting the weight properly distributed. If these aren't available, a set of grain scales can do the trick.

With the vehicle on the scales, ensure the suspension is settled. This is another reason a quality spring is crucial to a consistent setup. If a spring loses height during an event, it will change the ride height, corner weight and the alignment as well.

The most important rule when making your weight change is to make your adjustments diagonally and opposite each other. Since there is more left front weight in a Jetta, we have to lower the left front corner and right rear corner an equal amount. The amount of weight you move will depend on how much you turn the adjuster. The thread has a 1.5mm pitch and the height will be adjusted 2mm, as the motion ratio is about 1.35:1 for one full turn. By reducing the ride height on the heavy side, the taller side will carry more weight. To maintain the ride height and alignment, the left rear and right front have to be raised an equal amount. Remember, the key is to perform the opposite of what was done on the other diagonal. This will ensure the height and alignment remain the same. You may only be moving 30-40 lb from one end of the vehicle to the other. And while it doesn't seem like much, the improved handling will pay dividends.

Example:

Start:

Total weight: 3300 lb.
Left front & right rear weight: 1680 lb
(diagonal percentage 50.9%)
Right front & left rear weight: 1620 lb
(diagonal percentage 49.1%)

Finish:

Total weight: 3300 lb
Left front & right rear weight: 1680 lb
(diagonal percentage 49.5%)
Right front & left rear weight: 1620 lb
(diagonal percentage 50.5%)