New polyurethane rear axle bushes have further improved the suspension control and handling of our Mk 4 GTI. DESPITE ALL the many modifications we've made so far, there was one part of the suspension of our project Mk 4 GT11.8T which we'd overlooked for far too long, the rear suspension bushes. Clearly, there wasn't a serious problem with them, even after such a high mileage and arduous usage, because the car was still handling well and passed its MoT with flying colours. But there can be no doubt that, at over 160,000 miles, the original rear axle bushes were well past their best... Inevitably, any rubber bushing degrades with time and usage, Losing its effectiveness in controlling the movement of the joint. In the case of the rear axle, this can manifest itself in excessive changes of rear wheel alignment under hard cornering or braking, typically causing too much toe-out, leading to instability and uneven tyre wear, as well as loose reactions over rough and bumpy roads.
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