Coilovers oem top mount mod

Hey guys, pick up my first mk1 this week and looking at fitting Coilovers. Looking through the range on eBay they all say that is using the oem top mount then the mount needs to be modified. Can anyone explain what this mod is pls. Thanks 

I've never known the top mount to need modifying to fit but I do know that Mk1 Golf and coilovers are a bad combination

Oh how comes. Any info greatly appreciated. My experience is more with Vw t5s and fitting air 

They are simply too hard for a car so light.

Mine had 2 sets fitted for less than 100miles before I went back to shocks and springs

A friend has recently swapped from coils to shocks due to ride quality and his is a track car half the time

Sure they are adjustable but no one ever does adjust them anyway and they actually limit wheel fitment due to the spring collars sitting behind the wheel rather than over the top of it

Lovely T5 by the way

Cheers mate, just sold it to fund towards a house move. In the mean time I have sourced a 87 mk1 git cab from  Kenneth Cartwright on here. Hopefully will arrive tomorrow afternoon

Is that Elenor you have bought?
It looks slightly lowered already? Drive it and see how it is and like 1985 I'm not a fan of aftermarket coilovers as you need to spend around £1000 to get a good set which won't upset the ride especially with the condition of the roads in this country..

Lot's of lowered springs and shocks sets out there for less money, I've just fitted this set and they are a nice drive.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eibach-Lowering-Springs-Bilstein-Gas-Shocks-Bumpstop-Kit-Golf-Mk1-Cabrio/233057941786?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

They get a bad reputation because pretty much everyone winds them down too low and then there is too little suspension travel available, leading to a harsh ride.

On a Mk1 Golf the tracking needs adjusting each time the ride height is altered (on the normal suspension or coilovers taking up the normal suspension mounting points etc) so its difficult to evaluate coilovers at varying heights - unless you checked & changed the tracking each time. So I think people just set it too low for novelty just after fitment, then CBA to change it.

mark1gls said

Is that Elenor you have bought?
It looks slightly lowered already? Drive it and see how it is and like 1985 I'm not a fan of aftermarket coilovers as you need to spend around £1000 to get a good set which won't upset the ride especially with the condition of the roads in this country..

Lot's of lowered springs and shocks sets out there for less money, I've just fitted this set and they are a nice drive.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eibach-Lowering-Springs-Bilstein-Gas-Shocks-Bumpstop-Kit-Golf-Mk1-Cabrio/233057941786?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Yeah it's Eleanor (shares the same name as my daughter)

Kenneth did say the rear shocks are yellow

Yes and no to the above.

They do indeed need setting up and corner weighting etc but lowering coilovers actually lengthens the coils and gives them more room to travel so effectively the lower the car sits the more travel there will be, this of course should be counter acted by the damper internally but cheap coilovers are not this advanced and the body weight of a Mk1 isn't enough to keep the shocks from crashing and bouncing

Altering the height on a coilover doesn't alter the compressed length of the spring - how can it?

What can/does happen is, when lowered a lot, there is reduced available travel due to the shock absorber reaching its limit. Then the suspension is the rubber mount and the tyres, hence the harshness.

Most people would advise you need about 4" of available travel to avoid issues such as the above.