Ok, dropped it on some H&R Sport springs this week after much deliberation, research, talking with some folks here/vortex/FB that had used H&Rs, and they are what the shop I use recommended. Part no. for the 4Mo GSW and AT are the same – 54789 you just get more drop out of them on the AT due to the stock springs being longer. I liked that H&R had a spring set just for the 4Mo cars b/c they weigh more. Eibach uses the same spring for the fwd and 4Mo. Probalby makes fuck all of difference. I am riding on the stock dampers against conventional wisdom and even the stock mounts. The shop that does my work said it would be fine in their experience since my car is only a year old/30K mainly highway miles which jived with what some folks that I talked to that had done the same said. Here are the before and after shots. Measurements before:15” f/14.5” r and after: 13.8” f/14.0” r. Drop is: 1.2” f/0.5” r. We will see if they settle any – H&R says these springs don’t settle…we will see. Shop said they would. Not overly concerned with drop amount, it looks and rides fantastic. It is better to have the back end slightly higher for cargo carrying/usability to me.
Initial impressions after a few hundred miles:
Highway. Feels very stock like. Entrance/exit ramps are great now with less body roll (I also have a Golf R RSB on there which also helps a bit). No discernable bouncing/negative ride characteristics that I can feel. Just firmer overall.
Around town. Feels more “sporty” - firmer over sharp bumps, holes, etc. I’d say it feels fine on the OE dampers but I don’t have a lot of experience with aftermarket suspension. When I need dampers I’ll do either Koni Sports or Bilstein B8s – those would make it even more firm. The main issue with stock dampers is rebound – I don’t feel like it’s under-damped..yet.
The place where you get “bounce” is dips – it’s not really bounce buy faster-than-stock rebound vs. floating over these with the stock setup. Performance dampers should mute that some but that will likely come at the expense of ride quality/increased firmness.