Probably get this a lot (lowering related question)

[DanH]

Ook so I'm a noob to all this and I want to drop my 'rocco a bit to get the stance how I want it, but don't want to lose a massive amount of practicality or get a ride that shakes my eyeballs out because the roads round here aren't amazing and I won't be able to see where I'm going.

Went to a club meet the other day and left with screams of "EBAY COILOVERS!" and "SLAM IT!" ringing in my ears, but I don't really want to slam it massively, so was originally thinking of fitting standard GTX springs and shocks on the back and some lowering springs somewhere in the region of 30/35mm on the front because the front seems waaay higher than the back, definitely in arch gap terms if not actual ride height, and because springs'll give a better ride/be more practical than coilovers?

But, being a noob, I didn't know that lowering springs only seem to come in full kits which'll drop the whole car by 30 - 40mm so it'll still be a bit nose high, maybe.

As you can probably tell I don't really have a clue what I'm talking about so if anyone could help out/suggest some options that'd be great, don't have a huge budget but don't intend to do things the absolute cheapest way possible either.

[Old Mac Rocco]

Hi and welcome DanH.
The best way around here is to ask and also to explore.
Use the search button on the right hand side and enter lowering, springs, ride height, suspension anything you want to know and within seconds you will have more info than you know what to do with.
Don't be afraid to ask because there a lot of willing helpers on here and if any stay near you they will come and see if they can help in anyway possible.
Put your rough location up as that helps members know where you are for meets, spares etc.

[Col]

i've got coilovers on mine and its my daily. i live in one of the worst areas for bad roads and i'm part of a band so have to carry some big heavy loads regularly and they're holding up really well. yeah the ride is hard, but you eventually learn to keep an eye on potholes.

and if you're anything like me, you'll get some lowering springs then not be satisfied. happened to my last car

[Mr Funk]

Mac's pretty much hit the nail on the head but keep in mind that something like suspension is a big ole can o' worms.

Have a look through some of the project threads and pic threads as you'll get a great idea of what's achievable and, more importantly, what's practical for you. No point making it lower than Jordan's morales if you want a daily driver that'll be tackling speed bumps every day. Best piece of advise I can give are:
1: Whatever you go for buy it nice or buy it twice.
2: Get yourself a lower front strut brace. Not only will it transform the handling you have now but when you do come to lower it it'll firm everything up a bit.

[mk2moo]

Firstly welcome.
On the rocco before my present one i had it dropped around 60 front and 40 ish on back. Mine was on venom coilovers and was a sound ride. It was no harsher than my present scala at full standard sus. I prefer coilovers as there is more choice to get the perfect stance. Im not sure how the ebay specials ride though.

[Ryan]

Mine was on venom coilovers and was a sound ride.

Venom the make or the company you got them from?

[Jay4424]

i've got coilovers on mine and its my daily. i live in one of the worst areas for bad roads and i'm part of a band so have to carry some big heavy loads regularly and they're holding up really well. yeah the ride is hard, but you eventually learn to keep an eye on potholes.

and if you're anything like me, you'll get some lowering springs then not be satisfied. happened to my last car

same here

[DT1]

...the front seems waaay higher than the back, definitely in arch gap terms if not actual ride height...

I would check that out, sounds more like the front and rear are mismatched if not broken, you shouldn't need to have a bigger drop on the front to level it off.

This is mine side on and as you can see (I hope) front and rear are the same gap.

[mk2moo]

Mine was on venom coilovers and was a sound ride.

Venom the make or the company you got them from?

They were the venom motorsport ones. Were quite good to be honest

[walkinginperu]

the front seems waaay higher than the back, definitely in arch gap terms if not actual ride height

Is this a 1.6 GT carb by any chance? If it is, mine is exactly the same - i think it's due to the front end being lighter than other 'roccos due to the lack of injection gubbins.

[Tim_R]

the front seems waaay higher than the back, definitely in arch gap terms if not actual ride height

Is this a 1.6 GT carb by any chance? If it is, mine is exactly the same - i think it's due to the front end being lighter than other 'roccos due to the lack of injection gubbins.

Back in the day, VW had a range of different springs with different rates for the various models to take into account the extra weight of injection vs carb, lighter base models vs fully spec'd versions.

I suspect the rear end has sagged on the OP's car because the rear dampers have lost their gas pressure which provides a small amount of upward force and when combined with the springs gave the car the right stance.

My own rocco used to sit like this shortly after I got it and finished the 80k suspension off, was all ok after fitting new dampers all round. Also remember seeing plenty of other roccos and mk 2 golfs like it 8 to 10 years ago.

[DanH]

Cheers for the replies people! Yeah it's a 1.6 carb and it did get an advisory for the rear shocks when it was MOT'd on the 1st so that probably accounts for the lack of levelness then. Will put a pic up to demonstrate if I get round to taking some in the next couple of days.

Been reading around a lot and there are lots of conflicting stories about the ride becoming bone shattering when you fit coilovers and/or lowering springs so I'm a bit lost! Currently thinking lowering springs and replacement shocks will be the way forwards because most things I've read/heard say they give a better ride than then alternative, and I don't want to get it as low as physically possible anyway, as it's my daily/only car I have access to and I'm into mountain biking and some fireroads/car parks for trails are not at all friendly . Up to 40mm looks pretty ideal in terms of looks/retaining usability! (Lower strut brace looks like a definite winner too, the internet seems unanimous in singing their praises).

Should possibly add that having never driven or really been in a car with coilovers or lowering springs, it could well be a lot less retina detaching that I'm imaginging!

[Tim_R]

Been reading around a lot and there are lots of conflicting stories about the ride becoming bone shattering when you fit coilovers and/or lowering springs so I'm a bit lost! Currently thinking lowering springs and replacement shocks will be the way forwards because most things I've read/heard say they give a better ride than then alternative

Suspension is a really subjective topic, so what one person likes another will find the same setup too hard or soft, maybe because the first driver spends all their time in a city and doesn't go above 50 whereas the second spends lots of time on motorways and fast flowing roads where hitting a pothole at speed mid corner makes teeth rattle. My general experience of cheap coilovers has not been good when compared to expensive coilovers on the same car on the same roads back to back. (Peugeot 309 GTI with racelands vs ASTs)

I used to have a set of Eibach springs on my car which were supposed to be a 30mm drop with koni top adjustable dampers which were really good for ride comfort, stance and cornering, but didn't deal well with potholes at speed due to not having enough travel in the strut on compression. When i added the heavier 16v engine this got even worse as it bacame a 40mm drop, the springs were just too soft to cope, being designed for the much lighter mk1 golf chassis. I reverted back to standard height springs from a 16v rocco and all those issues went away.

Before I had to rebuild my car due to front ending it, I ended up with a lower strut brace (cheapest and best mod to improve handling), standard springs, Koni dampers and Eibach anti-roll bars. I found this setup gave me a really good balance of handling and ride comfort even on bumpy badly finished A and B roads around Gloucestershire and South Wales at the legal limit and best of all I didn't have to slow down for speed bumps! My folks also live at the end of an unmade road so I had to make sure I could get up and down that.

Sorry about the longish post but thought my experience may be helpful. Get a lower front brace though, I found the cheapy OMP one from rally design does the job fine, but others have had issues with mounting point alignment.

[Dutch GT]

I don't think you'll regret going for a fixed set of say 30-40mm. I've only ever done this and I'm not too bothered about being 'slammed'. It will look great and be drivable, speed bumps no problem, no nose diving under braking or cloud watching on hard acceleration! All good, and with good kit just a slightly firmer ride.
I rate bilstein (was on a mk2 golf years ago) and koni (on my mk4 golf now). Both mid priced and great quality. Just choose a good kit and go for it.

[DanH]

Really useful replies here, thanks again!

On a slightly different tack now...what's the difference between: this strut brace of the lower front variety and this one (the omp one mentioned?) and this one.

Because they all claim to be the same thing? (I think)...but look different.

This may be a silly question, I'm not sure!