Setup #6: Koni Sports/Yellows + H&R OE Sports
Yes, I've gone from spring/damper combos to coils and back. After a couple years with the SHS coils, I decided it was time to get back to my "less is more" approach. While I enjoyed the handling of the SHS kit, it was more than I needed. I also had a set of H&R OE sports that I picked up a long time ago, and found a deal on the Koni yellows so figured I’d give it a shot.
Goals/Criteria for my latest setup:
1. More comfort
2. Maintain as much control as possible.
3. Keep as much travel as possible, and don't look slammed
4. Cost-effective
5. Established brands/products
The install went fine, but I did need to learn how to adjust the rear dampers. Nothing YouTube couldn’t solve, and pretty easy once you know what you’re supposed to do.
Impressions after 2K miles (with front/rear sways, wider wheels, and Conti ECS tires)
The Drop:
H&R advertises it as .75" all the way around. I got that in the front, but the rear is around a 1.25" drop, at least for my car. I know reverse rake is a deal-breaker for many on this board, and when I first lowered my car a couple years ago I thought the same thing. I have come to appreciate it though on the GTI based on function. Keep the rear end low for handling/reduce body roll, but keep the front a bit higher to provide more travel / avoid taking massive blows over steel plates, uneven pavement, etc. I did put a TT pad on the left rear to level things out in the rear (left rear has always been lower than right). I personally love it, but it may not be for everyone. With the wider wheels I think it looks amazing and seems like it could potentially pass as stock to me. Anyway, here are the measurements:
Front center hub to fender: 13.75" (349mm)
Rear center hub to fender: 13.25" (337mm)
Koni settings: Since the OE Sports are supposed to be 10% stiffer than the stock GTI stock springs, I figured I’d start at 1/2 turn from full soft on both front/rear. It felt really good, but I felt the need to fiddle to make sure. I increased the rear to 3/4 from full soft and went anywhere from full soft to full firm (for kicks) in the front. 3/4 from full soft in the rear was too much for me. I ended up finishing nearly back where I began: 1/2 turn from full soft in the rear and 3/8 from full soft in the front. I definitely didn't want to be under-damped on the rears so I never went lower than 1/2 turn from full soft in the back.
Daily Driving Ride Quality:
My initial impression after install was "LOVE IT." It was more "muted" than my coilovers were...though some of that was probably also due to switching from 034 strut mounts back to OEM. The bumpiness of our imperfect city roads were definitely still there, but dulled. After 2K miles, I still like it, but it is definitely stiffer than I thought it would be overall. It’s good for a sport suspension, it’s just firmer than I thought it would be. For example, my wife brought her coffee in the car the other day. As I drove it was constantly on the verge of spilling, to the point where I took it and held it carefully until we were on smoother ground…and our streets aren’t even that bad. No potholes, but not ultra-smooth either.
Like I said, it's pretty good for a sport suspension, but on bumpy roads you do get jostled around a bit.
Now, one BIG difference with these and previous setups (at least previous damper/spring combos) is the lack of major front-end violence. With my Neuspeeds (+ B8 or FSD) I would sometimes encounter steel plates, joints, or other lips and experience a significant WHAM! Based on what I’ve read I don’t believe this is specific to the Neuspeeds, but more due to the lack of travel and not enough spring rate and damper compression/resistance to make up for the difference.
With the OE Sport/Koni yellow setup I have yet to have that happen. I have hit a couple steel plates in town, and have taken uneven pavement sections at highway speed and haven't had the same violent experience. Granted, I am not speeding up for railroad tracks and speed humps. I still slow way down, but I haven't had any big surprises. Not as mild as it was with the DGs, but nothing unreasonable.
Freeways: On decent/good highways, absolutely no complaints. VERY smooth and I love it. On bad/choppy/grooved freeways, it's not as forgiving and you can really feel the rigidity. Luckily most of the freeways I travel on are good/decent and it’s smooth sailing, and I only deal with bad patches a minority of the time. As noted above though, I’ve also taken on some uneven pavement sections / lips, and haven’t had any violent reactions. The only thing that did happen was hitting a decent sized dip around 70-80 and had the front left tire rub. With stock wheels and tires that may not have happened, but regardless, it was easily remedied by the fender screw mod.
Handling: (Again, keep in mind my other upgrades here…) After coming off of coilovers, and based off of H&R’s marketing verbiage, this is where I thought I would suffer the most, but much to my surprise, I didn't. As expected, there is definitely more body roll than I had before coils, particularly in the front due to ride height and spring rate. However, even without the sways I'm sure the handling is light years ahead of stock. Although I have not tracked it, I have taken it on back roads, pushed hard on clover leafs, and have been up to triple digit speeds. The car settles down WAY better than I thought it would. I'm very impressed with how composed it is at speed, hard braking, quick lateral movements, etc. Of course not as composed as the SHS kit, but more composed than any other setup I've had.
Aside from the body roll you still get some loft on mid-corner bumps, but it settles back in quickly enough, and certainly enough for street purposes IMO. Overall I'm able to push the car hard and feel confident in doing so.
Overall impressions:
IMHO, this is a strong overall package. The OE sports produce a “not lowered but doesn’t need to be lowered” look. The handling is better than expected and the ride quality is firm but not harsh in most situations (at least using 1/2 turn from soft front/rear). The lack of front end violence is also HUGE in my book though. If you think of it as a sport suspension and understand there will be something to pay for the drop and the handling then you will be fine. If you are wanting the smoothest setup possible then you will be disappointed. All said, it’s not perfect but it's my favorite overall combo between form, function, and price.
Now, will I always have this setup? Who knows. I am not getting any younger though, and neither are my passengers. As such, if I do make the switch at some point it would probably be to Konis with stock springs or maybe back to DGs. Both of those would seemingly work great with the Koni’s from a ride quality perspective, but less controlled. Again, who knows. For now I am happy with what I have.
If you are considering this setup please feel free to PM me with any questions.
What can I say, the car wants to go fast. Literally thought he was pulling me over for no front plate. After he left I realized he didn't say anything about my tint...so I guess there's that (knock on wood)
