Happy to give them a go! Seems a cost effective way to get rid the crap OEM springs that snap and get some better dampers too. I just hope they last as long as the original SACHS ones!
What are you on at the minute, standard springs and shocks?
I've got to say, after having a bit of an enthusiastic b road drive yesterday, the standard shocks with H&R springs are really quite good. I think I'm just looking at other options because of the fact that they've lost a bit of refinement during normal driving.
If it turns out the VWR dampers are poor I won't have a problem fitting some fresh oem shocks.
Yeah completely standard mate.....and 100K old, so feeling pretty ropey right now. I think the rear dampers are definitely shot as the turn-in is getting heavier and I can feel the wheels flapping about over bumps. It's a lot floatier over crests too. I can still remember how great a brand new GTI felt to drive, way back in 2006 when I was young and had some hair, so I know how they *should* drive. Not like mine, that's for sure
Ha! Yeah you'll definitely benefit from new shocks at 100k. Maybe a few bushes and things too.
I'm on 75k, last 5k of which were on H&R springs, so I doubt I'm far behind you.
The plan is to replace dampers, topmounts, fit an anti-lift kit, and change any other little bits that would be tired at this age. That won't be for another 6/12 months though, as I've got to sort a BBK.
Yeah there's a lot of bushes under there. Probably quite expensive in labour to do all of them in one hit! I think I'll change any that look suspect when the new dampers / springs go on, and do the rest at a later date.
I would do the chassis refresh ahead of the brakes if it were me but defo do the WALK, or S3 console bushes
At the minute the brakes are by far the weakest link for me. I think they're a bit suspect even at stock power levels, and I'm a bit further on than stock now.
It's only really an opportunity to claw back a bit of refinement for me; like I said the dampers and springs do the job nicely from a performance point of view, but they're just a bit rough around the edges doing town driving on bad surfaces when you want the car to be comfortable rather than fast.
The brakes however are a matter of safety, so they need doing!
I think you and I are in the same boat, but I honestly don't think the standard brakes are too bad at all
The standard kit is pretty good on fast bumpy B roads as it doesn't throw you around like hard suspension does, but it just needs a little less roll at the limit and more refinement over bumps around town as you say.
They're not too bad, no. But I've managed to cook them a few times within quite a short series of corners. Those Welsh roads we mentioned for example, just destroyed them.
It's just a size thing, they get hot too quick and can't shed heat quick enough.
If they're not red hot, they're good enough to save you in an emergency. And that's pretty much what VAG designed them to be capable of, ultimately. So they're not 'bad' in 95% of situations. Believe me, I've owned some cars that had scarily weak brakes by comparison!
Anyway.... these dampers. I'm quite looking forward to hearing the results.