I was looking for a hair more of a drop on my R in the front and I wasn't sure I wanted coil overs. Going to have to look at Mk7.5 R front springs now.
I do have a question though. Is it a bad idea to use Bilstein B8s with stock R suspension?
Not at all. I just covered this in a DM with another member (who rightly chose not to comment in this thread, since it's turned into a Twitter fest in places)
The Mk7.5 springs still provide an honest 15mm drop, and the B8s have been run with all the major lowering springs on the market, from mild (DG, Mk7.5 R) to slammed (ED, Eiback P-K for GTI, Neuspeed Race, etc).
On GTI & R cars, the B8s actually favor more conservative drops, due to the loss of valuable compression travel when running conventional 25-30mm drop springs.
This is why nearly every user who has run B8s with the "I look cool" drop springs have encountered the infamous clashing-crashing the B8s are known for when they lose spring rate and travel.
On B8 setups, the H&R OE Sports did this, as do the H&R Sport and SS versions. ED and Eibach P-K (for GTIs, progressive coils) have also proven to be insufficient.
Even folks with the Koni adjustables, which use traditional OE style external bumpstops, have experienced occasional crashing. Tony (
@DerHase) has taken measurements of travel on these cars and shared it with the community, so everything I'm saying can be verified via other sources.
@tigeo had to use rubber travel limiters on his H&R OE Sports with B8s, I tried this as well when I ran the OE Sports, but I couldn't get the little fockers to stay in when driving and turning.
Back on topic, for the haters and doubters, who are but a few thus far, you can go to Suspension (this forum)...filter by my user handle, and navigate to the threads and posts I have made since early 2023. Focus in on the threads and posts related to springs and Bilstein B8s.
Do the same in Track/Autocross sub-forum. Nothing I have shared on here is armchair like we sometimes see on the forums. It isn't "oh my friend did this," or "I read somewhere that..."
Hopefully this wisdom can keep the thread productive and helpful.
PS - 1k views and counting on this thread.