VWR springs ruined my stock shocks... what to choose from here?

[Karthoum]

This looks great and sounds exactly what I'm after (I have 30k miles on my GTI also). Are you still loving them?

I just received VWR springs yesterday that I ordered, but after doing more research - I think I'll return them for the Eibach Pros. There seems to be much more appreciation for the Eibachs on the interwebz.

Did you install these yourself or have someone install? I would rather just have someone else install them for me, but here in FL - it's been a challenge to find a shop close to me that will do this

Yep, I do love them! I did the fender screw mod but I did it a bit differently. I didn’t like the fact the typical mod is to just cram the fender liner above the actual mounting tab. In a state that gets snow so thereby salt and sand, this is just asking to have all this crap build up inside the fender worse than it already does. I’ll post more later after I give it a few days driving to test.

The Eibach get more love I think mainly because they are a premium brand that has their shit together. No guess work or false claims that fail to meet people’s expectations.

I did do the install myself and have done numerous VW’s shocks and strut replacement. But to be honest, I wish I’d have had it done. I won’t do another myself. I’m just over it.

Alignment is Tuesday.

 

[MrTSI]

Yep, I do love them! I did the fender screw mod but I did it a bit differently. I didn’t like the fact the typical mod is to just cram the fender liner above the actual mounting tab. In a state that gets snow so thereby salt and sand, this is just asking to have all this crap build up inside the fender worse than it already does. I’ll post more later after I give it a few days driving to test.

The Eibach get more love I think mainly because they are a premium brand that has their shit together. No guess work or false claims that fail to meet people’s expectations.

I did do the install myself and have done numerous VW’s shocks and strut replacement. But to be honest, I wish I’d have had it done. I won’t do another myself. I’m just over it.

Alignment is Tuesday.

The Pro Kit seems to get a lot of love on this platform. The only complaint I ever see is that they lower a bit more than advertised. Out of curiosity, what's your fender to center hub measurement front and rear? Mine is stock and sits at 368mm. A 1-inch drop would put it at 343 or so but I've seen people saying they're getting as low as 330-335mm fender to hub.

 

[Sav_mk7.5]

Yep, I do love them! I did the fender screw mod but I did it a bit differently. I didn’t like the fact the typical mod is to just cram the fender liner above the actual mounting tab. In a state that gets snow so thereby salt and sand, this is just asking to have all this crap build up inside the fender worse than it already does. I’ll post more later after I give it a few days driving to test.

The Eibach get more love I think mainly because they are a premium brand that has their shit together. No guess work or false claims that fail to meet people’s expectations.

I did do the install myself and have done numerous VW’s shocks and strut replacement. But to be honest, I wish I’d have had it done. I won’t do another myself. I’m just over it.

Alignment is Tuesday.

That’s great to hear, thanks for the replying!

Do you have a DSG or 6MT?
Did you do the Audi spring perch in the rear?
I noticed Neuspeed has a version of them here.

And I also saw These bump stops. Wonder if they’re worth trying out.

 

[Karthoum]

The Pro Kit seems to get a lot of love on this platform. The only complaint I ever see is that they lower a bit more than advertised. Out of curiosity, what's your fender to center hub measurement front and rear? Mine is stock and sits at 368mm. A 1-inch drop would put it at 343 or so but I've seen people saying they're getting as low as 330-335mm fender to hub.

Well, measuring to an arbitrary point on the center of the wheel (I mean there’s no way every person is holding the tape measure in the same place) as opposed to the ground to fender that the point on the ground never moves is not the best method. Having said that, I measure from the ground to the fender and after was (initially minutes after pulling out of the garage) 26” rear, 25-1/8” front. The before was 26-3/4”, 26” respectively. So about 3/4” and 7/8”.

My guess is they will settle some so I’ll check them again and they might be a tad different. But maybe not! Probably after the alignment, not that it will change ride height. If they are what they are, I’m fine with it.

I was honestly looking at the H&R .75” drop before deciding on the Eibach.

 

[Karthoum]

That’s great to hear, thanks for the replying!

Do you have a DSG or 6MT?
Did you do the Audi spring perch in the rear?
I noticed Neuspeed has a version of them here.

And I also saw These bump stops. Wonder if they’re worth trying out.

I have a DSG. I didn’t do the pads as I feel you shouldn’t need to. It would probably have negated much of the drop. I kinda had read those were used on specific springs I wasn’t using, and I didn’t choose those. IMO, if you have to add something to a model not from that model(Audi to VW) to use a specific brand, in my opinion they didn’t do something right in R&D. Hence why I chose the Eibach.

 

[Sav_mk7.5]

I have a DSG. I didn’t do the pads as I feel you shouldn’t need to. It would probably have negated much of the drop. I kinda had read those were used on specific springs I wasn’t using, and I didn’t choose those. IMO, if you have to add something to a model not from that model(Audi to VW) to use a specific brand, in my opinion they didn’t do something right in R&D. Hence why I chose the Eibach.

very good point! Thank you for answering all my questions, I appreciate it. I'm going to go ahead with the Eibach Pros.

 

[Karthoum]

very good point! Thank you for answering all my questions, I appreciate it. I'm going to go ahead with the Eibach Pros.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. My drive in this morning I heard no fender rub, but my drive home will be the big indicator as there's a few pretty big dips that hit every time, one on each side. If my method works out, I'll post in the next few days what I did. Fingers crossed!

 

[Sav_mk7.5]

I don't think you'll be disappointed. My drive in this morning I heard no fender rub, but my drive home will be the big indicator as there's a few pretty big dips that hit every time, one on each side. If my method works out, I'll post in the next few days what I did. Fingers crossed!

Sounds good!


Although, I don't think I'll run into an issue with rubbing (at least I hope not).
My wheel setup is: 18x8 +45 with 225/40 18 tires.

 

[Karthoum]

Sounds good!


Although, I don't think I'll run into an issue with rubbing (at least I hope not).
My wheel setup is: 18x8 +45 with 225/40 18 tires.

Ah ok...yeah maybe not. I'm the same offset with .5" wider wheel and 30mm wider tire. Which I do no regret! I think the width is desperately needed on the MK7-7.5. I ran the stock 225 on these wheels and they're just not wide enough in my opinion. The 255/8.5" is the perfect setup to me, for the added body width over the MKV-MKVI, which is what the current stock VW wheel setup is based on. And the bonus is the 255/35 (3.5" sidewall) is exactly the same height as the 225/40 (3.54" sidewall) just with a bigger footprint.

 

[Sav_mk7.5]

Ah ok...yeah maybe not. I'm the same offset with .5" wider wheel and 30mm wider tire. Which I do no regret! I think the width is desperately needed on the MK7-7.5. I ran the stock 225 on these wheels and they're just not wide enough in my opinion. The 255/8.5" is the perfect setup to me, for the added body width over the MKV-MKVI, which is what the current stock VW wheel setup is based on. And the bonus is the 255/35 (3.5" sidewall) is exactly the same height as the 225/40 (3.54" sidewall) just with a bigger footprint.

I hear ya, it’d be nice to have a little extra width.
If I don’t get some 18x8.5 wheels once it’s time for new tires (I’ve started looking/shopping them), I’ll definitely be going with 235s on my current 18x8 wheels.

 

[Karthoum]

I hear ya, it’d be nice to have a little extra width.
If I don’t get some 18x8.5 wheels once it’s time for new tires (I’ve started looking/shopping them), I’ll definitely be going with 235s on my current 18x8 wheels.

The car looks good BTW...love the GTI in White...which looking at your pic, I need a new avatar pic.

 

[MrTSI]

Well, measuring to an arbitrary point on the center of the wheel (I mean there’s no way every person is holding the tape measure in the same place) as opposed to the ground to fender that the point on the ground never moves is not the best method. Having said that, I measure from the ground to the fender and after was (initially minutes after pulling out of the garage) 26” rear, 25-1/8” front. The before was 26-3/4”, 26” respectively. So about 3/4” and 7/8”.

My guess is they will settle some so I’ll check them again and they might be a tad different. But maybe not! Probably after the alignment, not that it will change ride height. If they are what they are, I’m fine with it.

I was honestly looking at the H&R .75” drop before deciding on the Eibach.

Thanks for the before and after measurements. This answers my question entirely.

Fender to center of hub is the measurement that's used by VW and by some coilover manufacturers for ride height. It removes any variation due to different tire diameters and makes it easier to compare between different cars. That being said, you are totally right that getting a consistent measurement just by eyeballing the center of the hub might be problematic. Fender to ground is easier to get right but is useless for comparison unless you have the before and after measurements like you provided.

 

[Karthoum]

Thanks for the before and after measurements. This answers my question entirely.

Fender to center of hub is the measurement that's used by VW and by some coilover manufacturers for ride height. It removes any variation due to different tire diameters and makes it easier to compare between different cars. That being said, you are totally right that getting a consistent measurement just by eyeballing the center of the hub might be problematic. Fender to ground is easier to get right but is useless for comparison unless you have the before and after measurements like you provided.

Yeah, if there was some instrument that attached to the center bore that had a center point to start from, that would work. I don't really understand the reasoning anyone would use that method without such a tool. The ground never changes and the body is what drops or raises. So using the ground and the body is all you need in my mind. If VW uses this method, there must be some reason my pleeb brain isn't thinking of....other than that...it can never be precise. Tire diameter just changes the gap and could be useful if comparing tire to tire to know how much closer one is than another to the body, but suspension...the tire is irrelevant since it's not changing diameter or location, in relation to it's mounting point. Even then, the center of the wheel is gonna be the center regardless of tire size. If I'm wanting the amount a drop a spring provides, I want the before and after fender to ground. I think I'm saying the same thing in different ways, just that fender to ground is all that matters.

 

[khail19]

As far as comparing for yourself, fender to ground is fine as long as you are running the same tire size before and after. It will still show you the amount of drop.

But tire size can change the fender to ground measurement, because the diameter could be different. So when comparing two cars lowered the same amount but with different diameter tires, fender to center bore is more accurate. Assuming you can locate the center of the hub somewhat accurately.

 

[Karthoum]

As far as comparing for yourself, fender to ground is fine as long as you are running the same tire size before and after. It will still show you the amount of drop.

But tire size can change the fender to ground measurement, because the diameter could be different. So when comparing two cars lowered the same amount but with different diameter tires, fender to center bore is more accurate. Assuming you can locate the center of the hub somewhat accur

Well, the drop is the same because the spring is fixed. If you change tire size then that's changing a variable. If you get a 1" drop spring, it still drops 1". If you change tire size and it increases tire height(diameter) by 1/4", you are essentially lifting the car from the ground 1/4" but the spring is still the same. You also decrease tire clearance. The distance from center to fender with the same drop spring will be the same regardless of tire size. That is fixed from center of the drive-line to the fender with the length of spring. Tire size has nothing to do with that measurement.

If you want to know the amount of change in fender height from one size tire to another, the ground to fender is even more so the way.

EDIT:

fender to center bore is more accurate. Assuming you can locate the center of the hub somewhat accurately.

I think this makes my point. If you can't locate the center of the hub, it can't be accurate. If you COULD find center accurately and had a before and after measurement, this would give you the same amount less, as fender to ground after a drop would. For example, if before and after are 26 fender to ground and say for argument sake 16 center hub to fender and you use a 1" drop spring, you will see the same amount less on each, 25 and 15 if you actually get 1" drop.