Question on handling

[Matty81]

Hey people,

Had my Scirocco R for a day now and I don't know if its just me being a bit paranoid as I'm not used to the car but when accelerating hard and at speed the handling/steering feels really light and sensitive at times, its kinda hard to explain but its like the car felt a little wobbly and moved around a bit despite me going in a straight line, its like I had to really hold the wheel hard to keep it straight, that probably doesn't make much sense but is that normal or does it sound like there might be a problem? car seems to feel ok round corners

[matthew.f.young]

is it torque steer?

[Matty81]

I don't think so, it doesn't feel like its pulling, more wobble and steering feels really light and sensitive

[Paradox1]

not sure about that, when accelerate it feels planted to me. may be worth checking the geom setup?

taking a sharp bend at speed is a shakey moment but its still controllable. you can rally feel the rear end being pulled by the front end. I like it so may not bother with a rear roll bar. but if I do get one I will probably set it to soft

[Matty81]

By Geometry set up would this be the tracking? There's one in town that does the Hunter realignment so might take it there

[Matty81]

also just remembered the last owner said that VW mentioned the beading in the front alloy is slightly worn but said it might feel bumpy, would this cause any problems? the owner said it felt fine, but I woudlnt say the issue I have is bumpy

[Maisonian]

Tricky one to say; I remember the first few days of driving my R after upgrading from a MK4 golf & the steering was rather light. Turns out it's just newer, more efficient technology! Trouble is, once you notice somthing, it's hard to in-notice it.

Best way would be to get a mate/other Roc owner to drive it and see if they notice a difference Vs their own?

[Cuprabob]

What setting do you have the DCC set to. If set to "Comfort" the steering is much lighter than when it is set to "Sport"

[Matty81]

yeah that's a good idea, ill see if someone can test it out for me, but I guess it will feel quite different to my civic type R

Ive tried it in Sport and Comfort and seems to be the same

[Matty81]

Ok so this morning the sport/comfort light came on... after having a search this could potentially be one of the shock absorbers gone, so that might explain something!! annoying

[Cuprabob]

Ok so this morning the sport/comfort light came on... after having a search this could potentially be one of the shock absorbers gone, so that might explain something!! annoying

It comes on under normal operation based on what mode you are in.

If it's flashing then that indicates a fault.

For one of the DCC shock absorbers you are looking at £220 each for the part and they are only available from the dealers or TPS.

[Matty81]

yeah its actually flashing its going to a local garage tomorrow, so does that mean they wont be able to order a DCC shock if it needs one? also whats TPS? thanks

[Cuprabob]

yeah its actually flashing its going to a local garage tomorrow, so does that mean they wont be able to order a DCC shock if it needs one? also whats TPS? thanks

Yes, but they will need to order from TPS or a dealer.

TPS is Trade Part Specialist which is a wholly owned subsidiary of VW UK and manages all the parts logistics for VAG. Basically they supply ask VAG dealers with parts. Some of the branches sell direct to the public and they tend to be slightly cheaper than the dealer for OEM parts.

https://tps.trade/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Matty81]

ah ok i see what you mean, so could my local garage just not order them from VW or the TPS?

[Cuprabob]

ah ok i see what you mean, so could my local garage just not order them from VW or the TPS?

Yes.

Single source means high price. As I said previously you're looking at £220 just for the part. Also, they really should be replaced in pairs.

[Matty81]

damn, ok so it wont be cheap, kind of annoying as ive had the car a day, but at the same time i just want it sorted, its horrible getting a new car and then having problems with it, i knew it didnt feel right

[rpsmith79]

damn, ok so it wont be cheap, kind of annoying as ive had the car a day, but at the same time i just want it sorted, its horrible getting a new car and then having problems with it, i knew it didnt feel right

Was it from a dealer, if you you might be able to get them to put some "good will" towards it, if you ask them nicely

[Matty81]

No it was a private deal, the bloke was really nice though ansd ive messaged im about it and he said to keep him posted, so if its expensive hopefully he might do something, i know id feel bad if i just sold a car to someone and it had an expensive bill the next day!

[Matty81]

Ok so the garage checked out the car on the Vagcom and there seemed to be an electrical fault in the rear left shock, faults were Intermittent fault in circuit and functionaly shut up intermittent, no idea what these mean, any ideas? but they said they have reset it now so should be ok but if the button flashes again ill need a new shock. Couldnt really test it properly but from what i did it seemed more stable when i floored it, so hopefully sorted for now, might also get the tracking done

[3wrlcs]

Hi, the steering was the only concern I had about my Scirocco when I bought it when it was 5 years old and had 50k miles on it. your description of the steering sounds possibly similar to my experience although my car was probably worse. I struggled with confidence as it was difficult to place the car precisely on the road and my previous car was excellent in this respect. Geometry did help, I was toe out at the rear although front was spot on. I was concerned enough to test drive a few other cars but didn't find anything at the price I could afford so have taken a risk and modified with Superpro control arms, anti lift kit and ARBs. This has improved the steering accuracy/feel and handling considerably. Having driven a new Leon Cupra I would say that some VAG steering isnt to my taste and Ford is more suitable for me, having said that the Scirocco steering is better than the Leon even when not modded IMHO.