I'm currently on my second aftermarket spring/ strut setup, and will be installing my third setup soon (Koni coilovers) on my never-ending quest to find the best drop with a compliant ride.
I've had my second setup, a Koni FSD/ Neuspeed Sport spring combo for a little less than a year now, and I wanted to make a long-term review since the character and ride height of this setup changed significantly since I first had them installed. Most, if not all, of the other reviews, including the ones I read before I bought them, were based on other reviewers' first impressions of a newly installed setup, so I wanted to add some long-term impressions for people who hit "Search" to consider.
I always liked the way the stock 2008 GTI suspension cornered and felt compliant over within-corner bumps, but the car sat too high and the ride was pretty choppy on the poorly-maintained MA highways that I drive 40,000 miles each year. In the quest for moar low, I first switched over to H & R Sports and Bilstein Sports. The car's cornering abilities were incredible: I was able to corner far better than stock, bombing familiar onramps at much higher speeds than I could when stock, but the ride quality was horrendous on the highway. Never-ending jostling. It felt like I was riding a pony to work every day, which gets old when you are in the car 2-4 hours each day on shit roads. The ride quality improved somewhat once that setup broke in, but it was never anywhere near as compliant as the stock setup. They rubbed up front in hard corners with my 18 x 8.5 ET45 VMR V710s and 225/45/18 General Exclaim UHPs until I did the fender screw mod, then no rubbing. The fender screw mod allowed me to take corners as fast as the grip would allow, whereas before I could only take this combo to about 7/10ths before rubbing. Highway stability was rock solid at triple digit speeds, including in cross winds. The suspension settled about a half-inch over the year I had it, but ultimately I didn't love the slight butt-up rake of this setup, so I was never quite sold on the stance, hated the ride, loved the handling of this combo. I drove this setup for just over a year, for around 40,000 spine-compressing, brain-sloshing miles before I could afford a softer setup. The quality of the H&Rs/ Bilsteins was fantastic, as they still felt nearly new at the time I had them removed.
My priority was on ride over handling, so I bought the Neuspeed Sport Springs and Koni FSDs after doing tons of searching, as this was the setup that was supposed to deliver the mushiest ride available. My first Neuspeed/ FSD impressions were as follows: The car initially sat up quite a bit higher than the H & R Sports had when I'd first installed them. In fact, the Neuspeeds only sat about a half- inch lower than stock ride height. I assumed they'd settle lower, much like my H & Rs had, and so I wasn't worried about that.
I was thrilled by the new ride quality! The car was an absolute dream over the miserable roads that the H & R/ Bils used to beat me up over. Under most circumstances the Neuspeed/ FSDs rode better (in terms of compliance) than stock, especially at highway speeds. From a performance perspective they were unimpressive, and the car handled far worse than it did on the H&R/ Bils setup, and quite a bit worse than stock. Tons of brake dive, lots of weight transfer, lots of body roll. Even with the fender screw mod, the car rubbed at 7/10ths again, greatly limiting my ability to drive the car hard. The car also took more attention to drive fast, since all that weight transfer and body roll meant that things could get a little hairy at extra-legal speeds, especially if I had to squeeze the brakes on undulating, curvy sections of the highway. The car was also notable more susceptible to crosswinds than it had been, even as compared to stock, making it feel less stable even in a straight line, as compared to stock. A lot of the wobbly, sloppy suspension feel could be attributed to that first initial bit of travel on the soft part of these progressive springs.Gone was the sporty feel of the stock car or the hardcore sports car feel of the H&R'd GTI. In it's place was a base Camry wearing GTI sheet metal. Still, I was 1000% happy, as long as the ride stayed as amazing as it had been. :happyanim:
Over the last few months, the character of this setup changed a lot, in many ways for the better, but the ride got stiffer, too. The springs settled a lot, probably at least an inch more since they were installed. I really like the way the car now sits on the Neuspeeds, and, now that they've settled, the car has a very nice, even drop, without the ugly rake I had with the H&Rs. Interestingly enough, they actually stopped rubbing as the car got lower, mainly because the car no longer assumes such wild roll angles. High speed stability increased a ton, and I can now take onramps at 10/10ths without rubbing. I'd say the car is back to cornering about as well as it did stock, at least in terms of ultimate lateral grip (although probably not rapid transitions) although you still have to be more mindful of controlling mid corner bobbling and weight transfer as compared to stock. I never would have considered the Neuspeeds/ FSDs to be acceptable for autox before, but now that the setup has settled, it'd probably do OK, although probably not better than stock. The H&R/ Bils would have been far better for autox as compared to stock.
I attribute the Neu/FSD's newfound handling prowess and stiffer ride to the fact that the compliant portion of the progressive springs has now compressed (that'd be the first part to settle), so the car spends most of its time sitting on the stiffer coils. The downside to this deeper drop is that much of the compliance that I loved and other reviewers have raved about has diminished since I am low enough that I'm assuming I am coming in contact with the bump stops on a regular basis, if not sitting on them directly. I don't fault the Neuspeed/ FSDs for this, as it seems to be more an issue of the GTI's limited suspension travel than anything else.
In the end I have somewhat mixed feelings about the Neuspeed/ FSD setup, although overall I like them far better than I did the H & R Sport/ Bilstein Sport setup. I like the drop better, and despite the fact that the setup has gotten stiffer as it breaks in, they still ride better than the H&Rs at all speeds. I'd recommend the Neuspeed/ FSDs for someone who drives less than I do, but still commutes a lot over crappy roads, and wants a lower but not-slammed stance. For someone who doesn't drive many miles a day or tracks the car or lives on glass-smooth roads, I'd recommend the H&R/ Bilstein Sport setup because it is in another league, performance-wise, as compared to the Neuspeed/ FSDs. The quality of the Neuspeed/ FSD setups seems very high, and they are holding up well, but my GTI is moving in a different direction over the next few months, so I can afford to go stiffer and lower.
In my quest for a mushy highway commute, I just bought a white 1997 Cadillac DeVille (a.k.a. The Marshmallow, lol) to daily, so my need for a compliant ride in the GTI is no longer such a priority. Now that the GTI has been relegated to hobby car status, I can focus on doing more of a stance build on the GTI, which is why I'll be selling my still-fresh Neuspeeds and FSDs soon. I'll be sure to check back once I install the Koni coilovers, and provide you with input as to how they ride compared to stock, the H&R/ Bils, and the Neuspeed Sports/ FSDs.
Here's how my car currently sits, with the Neuspeed Sport springs:
http://imgz.us/?pm=713212330452
I've had my second setup, a Koni FSD/ Neuspeed Sport spring combo for a little less than a year now, and I wanted to make a long-term review since the character and ride height of this setup changed significantly since I first had them installed. Most, if not all, of the other reviews, including the ones I read before I bought them, were based on other reviewers' first impressions of a newly installed setup, so I wanted to add some long-term impressions for people who hit "Search" to consider.
I always liked the way the stock 2008 GTI suspension cornered and felt compliant over within-corner bumps, but the car sat too high and the ride was pretty choppy on the poorly-maintained MA highways that I drive 40,000 miles each year. In the quest for moar low, I first switched over to H & R Sports and Bilstein Sports. The car's cornering abilities were incredible: I was able to corner far better than stock, bombing familiar onramps at much higher speeds than I could when stock, but the ride quality was horrendous on the highway. Never-ending jostling. It felt like I was riding a pony to work every day, which gets old when you are in the car 2-4 hours each day on shit roads. The ride quality improved somewhat once that setup broke in, but it was never anywhere near as compliant as the stock setup. They rubbed up front in hard corners with my 18 x 8.5 ET45 VMR V710s and 225/45/18 General Exclaim UHPs until I did the fender screw mod, then no rubbing. The fender screw mod allowed me to take corners as fast as the grip would allow, whereas before I could only take this combo to about 7/10ths before rubbing. Highway stability was rock solid at triple digit speeds, including in cross winds. The suspension settled about a half-inch over the year I had it, but ultimately I didn't love the slight butt-up rake of this setup, so I was never quite sold on the stance, hated the ride, loved the handling of this combo. I drove this setup for just over a year, for around 40,000 spine-compressing, brain-sloshing miles before I could afford a softer setup. The quality of the H&Rs/ Bilsteins was fantastic, as they still felt nearly new at the time I had them removed.
My priority was on ride over handling, so I bought the Neuspeed Sport Springs and Koni FSDs after doing tons of searching, as this was the setup that was supposed to deliver the mushiest ride available. My first Neuspeed/ FSD impressions were as follows: The car initially sat up quite a bit higher than the H & R Sports had when I'd first installed them. In fact, the Neuspeeds only sat about a half- inch lower than stock ride height. I assumed they'd settle lower, much like my H & Rs had, and so I wasn't worried about that.
I was thrilled by the new ride quality! The car was an absolute dream over the miserable roads that the H & R/ Bils used to beat me up over. Under most circumstances the Neuspeed/ FSDs rode better (in terms of compliance) than stock, especially at highway speeds. From a performance perspective they were unimpressive, and the car handled far worse than it did on the H&R/ Bils setup, and quite a bit worse than stock. Tons of brake dive, lots of weight transfer, lots of body roll. Even with the fender screw mod, the car rubbed at 7/10ths again, greatly limiting my ability to drive the car hard. The car also took more attention to drive fast, since all that weight transfer and body roll meant that things could get a little hairy at extra-legal speeds, especially if I had to squeeze the brakes on undulating, curvy sections of the highway. The car was also notable more susceptible to crosswinds than it had been, even as compared to stock, making it feel less stable even in a straight line, as compared to stock. A lot of the wobbly, sloppy suspension feel could be attributed to that first initial bit of travel on the soft part of these progressive springs.Gone was the sporty feel of the stock car or the hardcore sports car feel of the H&R'd GTI. In it's place was a base Camry wearing GTI sheet metal. Still, I was 1000% happy, as long as the ride stayed as amazing as it had been. :happyanim:
Over the last few months, the character of this setup changed a lot, in many ways for the better, but the ride got stiffer, too. The springs settled a lot, probably at least an inch more since they were installed. I really like the way the car now sits on the Neuspeeds, and, now that they've settled, the car has a very nice, even drop, without the ugly rake I had with the H&Rs. Interestingly enough, they actually stopped rubbing as the car got lower, mainly because the car no longer assumes such wild roll angles. High speed stability increased a ton, and I can now take onramps at 10/10ths without rubbing. I'd say the car is back to cornering about as well as it did stock, at least in terms of ultimate lateral grip (although probably not rapid transitions) although you still have to be more mindful of controlling mid corner bobbling and weight transfer as compared to stock. I never would have considered the Neuspeeds/ FSDs to be acceptable for autox before, but now that the setup has settled, it'd probably do OK, although probably not better than stock. The H&R/ Bils would have been far better for autox as compared to stock.
I attribute the Neu/FSD's newfound handling prowess and stiffer ride to the fact that the compliant portion of the progressive springs has now compressed (that'd be the first part to settle), so the car spends most of its time sitting on the stiffer coils. The downside to this deeper drop is that much of the compliance that I loved and other reviewers have raved about has diminished since I am low enough that I'm assuming I am coming in contact with the bump stops on a regular basis, if not sitting on them directly. I don't fault the Neuspeed/ FSDs for this, as it seems to be more an issue of the GTI's limited suspension travel than anything else.
In the end I have somewhat mixed feelings about the Neuspeed/ FSD setup, although overall I like them far better than I did the H & R Sport/ Bilstein Sport setup. I like the drop better, and despite the fact that the setup has gotten stiffer as it breaks in, they still ride better than the H&Rs at all speeds. I'd recommend the Neuspeed/ FSDs for someone who drives less than I do, but still commutes a lot over crappy roads, and wants a lower but not-slammed stance. For someone who doesn't drive many miles a day or tracks the car or lives on glass-smooth roads, I'd recommend the H&R/ Bilstein Sport setup because it is in another league, performance-wise, as compared to the Neuspeed/ FSDs. The quality of the Neuspeed/ FSD setups seems very high, and they are holding up well, but my GTI is moving in a different direction over the next few months, so I can afford to go stiffer and lower.
In my quest for a mushy highway commute, I just bought a white 1997 Cadillac DeVille (a.k.a. The Marshmallow, lol) to daily, so my need for a compliant ride in the GTI is no longer such a priority. Now that the GTI has been relegated to hobby car status, I can focus on doing more of a stance build on the GTI, which is why I'll be selling my still-fresh Neuspeeds and FSDs soon. I'll be sure to check back once I install the Koni coilovers, and provide you with input as to how they ride compared to stock, the H&R/ Bils, and the Neuspeed Sports/ FSDs.
Here's how my car currently sits, with the Neuspeed Sport springs:
http://imgz.us/?pm=713212330452
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