Suspension

[robat282]

Given that my mechanic is going to have my car for a bit to do my flywheel I was thinking I might get him to do some other work - he loves it!

I'm not happy with the huge gap between the top of the tyres and the wheel arch (especially on the rear) and was thinking of lowering it, not by much, 20mm would be fine, but what is the best way to go about this? Suspension kits talk about 35-40mm drops which would concern me given the sump is so low anyway. The Golf GTi is only 15mm lower or so I've heard, could I just swap out the suspension for the VW sports suspension? Or just replace the springs, which I don't like the sound of, because I'm sure I've been told it would be bad for the shocks? Anyone with ideas or experiance post below!

Cheers!

[Crasher]

The 1.8T Bora springs won't lower it that much. I would (respectfully) suggest (as I am the UK importer), a Vogtland "Sport" kit which has 40-mm shortened Alko dampers (the supplier to Seat) and this kit would lower your car 40-mm which is ideal and not too low. Using genuine VW Golf GTI lowering springs may not work as they are precisely calibrated for the weight of the car. There is a mind boggling list of genuine springs for the Golf 4/Bora platform, literally dozens of them, so it would be very hit and miss unless you sat down with the parts system and, knowing your front and rear axle weights and ride height, sat down to work out which axle weight grouping springs would give the desired ride height, it even hurts my head! The axle weight, specifically the front, varies from model to model and upon vehicle specification and a simple thing like air con and the wrong spring can alter the ride height by 10-mm.

[robat282]

Cheers Crasher, I've had a look over the weekend and 40mm wouldnt be too bad, aftermarket kit it will be then!

[Crasher]

Vogtland, hint hint!

[robat282]

so subtle can you give me a link to the kit I would need? and maybe a price? cheers

[Crasher]

http://cms.vogtland.com/wcms/bin/Ser...032310&Via=Nav

I will sort you out a price.

[speed12]

Hi Crasher, i would appreciate your comments on my query if possible;

I currently own a VW BOra TDI highline, so its comfy but a bit stodgy.

I am wanting to change the existing 16" alloys for some new RS4 replicas but i cannot decide between 17" and 18" which would you personally go for?

The wheel query brings me on to suspension, after reading within the forum it appears that to get the better look i will need to lower my car, i dont want a severe ride, but would like something a bit more sporty, i was thinking of a 35mm drop, because i do live down some country lanes which are not brilliant.

What are your thoughts on this? your comments are welcomed.

Regards

Speed12

[Crasher]

Personally I like the 18’s for their looks and the ride difference between the two isn’t that noticeable. I do find that 17’s and 18’s feel heavy to drive on cars with standard dampers, the extra weight of the wheel makes the car feel harsh so I advise people to fit firmer dampers to reduce this sensation. VW recommend the use of a reduced lock steering rack on the Golf 4/Bora platform when using 17” and above wheels with 225 section tyres and this becomes especially important on cars that are lowered. I am the importer for Vogtland so obviously I am biased; they do a rather good 40-mm kit for your car…

[speed12]

I didnt realise that the steering had to be reduced, though i can understand why.

Do you know the cost of one of these kits you have referred to? im on a reasonably tight budget so dont want to spend silly money, also what kind of warranty do the kits come with? i noticed that the KONI have a lifetime warranty.

I would also be interested to know your comments on ECU remapping or TUning boxes and your views on telling the insurance company or not?? have searched a few companies for quotes with a remap and its usually over £1500 per year.

Sorry to ask so many questions.

Kind regards

Speed12

[Crasher]

I think the Koni lifetime warranty isn’t a blanket warranty as when we have them fail outside the one year, we have to pay and my major gripe with Koni is the lack of a shortened damper at an affordable price. In my opinion, if you lower a car 40-mm, you should shorten the damper by 40-mm and also reduce the length of the bump stop which is easy by fitting shortened bump stops. The Vogtland kits is £215 for the Junior kit (cheaper dampers but still shortened) and £310 for the Sport kit which uses higher quality Alko shortened dampers.