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lowering springs with stock dampers

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
Today I was advised by a salesperson at ECS that I should never pair lowering springs with stock dampers. I had requested VW DG springs for my Mark 7.5 GTI.

Is this advice true. Should I not consider this upgrade even though the springs are VW OEM? I specifically wanted the DG springs because they were less aggressive than anything else I could find.

Does anyone here have experience with VW DG springs and the mk 7.5 GTI?

Thanks
 

Clem604

Autocross Champion
Location
Vancouver BC, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI
I am running that exact setup as well as many on the forum here. I have had DG springs with my stock shocks for about 10 months without issue.
 
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GTI-CAL

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Bay Area
Generally true from an engineering stand point. Stock dampers are tuned for stock spring rates and height.

Car enthusiast have been using lowering springs for the longest time though..Go for it if you dont want to spend more than the cost of lowering springs.
 

JD-1

Ready to race!
Location
06468
My Mk7 gti has 35k miles, about 28k on vwr springs and I'm starting to notice that one shock in the rear is going bad. I'm going to swap out for koni or bilstein this coming year
 

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
Thank you for all the helpful advice. In the end what the ECS representative claimed rings true. The stock dampers are made for a given spring rate, certainly different from the rate of the aftermarket ones.. I'm probably going to stick with DG springs just like Cklem604.

I was on the fence about this today, so I didn't pull the trigger. Ponied up for an AWE track exhaust instead. :)
 

neogeo

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
I am running that exact setup as well as many on the forum here. I have had DG springs with my stock shocks for about 10 months without issue.

Hi,

Thanks again for the reply.

What year is your car, 2018 or 2019? Did you purchase directly from your dealer?

My dealer wasn't aware that the DG springs were compatible with the mark 7.5.
 

Wade_GT

Ready to race!
Location
Los Angeles
Car(s)
'17 GTI S 6M
I’ll be installing H&R OE Sport springs on my stock dampers at 24k miles. I expect to get about 3 years before needing to pick up some bilsteins
 

Clem604

Autocross Champion
Location
Vancouver BC, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI
year is your car, 2018 or 2019? Did you purchase directly from your dealer?

My dealer wasn't aware that the DG springs were compatible with the mark 7.5.
My car is a 2018 and yes I purchased them from a VW dealer. They aren't officially listed as being compatible with the GTI but they will work just fine.
 

Chogokin

Autocross Champion
Location
So Cal
Car(s)
GTI Sport | Audi A3
I can't imagine the DG springs having a way more aggressive spring rate than the stock GTI springs. Probably the equivalent of someone swaping GTI springs onto a Golf. As long as your struts are in good condition...you should be ok.

The Neuspeed spring rates aren't that much more aggressive than stock...so I can't really picture the DG springs having a spring rate that much firmer than stock.
 
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KevinC

Autocross Champion
Location
The land of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday
Car(s)
'19 Golf R, '21 M2c
It's not just the spring rates that are an issue, it's that lowering springs are shorter than a stock damper is designed for. Pairing stock dampers with shorter, stiffer springs is a bad idea, period/exclamation point. The "I've done this without issue" claims of people who have done this are silly. Of course there's "no issue" - the car still runs, turns, handles "ok" (for a while until the stock dampers beat themselves to a premature death). Bear in mind that the stock dampers are some crummy parts bin mass-produced part that VW no doubt paid very little for - they're just not up to the task of being asked to perform outside of their design spec.
 
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