Coilovers or Springs

Hi all
I know the difference in price and have a budget.
But i am wondering what would be better in the long run. Coilovers or new springs 40,60 or 80mm with new shocks (gas)??

Coilovers are for track or custom ride hieghts, this does not mean they give the best handling on the road, tend to be very hard ride :cry:

60mm will give a better handling but a very firm ride

40mm will be the best compromise between comfort and great handling, best option for a daily driver :wink:

Finally remember the golf has firm suspension setup as standard, so it's what your prepared to put up with in comfort versus handling….oh and very low ride hieght does not mean it will be better handling 8O


Rob

Robb said

oh and very low ride hieght does not mean it will be better handling 8O


Rob

Really - So the physics of a lower centre of gravity don't apply to golfs do they… :wink:

Yes you can go too low and ruin it completely, though lower tend to mean stiffer and that means less body roll, which means better weight distribution!

coilovers!!!  

I think the only reason you won't get handling improvements when fitting coilovers is if the camber isn't adjusted correctly once you've got the ride height your after

but yes, the ride will be stiff, air-ride seats anyone??  

personaly i would go for coilovers, but that because i like my cars slammed! it aldepends what you are using your car for.

If you buy a -40mm fixed kit, you will be dissapointed with the drop.
You would need to go -60mm on a fixed but still might not be as low as you expected.
-80mm is low, though fixed kits at this drop are supposed to be pretty awful!

AL_Mk1 said

Robb said

oh and very low ride hieght does not mean it will be better handling 8O


Rob

Really - So the physics of a lower centre of gravity don't apply to golfs do they… :wink:

Yes you can go too low and ruin it completely, though lower tend to mean stiffer and that means less body roll, which means better weight distribution!

Go too low and u will find the car bounces off bumps and yes i mean all 4 wheels off the ground! cant be good for the car! affects your braking too!

Oh - Yes - totally agree.

My braking is affected if I brake hard on a bumpy road - I don't consider my car to be THAT low either!

ive gone 40

and wish id gone for 60 8O

just doesnt look like i thought it would  :roll:

AL_Mk1 said

Really - So the physics of a lower centre of gravity don't apply to golfs do they… :wink:

Not entirely, there's more than that to consider. Explaining it all would involve thinking and I'm not too big on that at the moment, but basically too low can lead to problems with bump steer amoung other things :wink:

For the last time (I promise) if you go the coilover route it will be more expensive. To get the best out of them for handling you'll need to have the car corner weighted and the ride height adjusted to suit. This doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the right look in terms of stance. For the road I believe they're a waste of time and money.

coilovers all the way.. ones with adjustable damping are your best bet.

FK Konigsport [koni adjustable internals]
Avo
KW
HR

plenty to go at.. FK are great.. i have them and had them on my previous Mk2.. i really rated them.. soften em up and i'd say they felt just the same as the Koni TA set up i had, but just wasn't low enough..

oh and theres a set of avo's on ebay right now with a couple of hours left :wink:

Thanks for the info all.
I have been given a number for a garage near me, who have some 80mm springs and shocks kicking about somewhere! Think i will go for them!

AL_Mk1 said

Robb said

oh and very low ride hieght does not mean it will be better handling 8O


Rob

Really - So the physics of a lower centre of gravity don't apply to golfs do they… :wink:

Yes you can go too low and ruin it completely, though lower tend to mean stiffer and that means less body roll, which means better weight distribution!

Al, less body roll doesnt mean better weight distribution. To enable a car to handle well the suspension needs to be able to travel. There is a fine balance between lower centre of gravity, lower ride hight and good handling. In my experience if you want your car to look good it wont handle good. Theory on keeping wishbones level for optimum handling is discussed quite abit on club gti forum.

so the best thing to do would be to lower it enough that the handling is just right.. then cut the arches out and weld them in so they're just above the wheel  

exactly

PhillTMK1GTI said

so the best thing to do would be to lower it enough that the handling is just right.. then cut the arches out and weld them in so they're just above the wheel  

Exactly!

There are probably whole books out there to cover race car suspension set up - I doubt we could cover every angle in a forum thread without us all becoming very bored!

Of course suspension needs to be able to travel to give best handling - I didn't say any different!

Level wishbones are probably best yes - I know mine point upwards quite steeply, but my car handles better now than it ever has before! OK, it doesn't like the bumps too much, but hey - I avoid them the best I can. I haven't driven the thing for about 6 weeks so it hasn't seen any bumps for ages!

Al_MK1 said

Really - So the physics of a lower centre of gravity don't apply to golfs do they…  

Yes it does but it all about wheel contact,terrain and centre of gravity, But all these point have now been covered.

I haven't  changed my setup yet as I only want to improve handling, espcially round the fine Cornish country roads, 80mm and hard would be putting my car in a field in seconds :cry:

I would say don't go for looks alone, your sat in the drivers seat

Rob

Saying that Robb it is only a 1.1 so speed is not what it has.
So i would be able to get away with 80mm springs??

if its a 1.1 the original ride hieght would be 360mm form wheel cente to wheel arch lip. a GTI is 340mm. so 80mm would make it 60mm lower than a GTI.

Your car will probley be lower due to spring compresion over the years, so get a tape and measure it. as it may seem look less of a drop when you put new one on.

If i was going for 80mm I would but coilovers so i could play a little if i found it was too low and I ddin't like the handlng.

What size wheels are you going for?

Rob