Polo 9n 1.9tdi PD GT Ride Hieght

[neil w]

Simple question , my 2004 Polo GT tdi 130 is fitted as standard with the VW sports suspension option and has just snapped a front spring whilst reversing out of the garage -it was an aftermarket non matched spring fitted by the previous owner- from TPS the ones for the car are £65 each inc vat (so it means a minimum outlay of £130 to replace like for like).

All of the decent replacement springs ie Eibach, Spax , H & R plus the likes of the Koni STR.T kit all list a 35mm drop in ride height. I assume this is the drop from the standard ride height (ie not the sports option) , before I make a decision as to what I intend doing I want to know the difference in ride height between standard vw and vw sports suspension.

State of the roads around here I don't want to drop the car too low and cannot be bothered with crashy suspension if the likes of Eibachs don't work correctly with standard shocks

The other option will to be to go for a KONI STR.T kit at £320 delivered (I've used them on a couple of Audi's in the past with good results).

Any ideas ?

[neil w]

Did some digging with vw and found out that the standard GT suspension is lowered by 25 mm over a standard car so fitting a Koni STRT kit would give a 10 mm drop over standard GT height.

Took the plunge and ordered the Koni kit which came with uprated and lowered H & R springs.

Fitted the kit a couple of weeks ago and to be honest the ride height is identical to the standard GT suspension which has had 85,000 miles of use.

As a result the car handles better than standard but retains a sensible real world ride height, it feels more controlled and beautifully damped, no crashing about over potholes and becoming unsettled on poor road surfaces and no danger from speed bumps.

All in all a huge thumbs up for the Koni STRT kit and if the koni stuff I've fitted in the past is anything to go by it should be long lasting