Suspension Recommendations

[FLYINGTI]

Quick and Easy one!

What are some Good Bang For your Buck Suspension recomendations??

Love some help.

Cheers!

[Bflat]

PM Lorenz from Slammed Distribution.

I've heard FK coilovers go pretty alright on our machines, cheap too!

[FLYINGTI]

PM Lorenz from Slammed Distribution.

I've heard FK coilovers go pretty alright on our machines, cheap too!

Yah ive seen that FK's are pretty cheap!
what's in your Ryan??

[MissVuks]

Weictecs!!

Way better than my old Bilstein B12 kit. The weitecs are just as good as kws. They are a great investment.

[Spec83]

If you get coil-overs, make sure you get ones specific for the GTI.. I know that KW and Weitec modify the swaybar location point on the strut body to avoid contact with the driveshafts... I'm not sure if FK do this, but if you get their konegsport kit they provide shortened swaybar drop links to avoid the same issue.

For the record I have KW V1... The damping in them is very good, especially over 80km/h. However, your low speed ride will be a fair bit firmer

[Bflat]

Yah ive seen that FK's are pretty cheap!
what's in your Ryan??

I'm running a set of AP Coilovers

[noone]

Whats your budget? Will you be installing yourself or get someone to do that for you?
email Damien at DPM performance in the UK, tell him you're on VWW, ask how much for a set of KW V1's and Weitec landed. There are other dealers, but DPM are good to deal with and competitive.
The difference between the Weitec and KW's is minimal and may be mostly aesthetic.

I cant comment of the FK's or other brands, you might want to look on the Polo UK forum for more reviews and opinions.

I'd talk to Matt at Camden GTI, he's one of the Sydney Guru's, talk to him about the install work and see if he can do good pricing.

A rear sway is good, if you're going to do the suspension, change your rear control arm bushes to the Seat bushes as the stock ones wear out far to quickly. The front strut brace from forge is good, Damien at DPM should be able to help with that.

Sticky tyres are good of you have the cash.

[Stuwey]

Cheap coil-overs if you just want to go lower, I personally have the Bilstein B8 kit (traditional strut & spring) without any strut brace/rear sway bar/other bolt on mods and I really don't see the need for anything more, if going fast is your goal.

Depends on your priorities!

and if you can drive...

[kaanage]

Weictecs!!

Way better than my old Bilstein B12 kit. The weitecs are just as good as kws. They are a great investment.

Nothin' wrong with your old B12's!!!! OK, they're firm enough for me to go from a 195/55/R15 to 175/65R14 tyre for my daily drive

And Fuzion told me that your KWs have softer damping than standard

[FLYINGTI]

Nothin' wrong with your old B12's!!!! OK, they're firm enough for me to go from a 195/55/R15 to 175/65R14 tyre for my daily drive

And Fuzion told me that your KWs have softer damping than standard

Now Now

bilstein b12 only drop 20mm though? not really that much right?

[noone]

you can see from Stuwey's pics in the Pic thread that the setup is pretty low, you can get lower with KW / Weitec / AP's.

I think the KW's would cost around a grand, Weitech would be around 850 - 900 from Awesome GTI, how much is a set of b12?

Its hard to say who, if anyone is 'right'. I have most of the kit, but less experience. I can't tell you what I don't know and I can't compare my ride with those I have not been in.

[seangti]

Bilstein and H&R set-up will cost the best part of $1600 on parts alone, and that might take some sourcing to get those prices. Koni struts are a bit cheaper, perhaps save $1-200 if that and are still very good.

Ensure you factor in changing the lower control arm bushes at the same time (if you haven't already done that). I've got Seat ones, there's a few other brands, rubber is softer than polyurethane so is meant a bit smoother through the front end.

Price wise coil overs can be cheaper, but I don't have a favourable opinion of cheap coilovers from previous experiences not relating to VW's.

[FLYINGTI]

Bilstein and H&R set-up will cost the best part of $1600 on parts alone, and that might take some sourcing to get those prices. Koni struts are a bit cheaper, perhaps save $1-200 if that and are still very good.

Ensure you factor in changing the lower control arm bushes at the same time (if you haven't already done that). I've got Seat ones, there's a few other brands, rubber is softer than polyurethane so is meant a bit smoother through the front end.


Price wise coil overs can be cheaper, but I don't have a favourable opinion of cheap coilovers from previous experiences not relating to VW's.

is there really much advantage for coilover to a spring and shock set-up? apart from adjusting?
if its only street use?

[kaanage]

Now Now

bilstein b12 only drop 20mm though? not really that much right?

Sorry, I should have put more smilies on to indicate I wasn't really being confrontational.
(I'm actually running MissVuks old B12s)

Fuzion did say that he ordered their KWs with softer than standard damping to make the car more liveable on some of Sydney's rougher roads. And I did find the B12's too harsh for family runabout duties with the standard lowish profile tyres hence the 'downgrade' to tall, skinny fuel savers.

The B12 kit drops 35mm which isn't huge but is noticable (but not on my car because it has been spaced back up by 20mm )

As for coilover to a spring and shock set-up (cup kit), the height adjustment (and corner weighting if you're REALLY serious) is the advantage of coilovers but then this costs money to implement so all things being equal (and they never are) you should be able to get higher quality damping with a cup kit than coilovers for the same money (springs are springs unless you are buying utter çrap).

Good advice from seangti about the rear control arm bushes (and cheap coilovers IMO).

[s4mmie]

Got a quote for B8 dampers and H&R springs landed for $935 recently.
95% sure this is the setup I'm going with, just can't decide if I want my intercooler more