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Post your VW Driver Gear spring setup.

jjm51

Ready to race!
One good detail for me to compare to my stock height would be if you provided fender to ground measurement (middle of fender arch to ground). And middle of front bumper to ground.

i second this.

thanks modest gti; i think several of us here 'quietly' prefer the dg springs.

would be great to get some more specifics (and more pics for me) as yukoncornelius asked.
 

Universal_Remonster

Ready to race!
Location
USA
Decided against DG springs because they didn't improve handling at all. Still have the mushy stock-like ride. I prefer their subtle drop but greatly prefer the improved handling with the VWR springs.

I'm at just over 25" front and 25.25" rear FTG with VWRs.
 

marcg611

Ready to race!
Well it's day 4. Here are some pics and impressions. I put a few hundred miles since install and it's mostly settled, but we'll see how the next few weeks turn out.

First of all, the DCC is definitely not affected. It's fair to see it's practically like stock but just a little lower. Comfort is still comfortable without being mushy and sport is still sporty without being jarring.

I think if you are keeping the stock austins with the 49 et than you should consider some spacers if you are going with DG springs. After all it's for looks anyway.

Oh in terms of reverse rake... Well it's minuscule but noticeable that the wheel gap is about 2 mm lower in the back. It really doesn't bother me. It's kind of like that on my 2004 Mini S. Who knows it might settle more.

Sorry about the exposure on the pics. The weather is just too nice in San Jose.





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Thanks for all the pics and info, car looks great on the DG's! Any longterm review of springs settling to be more even? Do you happen to have the spec sheets that came with springs? Curious what GAWR these are speced for 1050/950 or 1050/890kg? My car is near identical to your but SE (16 PP SE LP DCC Manual) and door says frt1020/Rear950kg (converted). Basically PP 4dr Manual should only be about 30lbs lighter than 4dr dsg non PP. Thanks!

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DUSlider

Ready to race!
Location
PA
Car(s)
16' GTI SE/PP
could someone please provide me the part number for the 2016 Golf R DG springs please :)

There is no such thing. VW doesn't market the DG springs for the Golf R. Honestly I wouldn't put them on the R due to the weight difference and weight ratio front to back due to the AWD system. Not sure the spring rates would work.
 

asanthadenz

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
California
There is no such thing. VW doesn't market the DG springs for the Golf R. Honestly I wouldn't put them on the R due to the weight difference and weight ratio front to back due to the AWD system. Not sure the spring rates would work.

thanks for the reply :) , thinking of going lower on the R but with stock spring comfortability in mind.
 

VeloDub1

Passed Driver's Ed
Thanks for all the pics and info, car looks great on the DG's! Any longterm review of springs settling to be more even? Do you happen to have the spec sheets that came with springs? Curious what GAWR these are speced for 1050/950 or 1050/890kg? My car is near identical to your but SE (16 PP SE LP DCC Manual) and door says frt1020/Rear950kg (converted). Basically PP 4dr Manual should only be about 30lbs lighter than 4dr dsg non PP. Thanks!

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2nd post here, recently purchased my GTI about a week ago, but not new to the VW community. My last couple of cars were on Eibachs and Koni yellows.
Also had a 370Z with KW coilovers and many other cars with various springs/drops.

I really like the ride quality and handling of the GTI with the DCC. I usually have it in Sport mode or Normal, but rarely Comfort. My commute consist of mainly rough city roads. I told myself that I was NOT going to be lowering this car or doing any mods. LOL - I joined the forum yesterday, here we go again. :rolleyes:
I was looking at my car next to a stock Honda Accord with a sport package today, and even that car had less wheel gap :mad:
I think I have about 3-4 fingers worth, and now it's really starting to bug me. Anyway, I would be happy with any reduction in ride hight, 15-20mm or so as long as it wouldn't be bouncy or too harsh. That's why I started considering the DG springs over other brands. I want to stay as close to factory rates as possible, the DCC does a great job of firming things up in sport mode.

Mine is a manual with sport package and DCC, just want to make sure I get the right part number before ordering them.

Thanks for the pics and advise.
 

Dave10781

Go Kart Champion
Location
Austin, TX
2nd post here, recently purchased my GTI about a week ago, but not new to the VW community. My last couple of cars were on Eibachs and Koni yellows.
Also had a 370Z with KW coilovers and many other cars with various springs/drops.

I really like the ride quality and handling of the GTI with the DCC. I usually have it in Sport mode or Normal, but rarely Comfort. My commute consist of mainly rough city roads. I told myself that I was NOT going to be lowering this car or doing any mods. LOL - I joined the forum yesterday, here we go again. :rolleyes:
I was looking at my car next to a stock Honda Accord with a sport package today, and even that car had less wheel gap :mad:
I think I have about 3-4 fingers worth, and now it's really starting to bug me. Anyway, I would be happy with any reduction in ride hight, 15-20mm or so as long as it wouldn't be bouncy or too harsh. That's why I started considering the DG springs over other brands. I want to stay as close to factory rates as possible, the DCC does a great job of firming things up in sport mode.

Mine is a manual with sport package and DCC, just want to make sure I get the right part number before ordering them.

Thanks for the pics and advise.

I've never read any negative reviews about the Driver Gear ride quality or handling. As long as you're ok with the ride height aesthetically, they seem to be the absolute best aftermarket solution for springs with stock dampers (and even better with bilsteins or konis, performance wise). I just wish the "4d manual" version was easily available here in the states.
 

marcg611

Ready to race!
2nd post here, recently purchased my GTI about a week ago, but not new to the VW community. My last couple of cars were on Eibachs and Koni yellows.
Also had a 370Z with KW coilovers and many other cars with various springs/drops.

I really like the ride quality and handling of the GTI with the DCC. I usually have it in Sport mode or Normal, but rarely Comfort. My commute consist of mainly rough city roads. I told myself that I was NOT going to be lowering this car or doing any mods. LOL - I joined the forum yesterday, here we go again. :rolleyes:
I was looking at my car next to a stock Honda Accord with a sport package today, and even that car had less wheel gap :mad:
I think I have about 3-4 fingers worth, and now it's really starting to bug me. Anyway, I would be happy with any reduction in ride hight, 15-20mm or so as long as it wouldn't be bouncy or too harsh. That's why I started considering the DG springs over other brands. I want to stay as close to factory rates as possible, the DCC does a great job of firming things up in sport mode.

Mine is a manual with sport package and DCC, just want to make sure I get the right part number before ordering them.

Thanks for the pics and advise.
I think youll be very happy with DG springs, I highly reccommend them for DCC cars. Zero compromise, all benefit, I'll do a seperate post for my review.... [emoji106]

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marcg611

Ready to race!
I've been on my DG's for about a month now, so its time I do a quick review:

Car: 2016 GTI SE PP DCC LP 4dr 6MT
Wheels/tires: 18x8 +45 235/40/18 MPSS

Hardware: 5G4071677E springs from DAP, Audi TT rear Pads and all new bolts/ nuts from Dealer

Review: My main concern with replacement springs was matching with DCC. Many springs say DCC compatible, but DG springs actually match perfectly with the dampening and rebound characteristics. DG's are basically zero compromise and all improvement.

Pros:
- Ride comfort is same as stock + improvements
- Less crash/harshness on certain dips at higher speeds (I specifically noticed on 1 spot of my comute that was always very harsh no matter the DCC mode , now very smooth even in sport)
- No Bouncyness or underdampened feel
- Handling is stock with very small improvement, mainly dive and squat seems improved in braking and acceleration
- Does not look slammed or lowered, just aggressive and fitted
- lowered 15-20mm frt and 10-15mm rear (I used thicker pad and rear was already lower)
- Respectable fender gap, about 2 fingers, FTG: Front 26 1/16" & rear 26"
- DCC modes: Sport is less crashy, Comfort is less floaty and more useable (use mostly on Highway), normal is also less crashy and great overall
- VW dealer springs (have atleast 1 leg to stand on if warranty need)
- No compromise

Cons: IMO no cons!

TT spring pads: I used these because I already had about 10mm of Neg rake (based on FTG, but understand rear fender is a littler lower by design) due to my hitch I use for bike rack and wanted it more visually level. The stock pads are pretty thin and mine was showing spring indention through to other side of pad, it was a no brainer.
- 6MT 4dr w/hitch = needed
- 6MT 4dr no hitch =probably would recommend
- 6MT 2dr no hitch or any DSG =shouldnt need

Stock


DG springs





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Last edited:

VeloDub1

Passed Driver's Ed
I've been on my DG's for about a month now, so its time I do a quick review:

Car: 2016 GTI SE PP DCC LP 4dr 6MT
Wheels/tires: 18x8 +45 235/40/18 MPSS

Hardware: 5G4071677E springs from DAP, Audi TT rear Pads and all new bolts/ nuts from Dealer

Review: My main concern with replacement springs was matching with DCC. Many springs say DCC compatible, but DG springs actually match perfectly with the dampening and rebound characteristics. DG's are basically zero compromise and all improvement.

Pros:
- Ride comfort is same as stock + improvements
- Less crash/harshness on certain dips at higher speeds (I specifically noticed on 1 spot of my comute that was always very harsh no matter the DCC mode , now very smooth even in sport)
- No Bouncyness or underdampened feel
- Handling is stock with very small improvement, mainly dive and squat seems improved in braking and acceleration
- Does not look slammed or lowered, just aggressive and fitted
- lowered 15-20mm frt and 10-15mm rear (I used thicker pad and rear was already lower)
- Respectable fender gap, about 2 fingers, FTG: Front 26 1/16" & rear 26"
- DCC modes: Sport is less crashy, Comfort is less floaty and more useable (use mostly on Highway), normal is also less crashy and great overall
- VW dealer springs (have atleast 1 leg to stand on if warranty need)
- No compromise

Cons: IMO no cons!

TT spring pads: I used these because I already had about 10mm of Neg rake (based on FTG, but understand rear fender is a littler lower by design) due to my hitch I use for bike rack and wanted it more visually level. The stock pads are pretty thin and mine was showing spring indention through to other side of pad, it was a no brainer.
- 6MT 4dr w/hitch = needed
- 6MT 4dr no hitch =probably would recommend
- 6MT 2dr no hitch or any DSG =shouldnt need



DG springs


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Thanks for the great detailed review, advice and pics. It looks like this is what I will most likely be going with now.

So the part# you installed for springs is 5G4071677E
The TT pads, is this like the spring seat or perch?
Did you order these through VW dealer as well?

Last question, did you do the install yourself?
I've done about 1/2 dozen shock/spring installs on other cars, but was concerned about the DCC and potential issues with that.

Thanks again ;-)

Brady
 

marcg611

Ready to race!
Thanks for the great detailed review, advice and pics. It looks like this is what I will most likely be going with now.

So the part# you installed for springs is 5G4071677E
The TT pads, is this like the spring seat or perch?
Did you order these through VW dealer as well?

Last question, did you do the install yourself?
I've done about 1/2 dozen shock/spring installs on other cars, but was concerned about the DCC and potential issues with that.

Thanks again ;-)

Brady

TT pads are the rear upper spring #8j0-512-149 available at Dealer or cheaper from ECS tuning.
I did do myself and was about my 6th spring install aswell, you shouldn't have issue based on skill. The rear is easy but the front is just time consuming and can be frustrating until you figure out the technique to getting the bottom of the strut out of the knuckle. There are a few diy Instructions in the VWR spring threads. I used the 2x4 method for the front, to clear the dcc module I had to knotch a 2x4. I think im going to make a DCC strut DIY thread with more pics but here is some tips:
Tips:
For DCC:
- Use a notched 2x4 and frt pinch bolt installed at sway link hole, use a rubber tie down for support, LF:2x4 will be on rt side of strut and notched around DCC module, RF: 2x4 will be on left side of strut and not against DCC Module
- You have 3 level sensors(all but rt rear), for the front: Remove the entire sensor and arm (its close to 2x4 and you would risk breaking and need the room), Rear: just unclip arm from ball stud
All:
- Strut spreader trick: Install spreader at top of knuckle 1st, shake and push on top of brake rotor, knuckle should drop an inch, now install spreader at bottom middle of knuckle, shake and push on rotor again until it drops another 1/2 to 1". Now use 2x4 method to pull additional 1/2" out. If you dont get it to drop this 1st 1" to 1 1/2" before 2x4 method you may just raise the entire arm and get frustrated like I did until I figured out where to shake to releive tension to get the knuckle to drop.

 
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