Whats up Guys! First post just traded in an FR-S for the MK7 GTI. I plan on tracking the car 10-12 times a year and wanted to get some opinions on Lowering Springs.
Has anyone tracked with lowering springs? What were they and did they improve the performance of the car?
Well you still might, but not necessarily for the better. The CG will be lower, but depends on the rate you might not have the proper damping to work with the spring.
Welcome! If your looking for handling improvement, spring don't do squat. They make the car lean a little less, feel a little stiffer and sit a little lower... but it won't make it corner any faster. Coilovers with optimized dampening to match the spring rate is the best way to improve corning. For the MK7, the best entry level coilovers on the market at the moment are the H&R SS and Bilstein B14 kits that both run around $1,000 for.
How's this for off topic! RjRacing, what rims are on your car in the member photo? By the time I expand the screen its a fuzzy mess, looks really good though. Now for on topic, I also agree that springs wont do much to "improve" handling. You can end up shooting yourself in the foot because a lot of lowering springs are also stiffer and possibly not matched to the damping. On anything but a glass smooth surface you could end up with less grip in the turns.
Do a track day as the car is, and enjoy exploring the car and your own feel for what might be required. Build your speed and enjoy the day, you may find the car stock is perfect. Or the brakes were the biggest issue for you, or the lift off turn in was lacking.
The important thing is your driving style will dictate the requirements you need personally, and based on your feedback from the car and subsequent posting on here will allow others to help further. This might save you some money too, as throwing something on a car probably won't help much (like springs).
I have tracked the car and with stock tires the suspension felt okay, but with decent tread ware tires the suspension was far to soft. (regretting not getting the Performance Package)
I know a bunch of people will say to hold off, but I had my full coil-over suspension and adjustable swaybars on my BMW prior to ever turning a wheel on the track. I came from a 2006 Z06, so my BMW 330 was a bit boring by comparison.
I know a bunch of people will say to hold off, but I had my full coil-over suspension and adjustable swaybars on my BMW prior to ever turning a wheel on the track. I came from a 2006 Z06, so my BMW 330 was a bit boring by comparison.
I've gone to the track two times, first time just stock suspension, the second time with vwr springs and new tires + neuspeed rsb.
The VWR springs didn't do much at all and I was taken aback by how much body roll there still was on the car despite the car being lowered with 'sport' springs. The VWR springs are great aesthetically, but what really made the difference was the continental extreme contact tires that I put on.
I've gone to the track two times, first time just stock suspension, the second time with vwr springs and new tires + neuspeed rsb.
The VWR springs didn't do much at all and I was taken aback by how much body roll there still was on the car despite the car being lowered with 'sport' springs. The VWR springs are great aesthetically, but what really made the difference was the continental extreme contact tires that I put on.
+1
Lowering springs are fine for the street. You can never really push the car to it's limits (if you can, it's for maybe one turn and that's it).
You'll find the limits of the stock suspension really quickly. Spend your money on a good set of coil-overs. At least look at H&R and all of the KW line. I know you don't want to spend too much on the suspension, but as you know, it'll make things much more fun when you don't have to worry about what you "can't" do due to suspension.
