Suspension ideas

[physicsfool]

So suspension is top of the agenda at the moment as i spoke to bilstein and they want £385 for a full shock service, that on top of a new set of springs is setting me back £550 which is ridiculous.

My question is what kits are reasonably priced and decent for everyday use with the occasional hard drive.

[hayesey]

a set of Koni shocks and Eibach springs is usually pretty good for daily use whilst not being rubbish when you want to push it.

[physicsfool]

Cheers for that, are they sold as kits or best bought separately?

Also which spring setup to suit?

[JoeH]

I would say roughly around £500 is what you need to spend for bilstein eibach koni etc.

H&R kit used to be cheaper, check PhilJ's stuff he was main polo man for Suspension stuff
http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=285285

[PeteG40]

I love konis and you can get them rebuilt.


Second hand might be a decent option!  I loved mine on konis with stock springs

[z3i]

Just be cautious with second hand, the h&r kit I got of Saf was knackered! It had only done "10k" and I paid nearly new price for it
If you do go 2nd hand, get a look at it first stripped down and make sure shocks have nice resistance and springs have some oomph

[Jezza-7]

H&R are very harsh on the roads. Ideal for track.

I've had softer coilovers in the past then them!

[physicsfool]

Philj has the bilstein eibach kit at £485 which is a decent price. Will fully investigate getting them serviced before spending too much dolla

[Lionheart]

Have the H&R kit on the G, fun but not really road orientated. Have a Bilstein B12 kit on the Passat  and it is damn impressive, reasonable comfort, most pax don't notice the difference but it is so much tighter, very little roll with exceptional grip from the shock/spring compliance.

[grungeisdead]

I loved both my HnR and KW kits, and would happily buy either of them again.

ECP do a great discount on HnR kits.

However I would really like to try out a set of billies, as they only ever have good reputation (especially the B6 sports shocks) and have had a couple of good recommendations on the G's.

However at that price, I would also be inclined to go down the coil over route.

2nd hand suspension is great for cheap, quick lows but its a totally lottery and there is no warranty. Plus roads are so bad in the UK, that it's possible to goose even expensive shocks quickly. I know Adam has been through 2 rear HnR shocks, which cost a pretty penny to replace on their own.

[JoeH]

The other wider picture to think about is how else do you wanna improve handling.
If you just want looks then buy cheap £120 kit.

But if you want it to handle along with decent suspension you really need:
Decent tyres
A lower strut brace (or subframe preferably)
ARB blocks
Maybe LSD/quaife

TBH you can spend £1500 + on handling mods, and in my opinion a G needs as much help as possible, assuming you want G smiles in corner...

[physicsfool]

Yeah I have blocks to pop on and thinking of a subframe as well as tyres. But doing it bit my bit!

[dekerf1996]

I have had a few kits over the years.

Two different HnR cup kits, feel totally different too, one i got new and the other came with a car, i just don't think they last that long, as the one that came on the car was awful and the new set has lasted well and ride so much better, and they are bloody expensive now. So much better out there for the money.

Had Koni's and eibach springs on my derby which ride very well, however don't drop the car much at all, and give a little reverse rake without lowering spring top caps.

Got a new set of Billies and KW springs which promise to be good, but haven't run them yet. I have a pair of the B8's with eibach springs on the rear of my derby currently and its very nice, so with the new shocks and KW springs i am hoping for the right amount of lows and a very good ride

Also had those cheap coilovers, blew one rear shock up after only a few thousand miles and replacements are silly expensive, the fronts are too hard for road use and would suit a track only in my opion.

Its a hole package and i would look at the TCA and steering arms too, also look into the rear axle bushes and top mounts as they tighten things up nicely, which is what i am doing with my daily mk2 G40 with the billies, and a stage 2 subframe (if it fits)