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Suspension lift alternatives
I know the trend with most VW’s here is to slam them, and have to say some of them look awesome. I am wanting to do the opposite with my Tiguan though. I want to get MORE clearance, but with minimal expense and effort, and preferably only temporarily when I decide to go offroad.
I have found a guy in South Africa that has made his own Coil Strut Spacers that would be perfect, except for the fact that installing them is quite a job and once in they’ll pretty much have to stay in. They are similar to these ones: http://www.snakeracing.com.au/coilstruts.html
But his look like this:
The obvious advantage of this solution is that it achieves the best lift, is robust and reliable, and doesn’t place the socks and coils under any extra stress. Of course, it’s not something you whip in and out on a whim though, and it could cause added wear on the CV’s etc.
So having ruled those out, I’ve come across 2 other potentials that I’d like some informed opinions on.
1) Coil spacer that fits between the top of the coil springs and the original rubber isolating pad (http://www.toughdogdealer.com.au/coilspacers.htm). They seem relatively easy to install according to this guide (http://www.ehow.com/how_5516077_inst...g-spacers.html)
This looks as if it achieves extra clearance by putting the coil under additional pressure. I’m not sure how much extra clearance it will achieve, and what sort of damage it might cause. Putting them in and taking them out is a lot simpler than the strut spacers, but still a little involved. For an offroad weekend it wouldn’t be a problem to do though.
2) Coil spring rubber booster (http://www.mr-gasket.com/ProductDeta...inselection=-1)
These look the simplest to put in and remove as it’s simply a case of jacking the wheel up, putting the spacer between the gap in a coil and letting the vehicle down again. I assume the principle is to prevent one coil from compressing in order to achieve the lift. My reservation with this is that it places stress on 2 points of the spring, increasing the likelihood of the spring snapping at those points.
Can any of you comment on the effectiveness, pro’s and con’s of the above options and whether they are worth doing or not for occasional offroad use?
I have found a guy in South Africa that has made his own Coil Strut Spacers that would be perfect, except for the fact that installing them is quite a job and once in they’ll pretty much have to stay in. They are similar to these ones: http://www.snakeracing.com.au/coilstruts.html
But his look like this:
The obvious advantage of this solution is that it achieves the best lift, is robust and reliable, and doesn’t place the socks and coils under any extra stress. Of course, it’s not something you whip in and out on a whim though, and it could cause added wear on the CV’s etc.
So having ruled those out, I’ve come across 2 other potentials that I’d like some informed opinions on.
1) Coil spacer that fits between the top of the coil springs and the original rubber isolating pad (http://www.toughdogdealer.com.au/coilspacers.htm). They seem relatively easy to install according to this guide (http://www.ehow.com/how_5516077_inst...g-spacers.html)
This looks as if it achieves extra clearance by putting the coil under additional pressure. I’m not sure how much extra clearance it will achieve, and what sort of damage it might cause. Putting them in and taking them out is a lot simpler than the strut spacers, but still a little involved. For an offroad weekend it wouldn’t be a problem to do though.
2) Coil spring rubber booster (http://www.mr-gasket.com/ProductDeta...inselection=-1)
These look the simplest to put in and remove as it’s simply a case of jacking the wheel up, putting the spacer between the gap in a coil and letting the vehicle down again. I assume the principle is to prevent one coil from compressing in order to achieve the lift. My reservation with this is that it places stress on 2 points of the spring, increasing the likelihood of the spring snapping at those points.
Can any of you comment on the effectiveness, pro’s and con’s of the above options and whether they are worth doing or not for occasional offroad use?
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