OEM Euro Springs in US

cricri said:

According to this post

<http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2491460>

We're looking at a 0.9" drop (22mm) +- 0.3".

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Good info. These alignment settings are critical to getting the most performance out of the Euro springs. I'd probably get this alignment after the springs settle a bit... How long do you typically wait till they settle?

I saw the GTI development documentary where they were fine-tuning these suspension settings. It looks like the US spec one was just thrown-together using some Euro Golf specs at the last minute to improve US crash ratings. That sucks!

I hate those damn US corner blinkers too! Arrrggg.

RallyVWDan said:

As for OEM vs. Aftermarket... if you want to actually turn better stick with the OEM. Its stunning how little most of the aftermarket cares about real performance. The vast VAST majority just market to the folks who want the look and nothing else.

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Which is better in terms of turns, OEM in the US or OEM in europe? Or they don't have any difference except for the height?

My hope is that they both perform very similarly. But I've read a lot of reviews of people who've driven both---and they say that the body roll was noticeable in the US set-up.

My guess is that the US uses European Golf springs (in terms of height)---I base this on the fact that when the GTI first appeared in Europe, they said that it was 15mm lower than the standard Euro Golf. (In turn, the US auto press that that the US GTI was 1t5mm taller than the Euro GTI.)

ok, i have been throwing my FAST all over the corners today, high speed twisties, narrow country roads. All it needs is stiffer sway bars, because there is a lot of body roll. If you want to improve the handling the sway bar is more than enough, and more effective. However if you are looking to get better looks, lowering is fine, at that given point, i believe in changing the shocks as well. I do not believe that the lowering springs that reduces the ride height more than 1" will work perfectly with oem shocks. but again, that is my thought based on my experiences.

I'm thinking to use the Euro OEM spring, and is it positive that we use the same shocks as European GTIs?

^^ should be alright as long as the Euro shocks and US shocks are the same.

Excal. After replying to your note I read the rest of the posts here. I think I would re state that the best performancve per dollar may be to keep your stock OEM springs and invest in good dampers (like Koni FSBs) and the best rubber you can put on your car. Avoid the urge to go with huge rims and stay light and tight.

That will keep your car kickin fast and once everyone puts the aftermarket coils that don't work on their car you will be able to out turn them all. Enjoy.

^^ FSDs are real cool, love the technology on those... see, the gap on the car is outragous, needs a little drop, however, i really would not get a set of ride adjustment only coilovers, just because i would love to set it to my own taste. But, different folks, different strokes. I agreed with another point, TIRES. Extremely important on a nice handling car, and of course the air pressure you are running. Anyways, dropping does not improve handling dramatically all the time, but most of the tims

The gap on our rally car is too much in that pic? Thats funny... how about this one? In my tag pic we are in a full on turn with the car rolling to one side loading the springs and cutting the gap. The real gap is epic large and while not all that purdy, the car is wicked capable.



Thing is we run a professional race car in a professional race series against some of the baddest 2wd rally cars on the globe. We are also currently #1 in the class so I think we are doing ok with our porky little TDI. We owe much of our cars ability to its chassis tunning thanks for most part to the hard work of Peter Pyce.

Peter has shown time and time again that the Mk4 and now to a lesser extent the Mk5 don't have ideal geometry. We need to jack the car up to get every last bit of its ability that we can get from it. If we were to lower it we would be on the bump stops all the time and be a much much slower car.

Now I know several of you will cry foul and say that we are off road racers who need such, you would be right and wrong. Rally is all about street legal , insured race cars on real roads that have been closed to the public. Its about being the fastest you can be from point a to point b period. If you want to be as fast as possible from point a to point b you may wish to look into some of the wisdome of rally because its what works, not what looks best.

In short lowering the car almost never makes it faster. It tends to be the current trend to lower the car and say its better but its most often not the case. If you really want I can trot out texts and posts 3 ways to sunday but why? If you really want to go low please do, I'm not gonna try to stop you. I just want folks to understand its cosmetic, not performance. If you want performance look deeper.

agreed, please understand on a street car lower center gravity helps to reduce the body roll. You are correct on all your statements, and i agree with you. Suspension engineering involves more than lowering the car and it is an art needs to be performed by those who specialize in that field.

Like i said before, i will add stiffer sway bars and a nice set of grippier tires, and for cosmetic reasons get a set of shocks/spring combo. i have achieved my goals in my previous car, and stormed Autocross courses and enjoyed bunch of track days.

Dubdr said:

I just heard from them and to have the springs shipped to me here in Arizona it will only be 339.50!!!! I can't wait until the wife isn't paying attention.:headbang:

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Huh, you sound like me. What she doesn't know won't kill you. Shhh!:wink:

RallyVWdan....is that your "Yes its a deisel.." Rally car? If so I saw you guys race down in Missouri Feb 25th/26th with Rally America, the weekend before I bought my car. For the rest of you those guys know how to drive!!! The number one performance handling upgrade is driving school. Next is TIRES!!! It takes a long time to figure out what works best for your style of driving and the car. I preffer stiff where the rear end kicks out in a corner. This helps me turn better...but that is just how I drive. Adjustable shocks will be the first purchase I do for handling on this car.