There seems to be the least amount of information about these than any other option and the drop is probably the reason. But in my case the drop is exactly why I went with them. I barely clear most curbs ect now so going super low on my daily was not in my interest. My car can be a little bouncy sometimes even with sway bars and koni sport shocks. This should let me loosen up my rear shocks and still maintain oversteer, give me slightly better traction from lower cg, and make it more fun to drive without beating me up. They are being shipped so will update in a week or so when installed.
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H&R OE sport springs install and impressions thread
- Thread starter vegasGTI
- Start date
aw614
Ready to race!
- Location
- Lutz, FL, USA
interested to hear your impressions, I was wondering how those and neuspeed sofsports were, but never got enough reviews at the time so I went DG
Subd for results. Be sure to post pics of the drop along with your review, vegas.
aw614, I have the Neuspeed Sports, paired with Koni FSDs. These springs paired with the FSDs give a drop that's very similar to my old H&R Sport springs/ Bilstein B8s but with less rake. They ride better than stock, and sooooooo much better than the H&R/ B8 setup, but they greatly reduced my handling and straight line traction since they are too soft and sloppy to control body roll, dive, and squat. I bet you have better ride control and handling with your DGs. When new, the progressive Neuspeed springs felt way too soft on the initial part of their travel, leaving the car tippy and unsettled-feeling, and the car sat up much higher than I expected it to. But they are so soft that the softer coils of the progressive spring compressed away to nothing after about two years as the car settled much lower during that time, so the super-compliant ride goes away as the coils stacked up, leaving me with a car that neither handles well nor rides all that great. I rate the overall experience a C+, but I'm much happier than I was with the brutally stiff previous H&R/ B8 setup.
In any case, I'm not sure how much my shitty ride with the H&Rs was because of the spring rate or the too-stiff Bils, and I'm not sure how much my shitty handling with the Neuspeeds is due to the soft springs or the sloppy-ass FSDs. In both spring/ damper setups I've had, I wish I had gone with Koni Sports instead of the MKV B8s and the Koni FSDs; it's so nice to have adjustable dampers that you can use to compensate for deficiencies in ride or handling caused by your spring choice.
aw614, I have the Neuspeed Sports, paired with Koni FSDs. These springs paired with the FSDs give a drop that's very similar to my old H&R Sport springs/ Bilstein B8s but with less rake. They ride better than stock, and sooooooo much better than the H&R/ B8 setup, but they greatly reduced my handling and straight line traction since they are too soft and sloppy to control body roll, dive, and squat. I bet you have better ride control and handling with your DGs. When new, the progressive Neuspeed springs felt way too soft on the initial part of their travel, leaving the car tippy and unsettled-feeling, and the car sat up much higher than I expected it to. But they are so soft that the softer coils of the progressive spring compressed away to nothing after about two years as the car settled much lower during that time, so the super-compliant ride goes away as the coils stacked up, leaving me with a car that neither handles well nor rides all that great. I rate the overall experience a C+, but I'm much happier than I was with the brutally stiff previous H&R/ B8 setup.
In any case, I'm not sure how much my shitty ride with the H&Rs was because of the spring rate or the too-stiff Bils, and I'm not sure how much my shitty handling with the Neuspeeds is due to the soft springs or the sloppy-ass FSDs. In both spring/ damper setups I've had, I wish I had gone with Koni Sports instead of the MKV B8s and the Koni FSDs; it's so nice to have adjustable dampers that you can use to compensate for deficiencies in ride or handling caused by your spring choice.
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aw614
Ready to race!
- Location
- Lutz, FL, USA
Weird, I thought there was a set below the neuspeed sports called the sofsports with linear spring rate, but I cannot find them anymore on the neuspeed site anymore. I guess they discontinued it, but from what I remembered, the drop was less than the sports and was linear.
Got them installed today and what a difference. The car rides much flatter and handles way better. In some instances the ride quality is better than stock believe it or not. The bounciness i didnt like appears to be totally gone. The only place it seemed to ride a little harsher was over constant bumps like cobblestone. Acceleration is improved the tires are much more planted with my KO4. I got much less wheel hop and more forward motion with much less traction control intervention. Cornering the car just stays flat now and is much easier to control and recover without the bounce. Steering and turn in response is also much improved and steering is tighter. It turns and responds to steering wheel inputs much quicker now. I barely got to drive it so these are my initial observations. I will add more impressions this week as i spend more time with them. If your looking to stay at a reasonable ride height and want improved handling these are definitely the way to go. Im waiting for the car to settle a little bit before taking pics. Right now the car is sitting at about 24.5 inch front fender to ground and 25 inch at rear. Not sure what stock was but again on 08-09 they are only supposed to drop the vehicle about .2 of an inch. Here are pics of other car with them installed to get an idea:
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32475
excellent mod imo. I was getting a clunk from my rear end and found one of my sway bar brackets actually snapped so i contacted Hotchkis to get a replacement but this isnt really effecting handling in any way just making a clunk when i get the vehicle on an extreme angle. Very happy with them so far.
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32475
excellent mod imo. I was getting a clunk from my rear end and found one of my sway bar brackets actually snapped so i contacted Hotchkis to get a replacement but this isnt really effecting handling in any way just making a clunk when i get the vehicle on an extreme angle. Very happy with them so far.
For sure. Next weekend going to get it aligned it should have settled by then.
So about a week and a half in and very happy with them. It still bounces a little, but its way less pronounced now. The freeway on-ramp i get on every day used to upset the car much more due to the banking angle. Now it just sticks it and does not upset the vehicle at all. I can continue to accelerate without having to wait for the vehicle to settle/recover. As stated before acceleration is greatly improved, most noticeably when turning from a stop. For example, leaving a shopping center going the opposite way of traffic and having to cross 4 lanes. The traction control intervenes far less if at all and forward motion is not hampered now. I will take some pics next week as i feel it is still settling a little. I still clear most curbs and sidewalks perfectly, but its apparent the car is lower when I look at the clearance now. Any lower and I would most probably scrape my bumper. Im surprised more people do not use these, but most are only concerned with moar low vs overall vehicle handling dynamics. For a daily drivable spring they are perfect imo.
My schedule changed yet again so planning on this coming Monday for an alignment. Will take pics in the next day or so as I feel the car has finally settled. I don't have exact measurements of how much it lowered the vehicle as I found out after the fact that where I measured at the shop was not the same level as my garage (according to the measurements in my garage the car actually sits higher lol which I know for a fact is not true) but I will post the final measurements when I take the pics as well.
Pics:
Looks good, man. Doesn't look much lower than stock, but nice looking car nonetheless, and what a sleeper that thing is! I'd never guess you had a fully bolted K04 beasty. My car has a similarly sleeperish look to it. Sorry for the giant pic: