Looking for my first set of coilovers!

[Georrge]

My personal choice would be to stick with a set budget and go with whatever the best choice would be in your budget which in your case would be AP's In my opinion if your wanting new coilovers. Thats what i'm going to be buying when i get round to lowering mine good price / comfort is still there / and reliable for the cost.

Apparently they down't go as low as some people may like but should easy go 40-45mm which for me would be spot on..
Also depends if you want to go silly low for the show queens (55mm+). Or... Be low and drivable still (30-50?mm).

Thanks a lot! I really just want to close the arch gap! I still want to be able to get over speed bumps without scraping, and ideally I want to leave the arches unrolled.

I did say with a quick search dude. Admittedly I didn't look at postage costs. I would recommend them due to having zero problems on a previous car. When I had FK's they where a harsh ride, sometimes bottomed out (the car was low) and the final straw was a failed MOT because two of the four shocks where leaking. Imo you get what you pay for...

I know i know
Thanks for your input, AP's it is then! I'm completely new to lowering a car, so how much do garages normally charge for fitting coilovers? And how easy are they to adjust once they're fitted?

Cheers!

[TommyR]

I know i know
Thanks for your input, AP's it is then! I'm completely new to lowering a car, so how much do garages normally charge for fitting coilovers? And how easy are they to adjust once they're fitted?

Cheers!

Not sure where you live but for example purposes Awesome GTI charge £150 if you buy the coils from them, it's not a hard task though really so perhaps you and a mechanically minded friend could tackle it and save some £££. There are lots of guides out there on how to fit them and yes it's really easy to adjust the height once they are on the car.

[Georrge]

Not sure where you live but for example purposes Awesome GTI charge £150 if you buy the coils from them, it's not a hard task though really so perhaps you and a mechanically minded friend could tackle it and save some £££. There are lots of guides out there on how to fit them and yes it's really easy to adjust the height once they are on the car.

I live in Hertfordshire. Is it literally fit them, wait for them to settle, then wind them down, and just count the threads to make sure that both sides are lowered equal amounts? Nothing has to be balanced or anything like that?

Ok excellent!

[TommyR]

I live in Hertfordshire. Is it literally fit them, wait for them to settle, then wind them down, and just count the threads to make sure that both sides are lowered equal amounts? Nothing has to be balanced or anything like that?

Ok excellent!

Sounds about right dude although you may want to get your tracking/alignment seen to after they have settled…

[Georrge]

I live in Hertfordshire. Is it literally fit them, wait for them to settle, then wind them down, and just count the threads to make sure that both sides are lowered equal amounts? Nothing has to be balanced or anything like that?

Ok excellent!

Sounds about right dude although you may want to get your tracking/alignment seen to after they have settled…

Ok excellent, thanks a lot for your help! How long do they normally need to settle? Bare in mind they will be brand new, two or three days?

[TommyR]

I'd allow a week or so depending how long you drive it for and how smooth the roads are by you…

[Georrge]

I'd allow a week or so depending how long you drive it for and how smooth the roads are by you…

I cover maybe 200 miles in a week, so I'll leave them for about two weeks. The roads are actually good round my area now. Going slightly off topic here, but last winter I reported 4 or 5 areas of roads that needed to be patched on the gov.uk site, and within the same week I had a reply back saying they had been patched; I was pleasantly surprised 

[Georrge]

Just made an order with madmotors. Went for the AP coilovers as suggested by multiple people, £438 with next day delivery 

Thanks everyone for your help, will post a picture once they're fitted (hopefully next week) 

[marko]

Good choice sir!!!
 

[Georrge]

Does anyone know if the AP coilovers come with shorter drop links?

[Wooosh]

You made the right choice mate AP coilovers FTW!

[ED30GTI]

Does anyone know if the AP coilovers come with shorter drop links?

No they don't , you don't need shorter drop links with th aps ,so I believe   

[Georrge]

Okk that's alright then. This is the first time lowering a car, the level of excitement right about now is sky high 

[Georrge]

Fitted them today and the ride quality is superb!

The fronts still have 20mm left on them and I will take it down another 10-15mm in a few days, the backs I removed the adjusters so they are as low as can be. Looks great!

I have one concern though, and that is that I believe my drive side drop link is the wrong one! It faces in the opposite direction to the passenger side one. Is this normal? (These are the standard drop links that came with the car!)

Pics coming tomorrow