The Project Pad

Alright! You guys have convinced me. Coilovers it is! In the likely event I don't have this done by Carlisle, maybe I can get some rides to get a feel for different setups (if there are any there).

I'll update the list with links to parts sources as I find them, but I would love to see everything compiled into a single informative thread!

I'm hoping to get the front subframe bushings from Jared's group buy, but that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so I may have to find an alternative.
Edit: Just kidding, he just updated on that project!

"What the heck do I need a squeegee for?" he asked, eyeing the thing inquisitively.

"lol freshmen," a voice said from behind me. Rather than get hung up on the fact that "lol" had somehow managed to make its way into the lexicon, I had to chuckle. Lol, indeed.

See, we had just finished up Ultimate practice for the night - a sport, for those who aren't familiar with it, in which you run around endlessly, throwing a disc around and hoping people don't associate you with the drunken Frisbros on the beach.

Of course, in the traditional Knoxville fashion, we were just wrapping up and gathering our things when the sky suddenly ripped open and dropped the wrath of Zeus on my now fleeing teammates. It was too late. We were drenched by the time we reached the car. My friends knew from experience what this meant in the 200. They generously let Charlie take shotgun. I answered him with a smile:

"You're my windshield wiper!"

As predicted, all the windows immediately began to fog up. This usually wasn't an issue by myself, but loaded with five soaking wet, warm bodies, there was nothing to be done. I idled the car next to my friend's Volvo 240 having the same problem, but it was clear my poor blower motor was fighting an uphill battle.

As we came to a stoplight, my passengers all hopped out and swapped places to relieve Charlie of wiping duty. It was during the 3rd consecutive Chinese fire drill that I finally thought to myself "Of all the work I've done to this car, why the heck haven't I attempted to fix this yet?"

Eventually, I finally popped my head into the passenger footwell and found the recirc flap return spring broken. I have still yet to fix it.

What I'm getting at here is a very roundabout way of saying that approximately nothing of significance has happened in the 4 months since I updated. The 200 has been dutifully serving as my daily without hesitation. In fact, I've only had to change the oil and replace a torn BPV diaphragm. That's it.

I did manage to replace my noisy wheel bearing only to find the noise didn't do away. Maybe I misdiagnosed, but I wonder if the new one was damaged while it was pressed, because the hum was definitely quieter than before. If they match, I want to temporarily swap the knuckle from the V8 and see if that fixes it, because the V8 is dead silent at all four corners.

Other than that, the Aktapod has been rock solid. And that's including around 500 miles of very hard mountain driving. My friend and I co-drove it in a rally in northern GA and placed first in class (no time element, though)! I even took her to the Tail of the Dragon last week for the first time! I've been in several cars before, but somehow never in the 200. I had a blast! Even if it's not what the 200 does best, she handles very predictably after you settle the body roll. Just gotta make sure to shed your speed before the turn and throttle out!!

Just a little assortment of shots from the last few weeks.



Bonus points for a pic on a motorcycle in the rally!

Nice update. The car looks great! Get that flap fixed! It can't be that hard lol

I like that term... frisbros LOL. Don't try to fool yourself man, you're totally a FRISBRO!

I noticed on S2forum Albert is wrapping up a GB with the S2 and UrS guys for KW coilovers. The C4 guys have to provide perfect uprights to get them made into KWs, but it makes me wonder if that's a possibility for y'all T44 types...

PRY4SNO wrote:I noticed on S2forum Albert is wrapping up a GB with the S2 and UrS guys for KW coilovers. The C4 guys have to provide perfect uprights to get them made into KWs, but it makes me wonder if that's a possibility for y'all T44 types...

Holy shit wait what.
Link?
200 20v and Urs struts front and rear should be identical, at least in regards to converting them to KW's

Wow, that's a great price! Certainly tempting, save for lack of damper adjustability and spring rate choice. From my understanding, KW's ride very well, though. Maybe I'll just rename my thread "Kevin's Indecision"

loxxrider wrote:I like that term... frisbros LOL. Don't try to fool yourself man, you're totally a FRISBRO!

But bruh! We don't have beaches, bruh! Us Appalachian frisbillies are forced to throw around farm equipment and occasionally someone gets tetanus.

Frisbillies. Even better!

Aktapod wrote:Wow, that's a great price! Certainly tempting, save for lack of damper adjustability and spring rate choice. From my understanding, KW's ride very well, though. Maybe I'll just rename my thread "Kevin's Indecision"

v1 come preset.

v2 you can adjust rebound.

v3 you can adjust compression and rebound.


Pretty sure you can also request different spring rates as well. Mark S. on the 'geek has higher rate springs with his v3 coilovers in his NASA spec coupe.

I had just dropped off the V8's alternator at a shop today, and I realized I still had over an hour to kill before class. I mean, I could have done homework or something, but I decided to spend some quality time with the 200 exploring backroads instead.

I turned the corner onto a road I'd never driven and gave it a good rip through the first two gears. A quick check in the rear view confirmed I'd roasted the car behind me; he was now barely discernible through the foggy air!

"Kevin! Never do spirited driving with poor visibility!" Yeah, yeah, mom. Normally I'd agree, but I made an exception because of how weirdly localized the weather was. I mean, it was super convenient that this cloud was only appearing directly behind my car.

Lol I felt that coming. What do you suspect?

Oooooooooohhhh maaaaan. It's never a bad time to put a head gasket and head studs in.

That's how my mother probably would've described a blown HG lol. Too good. But sorry to hear

Hahaha I just thought I'd let you go through the same thought process as I did while it smoke-screened like a Bond car. At first, I though the turbo had kicked it, but when it became thicker and predominantly white, I figured the head gasket had given up.

I pulled into the nearest lot and popped the hood to find the rest of my coolant dumping onto the downpipe from a split heater control valve (893819809A). I guess the added pressure from the water pump at high revs finally did it in after 25 years. Should be back in business tomorrow!

Yay, that's not bad at all I want to put a new one of those on mine. They tend to get brittle over time

Highly recommended if yours is original! It split right at the seam, so I imagine the plastic was just old. I could have probably limped it home with a silicone tape patch and the coolant I carry in the trunk for such an event, but that's what AAA is for! I'm dailying the now driveable V8 in the meantime.

Yea eff that little valve. Good placement Audi....glad to hear it wasn't a HG

I was replacing all of my coolant hoses with 034's kit and literally bumped that valve and psssshhhhhhhssshhhhh.

So are you running HP2(s) up front?

Not quite yet! I have literally everything I need to mount them except the motivation.

Maybe I need to make it a goal to have new brakes by Carlisle, so that I actually get something done.

Oh i see.

What setup do you have right now?

UFOs with single piston girling calipers?

I wish! Mine was fitted with the two piston Girling G60's back when they were recalled. They use a different strut housing, but I also have a set of UFO housings that I bought off a northern car.

The to-do list for the HP2's:
- Remove the old wheel bearings from the UFO housings
- Use electrolysis to remove all the rust
- Cut off the interfering ear and enlarge the brake mount holes
- Powdercoat the housings
- Install new wheel bearings and G60 hubs
- (Optional) Rebuild and powdercoat calipers
- Install on car

It took a grand total of 8 minutes to have the car driveable again! And approximately the same time afterwards to snap my window regulator. The sound still makes me shudder. I guess the 200's not happy with the attention I've been giving the V8.

Lol there are oem regs on eBay without motors for good prices.

Good to know, thanks! I'll see if I can track one down. Maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't there a DIY out there for making a new regulator cable? I thought I'd read it, but I can't find it anymore.

Never seen this before! I'm gonna play detective and say it looks like the pot metal of the window slider broke first, allowing the collar to go past the stop and take out the plastic pulley. Cable and motor are still functional.

I have a few ideas for workarounds, but I think I'll just replace the whole thing and donate the working parts to the V8.



Unfortunately, I had something new break since I last posted. I've searched ETKA for a current pn#, but it looks like they're NLA. This may be beyond my skill level, so I'm just gonna take it to a specialist to have them patch the old one with stainless.



I had a lot of work planned for spring break (including mounting HP2's!), but it looks like I'll be out of the game for a while, unless I can get someone to be my hands for me. :(