Scirocco Register

EDITED = I have changed the subject line of this thread from "are these Ebay coil over kits any good" to "A thread about ebay coilover kits and other set ups !" as we have come a long way since I first asked the original question !

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Whilst looking at new suspension all round I found these on ebay = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-SCIROCCO-M ... 230c6af8dc or these (German made) = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK-1- ... 1e66ef31fd - Both around £175 all in - does anyone know if they are OK performance and quality wise ?

Or would normal springs and shocks perhaps be more sensible a choice ?

Springs = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-SCIROCCO-7 ... 45f5b2f1a4
And shocks as = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK1-G ... 336979acca


Whilst we are here, if anyone has any firm recommendations as to a "best buy" for a full set of shocks and springs (would like to drop 20 to 30mm at the front) I would be grateful.

I fitted Ebay coilovers to my Mk2 and ive got to say i regret it massively, i had Weitec springs on before that gave a 40mm drop iirc and i thought they were firm but its crash bang over everything, once funds allow i will be switching back to shocks/spring setup. May be that more expensive coilovers have a better ride, perhaps someone with a better setup can advise

You get what you pay for in my opinion. Cheap suspension is cheap for a reason, either they have cut corners on the manufacturing and made them of substandard materials do they only last 18 months, or the spring and damper rates are rubbish for UK roads and they have only been designed for the low and slow brigade?

A quality set of dampers and springs should last you years and give you good handling and ride as well. My Koni's have done about 6 years so far or road and track abuse and are still spot on. Currently matched to a set of standard springs.

Right....
Suspension is a massive cans of worms but my 2p's worth is this:

Having tried different types I can confirm that you get what you pay for. Personally I use weitec fully adjustable coil overs (as do a few of us) and cannot fault them. Wound down pretty low (see build thread) and wouldn't ever choose anything else.

However....

They aren't cheap (but I still think you get what you pay for) and my car isn't a daily driver. I *think* that gtxra has the same set up on his daily.

OK - having spoken again to Central VW Audi in Ellesmere port (who are the only folk I trust to do jobs I don't want to do) they said the same.

They are recommending "Eibach" (sp ? ) 25mm drop springs and shocks all round, so I am going with that :)

As always, thanks for the input folks !

I personally run the cheap eBay coilovers on both my cars. Yeah they are harsh but no coilover set will give factory comfort levels, surely that's the point?

After nearly ten years of fitting coilovers to my cars, I personally can't stand a car that doesn't have them fitted. I bought them because I want to go quite low and in an idela world I would have bought Weitch, FK ect..... but I can't justify the price tag, esp when the end visual result is the same.

If excessively lowering a car isn't your thing, and you like a touch of comfort, then shocks and springs it is

I'd be interested to know how they set them up, what dampers and bump stops are spec'd, and you get on with the Eibach's. I think the fronts have too low a spring rate for the Mk2, but are probably fine for the ligher Mk1 and Golf. I found when had them fitted to mine, it would crash over ridges and pot holes as the suspension bottomed out and it would pitch around the rear axle on undulating roads, it only got worse when I fitted the the heavier 16v engine in the front.

Tim_R wrote:I'd be interested to know how they set them up, what dampers and bump stops are spec'd, and you get on with the Eibach's. I think the fronts have too low a spring rate for the Mk2, but are probably fine for the lighter Mk1 and Golf. I found when had them fitted to mine, it would crash over ridges and pot holes as the suspension bottomed out and it would pitch around the rear axle on undulating roads, it only got worse when I fitted the the heavier 16v engine in the front.

Oh heck

This is the trouble with this type of thing.
I know Central VW have a very good reputation and I have never yet had cause to doubt their judgment, but you cannot argue with the wealth of knowledge and experience on forums such as this. Having decided to trust them on -25mm Eibach springs and (make not discussed at this stage) shocks to be sourced and fitted by them I now wonder if I am doing the right thing ! I am not after track day handling but I don't want it bottoming out or having the rear end waving up and down !

I also am aware that specialist garages don't really appreciate owners faffing around, changing their minds etc and "suggesting" what might be best. I get this in my (Computer) business and we often have a laugh behind the customers back when they come out with some drivel ;)

Once again I find myself typing "decisions decisions"

I think at this stage I might as well just let them get on with it, see how it drives and if I am not happy, go back and tactfully tell them !
I certainly don't want to pee them off in any way as they are very good and the only place I know of around here that I trust.

my 2p's worth... which is very similar to whats already been said.
With suspsension and also tyres, its definately worth spending that extra few quid (or few £100) to buy something that will work well.
as said above, you can buy the budget kits which do work if you want to lower and cruise round on nice flat and even roads all day. most of the time these type of kit work well in this situation and do offer a performance improvements + look good. Its when you come to B roads and Track conditions that decent, well made and naturally higher priced components come into there own.
I've had a number of vehicles with coilovers on both decent and at the cheapo end, and on B roads I find the cheaper options really dont hold up at all. Most of the time the spring rates are really hard, and it feels like there is practically no damping. It feels like your going to bounce off the road when you hit that un-expected bump, or pot hole. They crash and bang more plus under heavy braking I dont find the car to be rather skitish.
There is also the point of how long are going wanting them to last. A good set will last years, not seize up, leak or break down. cheaper ones may only have around a 18mths/2year life depending on how hard you use them.

For me, its either fit lowering springs or spend the money on decent coilovers. A question i'd ask myself is: How long do you want to keep your car? And what sort of driving you do?

Chaps wrote:my 2p's worth... which is very similar to whats already been said.
With suspsension and also tyres, its definately worth spending that extra few quid (or few £100) to buy something that will work well.
as said above, you can buy the budget kits which do work if you want to lower and cruise round on nice flat and even roads all day. most of the time these type of kit work well in this situation and do offer a performance improvements + look good. Its when you come to B roads and Track conditions that decent, well made and naturally higher priced components come into there own.
I've had a number of vehicles with coilovers on both decent and at the cheapo end, and on B roads I find the cheaper options really dont hold up at all. Most of the time the spring rates are really hard, and it feels like there is practically no damping. It feels like your going to bounce off the road when you hit that un-expected bump, or pot hole. They crash and bang more plus under heavy braking I dont find the car to be rather skitish.
There is also the point of how long are going wanting them to last. A good set will last years, not seize up, leak or break down. cheaper ones may only have around a 18mths/2year life depending on how hard you use them.

For me, its either fit lowering springs or spend the money on decent coilovers. A question i'd ask myself is: How long do you want to keep your car? And what sort of driving you do?

Aye, I have decided to go with springs and shocks, I live in a small village with lots of "B" roads and I am keeping this car :)

My last post was just hesitation re my local Golf / Scirocco specialist recommending they fit Eibach kit (-25mm) and Tims comments re how suitable that kit is on a MKII

ghost123uk wrote:
Aye, I have decided to go with springs and shocks, I live in a small village with lots of "B" roads and I am keeping this car :)

My last post was just hesitation re my local Golf / Scirocco specialist recommending they fit Eibach kit (-25mm) and Tims comments re how suitable that kit is on a MKII

That's why I was interested to find out how they go about setting the whole lot up, would be good to find out what bump stops, top mounts and dampers they use. The Eibachs I have were supposed to be -35mm I think (I'll dig out the part numbers to check), but I couldn't find any decent info on bumpstops and dampers to match with them. I was told use standard stuff and in the case of the stops, shorten them to fit after finding the car sat on the front ones when putting it back on the floor. It was all a bit Heath Robinson which may have contributed to my poor experience.

Tim_R wrote:

ghost123uk wrote:
Aye, I have decided to go with springs and shocks, I live in a small village with lots of "B" roads and I am keeping this car :)

My last post was just hesitation re my local Golf / Scirocco specialist recommending they fit Eibach kit (-25mm) and Tims comments re how suitable that kit is on a MKII

That's why I was interested to find out how they go about setting the whole lot up, would be good to find out what bump stops, top mounts and dampers they use. The Eibachs I have were supposed to be -35mm I think (I'll dig out the part numbers to check), but I couldn't find any decent info on bumpstops and dampers to match with them. I was told use standard stuff and in the case of the stops, shorten them to fit after finding the car sat on the front ones when putting it back on the floor. It was all a bit Heath Robinson which may have contributed to my poor experience.

Subcategory : VW
Application : Scirocco (53/53B) 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8 08/79>07/92
Product Code : E8501-140
Details : Front / Rear Lowering = 30-40 mm / 30 mm.

I got that from = http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/frame- ... sp?code=13

Where it says 30 to 40 mm drop at the front (why not an exact figure there?) and 30mm drop at the rear.

Hoping that will be about right, don't want a harsh ride but my (newly bought) D reg GTS is a bit high compared to Gills 92 GTII (which rides just fine :) )

btw, doing this not just to lower it but to replace tired suspension.

p.s. - I will ask them about the bump stops & dampers etc for ya (they won't need to change the top mounts unless creamed will they ?)

p.p.s. = they don't seem to list Eibach shocks for Rocco's (or MKI Golf's) but have you seen the price of other common ones like MKII Golf = £400
Koni's are a similar price and they do list for Rocco's.

Looks like I might be looking at around £600 plus labour at this rate
That's nearly what I paid for the car ! - wishes I had been quicker hitting the "buy button" on MarkH's red one

Front lowering depends about engine. With 1.1-1.3 engine drop is 30mm and with heavier engine/automatic/ac 40mm.

I have good experiences Eibach/Sachs Advantage combination with passat 35i and 3BG. Just shorten oem bump stops if neccesary.

My -92 GTII has Raceland coilovers and I'm really happy with them. Actually they are much softer than H&R Variante2 which my friend has in his Jetta MK1. I've passed 2 MOT's with them and shocktest gave them same results in both MOT. They've also survived winter and coldest we had was -32 celsius. Rocco had no problems starting in that temperature when I used engine block heater around 3 hours before start and at -20 without preheating it started at first

i'm running a set fo cheap ebay ta-technics / hot tuning coilovers wound pretty low. yeah the ride is harsh..... but to be honest it doesnt bother me, it just adds to the experience

i've had them on for about 6 months and there isnt a spot of wear or corrosion. ive heard of the threads being too soft and breaking as soon as you get any kind of corrosion, but i just gave them a good coat of copper slip before i put them on and it seems to be doing its job nicely.

It might be worth fitted new strut tops while they have all the front suspention off the car, they don't last forever, about 5 years tops in my experience, but I live near some bumpy roads. You will need to shorten/find shorter bumpstops if you lower the car.