Vw Racing lowering springs, any good?

[Duffmeister]

Hi, I have a 05 gti and have recently had Eibach sportline springs removed as the guy told me they lowered by 20mm
However that wasn't the case.
Is anyone running vw racing springs? If so what's the drop and what's the ride like.
Any help appreciated.

[OEM+ DUB]

Hi there

I too have an 05 GTI (DSG) and fitted VWR springs, B8 Dampers, S3 front top mounts with new bearings, new rear mounts and new rear control arms (along with an S3 alloy hub conversion to match my S3 alloy front control arms) in June 2016 on my drive.  I bought the springs at a 'show offer' price direct from the VWR stand at GTI International the previous year and then over the next 12 months picked up the B8's brand new for a bargain price off eBay along with all the other parts.  I've covered just over 4000 miles since fitting and have been very happy with the set up, both from ride height and ride quality perspectives.  The ride is firmer than the 90k original suspension (but then the original rear dampers were shot) and is very similar in feel to a factory Mk4 R32 with the B8's so actually comfortable with plenty of feel.  If fitted with standard dampers the ride would be great too.

I would definitely consider fitting them again to other cars in the future (although I've had my current GTI for 8 years...).

Hope this helps.

[xjay1337]

Hi, I have a 05 gti and have recently had Eibach sportline springs removed as the guy told me they lowered by 20mm
However that wasn't the case.
Is anyone running vw racing springs? If so what's the drop and what's the ride like.
Any help appreciated.

The Eibach Sportlines have one of the lowest drop available.

Other option is H&R springs.
VWR ones were Eibach but in a different colour. as far as I remember.

I very much like H&R Springs.

[dronners]

i have vwr springs and vwr shocks.  i'd say they wont be any better or lower than the eibachs as they drop i think its 15-20mm on a gti but im happy with the vwr springs to answer the question

[Duffmeister]

The problem with the sportline set was the rear dropped about 5mm but the front dropped 42mm nd it looked terrible.
I'm after a subtle drop, I think the vw racing spring as said above is 15-20 which is about right for me.
What I'd like to know is Eibach make the vw R springs and from what I've read are the same drop as the pro kit, are these the same spring painted blue or a completely different item?
Confusingly the pro kit isn't listed as a GTI kit for the UK but is everywhere else but if used on the gti drops 15-20mm arrrgggh!
Please help my golf looks like a special off road version after looking at members cars on here!

[Shoduchi]

The Pro-kit wouldn't drop your GTI 15-20 mm. At best 10 mm, so that's why they're not available. You wouldn't notice the drop. American GTI sit higher than European GTI, so the drop is noticeable with those springs.

[bonelorry]

I have the VWR springs and Dampers in my MK6 Golf R, Very good set-up. Subtle drop, Only -5/10mm on my car but on the MK5's its slightly more.

I saw a car on H&R's at R-Tech yesterday and it looked very low in comparison to mine, I would not have been happy with that on my own car but the VWR's are just right for me.

[Duffmeister]

Sounds like I need the vw racing kit then, thanks lads.

[pudding]

I've gone for the VWR kit also 

And the alloy hubs and wishbones.  Despite getting the alloy parts secondhand cheaply, with the VWR springs/dampers, it's still well over £1K by the time new front wheel bearings, stretch bolts, bushes, mounts, ball joints etc is all factored in.  At 107K old, I didn't want to add brand new springs and dampers to ancient running gear, so it should feel pretty darn good after all that goes on!

[Shoduchi]

I've gone for the VWR kit also 

And the alloy hubs and wishbones.  Despite getting the alloy parts secondhand cheaply, with the VWR springs/dampers, it's still well over £1K by the time new front wheel bearings, stretch bolts, bushes, mounts, ball joints etc is all factored in.  At 107K old, I didn't want to add brand new springs and dampers to ancient running gear, so it should feel pretty darn good after all that goes on!

All those parts should make the handling improve a lot.

[bad devotions]

Sounds like I need the vw racing kit then, thanks lads.

bonelorry has a build thread over at the mk6 section of the site so you can see how they look. I am considering this kit too; although i am really torn between that and blistien b8s with H&R springs.

[Shoduchi]

Sounds like I need the vw racing kit then, thanks lads.

bonelorry has a build thread over at the mk6 section of the site so you can see how they look. I am considering this kit too; although i am really torn between that and blistien b8s with H&R springs.

You'll have to decide how low you want your ride to be.

[bad devotions]

Sounds like I need the vw racing kit then, thanks lads.

bonelorry has a build thread over at the mk6 section of the site so you can see how they look. I am considering this kit too; although i am really torn between that and blistien b8s with H&R springs.

You'll have to decide how low you want your ride to be.

yip - i was really close to buying the full kit from awesome. However, I recently got new wheels with a 45 offset and figured the drop on H&R might be too much. But then i saw a build thread with the same spec wheels on H&R springs and think it looks really good. Now i have no clue! lol

[pudding]

Sounds like I need the vw racing kit then, thanks lads.

bonelorry has a build thread over at the mk6 section of the site so you can see how they look. I am considering this kit too; although i am really torn between that and blistien b8s with H&R springs.

OEM+ Dub's reference to the VWR spring + B8 damper combo feeling like a MK4 R32 is quite a good comparison.  The R32 rides firmly without being harsh on decent surfaces, but over potholes and badly broken surfaces, it was too crashy for me (heavy 18s don't help) and partly why I sold the car.   The OEM MK5 suspension is the same on the same surfaces though, but the benefit of OEM is more travel, so won't bottom out in the stops quite so easily.

The crashiness was at urban speeds.  In common with other after market kits, things improve the faster you go though.  The car feels way less 'jiggly', unsettled and fidgety on Bilsteins compared to OEM.  It just feels properly keyed into the tarmac and super stable in the bends.

One thing I would say about the Bilsteins is their consistency of damping.  The car feels the same in winter as it does summer.  Some people may not notice the change in damping vs heat build up in the damper oil, but I did, and the B6/B8/B12 are simply superb dampers for consistency.

I would say the VWR full kit, or VWR springs + B8s would be more forgiving than B8s + HRs.   The full VWR kit is probably not in the same league as the B8s under hard cornering and busy surfaces to damp, but is probably the best riding kit out there.   And that's why I'm going VWR because 90% of my car's duties is commuting.  I don't get many opportunities to hoon it, so ride is important.

[dronners]

Sounds like I need the vw racing kit then, thanks lads.

bonelorry has a build thread over at the mk6 section of the site so you can see how they look. I am considering this kit too; although i am really torn between that and blistien b8s with H&R springs.

OEM+ Dub's reference to the VWR spring + B8 damper combo feeling like a MK4 R32 is quite a good comparison.  The R32 rides firmly without being harsh on decent surfaces, but over potholes and badly broken surfaces, it was too crashy for me (heavy 18s don't help) and partly why I sold the car.   The OEM MK5 suspension is the same on the same surfaces though, but the benefit of OEM is more travel, so won't bottom out in the stops quite so easily.

The crashiness was at urban speeds.  In common with other after market kits, things improve the faster you go though.  The car feels way less 'jiggly', unsettled and fidgety on Bilsteins compared to OEM.  It just feels properly keyed into the tarmac and super stable in the bends.

One thing I would say about the Bilsteins is their consistency of damping.  The car feels the same in winter as it does summer.  Some people may not notice the change in damping vs heat build up in the damper oil, but I did, and the B6/B8/B12 are simply superb dampers for consistency.

I would say the VWR full kit, or VWR springs + B8s would be more forgiving than B8s + HRs.   The full VWR kit is probably not in the same league as the B8s under hard cornering and busy surfaces to damp, but is probably the best riding kit out there.   And that's why I'm going VWR because 90% of my car's duties is commuting.  I don't get many opportunities to hoon it, so ride is important.

i think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you've got a good set of tyres like i have "michelin PS4's "  you'll be able to carry a frightening amount of speed into corners and the car stays pretty flat on the vwr setup. you'll lose grip some time after you've lost your lunch