2003 Jetta 2 inch lift, shock/strut and spring, front end parts upgrade

Yukon Cornelius · Nov 11, 2017

After watching other threads for several years on lifting MK4 Jettas and researching the options I finally did it myself. I wanted good quality parts that would last.... And they come at a price but are well worth it in sure handling and toughness.

I had a couple objectives I was looking to accomplish by a lift/suspension refresh:

1. Increase ride height (Mainly for driving in deep snow and minimum maintenance/off road in national parks etc.) Already have a HD steel skid plate for oil pan.
2. Stiffer suspension for less sagging and bottoming outta fully loaded on road trips as well as towing.
3. Tightening up worn front end parts on a 15 year old car with noticeable body roll and suspension slop.

I haven't seen a review of my exact setup here so thought I would post it....I'm extremely happy with the results!

I have a 2-2.5 inch lift with 205/70/15s (which fit on stock height by the way) accomplished with the following parts:
Bilstein HD Shocks and Struts
Custom Suspension .com 2 inch lift HD springs f & r

Other upgrades include:
Audi TT control arm bushings
Sway Bar end links
Tie rod ends
Ball joints

My TDI rides awesome! No body roll at all, no lurching at rapid braking or acceleration, and looks great. Can't wait to test in deep snow and loaded. Looks about like a Subaru outback now.....but even better. I'ok update with MPG to see if I took a hit at all.

Will post pics soon!

Yukon Cornelius · Nov 11, 2017

How do I attach pics? Do I need to go through photo bucket?

Rrusse11 · Nov 11, 2017

Yukon Cornelius said:
How do I attach pics? Do I need to go through photo bucket?

Nope, short of paying a very expensive fee. They no longer allow "web sharing". Your best bet is the tdiclub photo site here.

Check my sig for what I did for a lift, not as much as yours, but then I'm not quite sure where I started from. VR6 springs in the front with 10mm spacers, Golf towing springs and Koni red wagon shocks in the rear. 215/55/16 tires, about a 1/4" there.

The big change I did recently was a VR6 swaybar on the front with a top strut tower brace. That REALLY helped minimise body roll.

My advice is to stay away from rear swaybars. Lots of discussion on handling here on the forums if you want to go further with stiffening up the suspension, but you've got the basics done.

Cheers,
R*2

Yukon Cornelius · Nov 11, 2017

Pic Lifted

Thanks R*2....with my aftermarket steel sway end links and very beefy springs/struts body roll is non existent....but what is this front strut tower brace you speak of? It's about as stiff as it gets I think....yet soaks up the big bumps like a truck.....its like going from a 1/2 ton to 3/4 suspension feel in a truck.

Now.....I may want some more power &#55357;&#56832;&#55357;&#56846;

I posted several pics. Here's a link to a good profile shot of her.

http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=125455&title=p-20171110-105911&cat=503

Yukon Cornelius · Nov 11, 2017

http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=125459&title=p-20171110-110027-1&cat=503

Rrusse11 · Nov 11, 2017

Cornelius,

Oh yeah, you're taller than me. Here's a link to what I put in:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Golf-Je...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It helps with bracing the tops of the struts, reducing body flex.
Incidentally the skid plate helps stiffen up the bottom of the body
as well. All adds up.

I also went with a C pillar internal brace, but then I've got the boxier
Golf, probably not much use in a sedan.

I believe the HD Bilsteins are a harder shock than the Konis.
How's the ride? There's some discussion about swaybars et al in this forum. Dr Volks is involved in racing, he goes HEAVY springs and no swaybar at all on the front. But I'd guess the ride is pretty harsh.

I'm looking for a comfortable highway cruiser that I can push around the twisty and lumpy country roads this neck of the woods.
Very happy with what I've got now for me and my driving style/needs. But suspension is one of those areas where there are a
lot of variables, and you really can do a lot of tailoring to suit what you want from the vehicle.

Too many people IMO go for power first, and then find the car ain't really able to handle it. Sounds like you've got a solid base to work
with. LOTS of power options! Lol, be ready to open your wallet but. Turbo, nozzles, and tune are the usual route, and find an 11mm
pump. You will need a clutch too if you start down the rabbit hole
of upgraditis.

Have fun!

coalminer16 · Nov 12, 2017

Fyi, I used the taptalk app on my photo and it inserts the pictures straight into the thread. Only way I do it anymore.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Yukon Cornelius · Nov 13, 2017

Rrusse11 said:
Cornelius,

Oh yeah, you're taller than me. Here's a link to what I put in:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Golf-Je...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It helps with bracing the tops of the struts, reducing body flex.
Incidentally the skid plate helps stiffen up the bottom of the body
as well. All adds up.

I also went with a C pillar internal brace, but then I've got the boxier
Golf, probably not much use in a sedan.

I believe the HD Bilsteins are a harder shock than the Konis.
How's the ride? There's some discussion about swaybars et al in this forum. Dr Volks is involved in racing, he goes HEAVY springs and no swaybar at all on the front. But I'd guess the ride is pretty harsh.

I'm looking for a comfortable highway cruiser that I can push around the twisty and lumpy country roads this neck of the woods.
Very happy with what I've got now for me and my driving style/needs. But suspension is one of those areas where there are a
lot of variables, and you really can do a lot of tailoring to suit what you want from the vehicle.

Too many people IMO go for power first, and then find the car ain't really able to handle it. Sounds like you've got a solid base to work
with. LOTS of power options! Lol, be ready to open your wallet but. Turbo, nozzles, and tune are the usual route, and find an 11mm
pump. You will need a clutch too if you start down the rabbit hole
of upgraditis.

Have fun!

Thanks for all the great info Rrusse11!

Yeah I might have put that tower brace in..... Had I known about it before but I'm probably sitting fine since I have the thick steel ECS skid plate. Do you think the tower brace is necessary for me? I will say I plan on pushing the car pretty hard on rough terrain but not beating the crap out of it or exhibition off roading.

I think it rides awesome! Not too harsh at all.....I have always owned pickups before this car. Soaks up the huge bumps like nothing and rides super smooth on nice roads. The Bilsteins are great and snappy in response...I've never experienced konis but yeah Bilstein HDs are supposed to be the "most stiff"....worlds better then worn Sachs which might as well have not been on there. I'll be taking it down 60 miles of minimum maintenance gravel this week hoping that does well. I stand by these lift springs for sure if quality is what you're looking for with lift....and I guess they run well with Koni reds too says the manufacturer. I would say this is a very comfortable highway cruiser....and handles rough stuff really well.....it's the crappy paved roads that you do feel a bit more rigidity like you do in a performance sports car suspension.

Yeah I agree about the power stuff.....gotta have a strong base before ya start pushing big mods. Even stock ALH I was noticing a lot of power being "absorbed" by the worn sloppy suspension....especially when shifting.

Rrusse11 · Nov 14, 2017

Cornelius,

The tower brace did more than I expected it to. And for $70, ain't much in the over all scheme of things. Our cars are pretty much just sheet metal. It'll help keep those shocks, and wheels, properly oriented.

I was surprised as to how much it made the steering more responsive and precise. Offroad/rough stuff I'm guessing it'll help. If you can appreciate that you felt the power difference when the old suspension was sucking up energy, go for it is my recommendation.

As you up the power, don't forget it's going through those front wheels. Keeping the top of that unit parallel and tied together makes a difference IMO.

My $.02,
R*2

Ps. If you REALLY want to spend some money, get a Limited Slip Diff. Then go get the turbo and nozzles, {).
After taking the plunge, I'll never go back to a car without one.

Rrusse11 · Nov 17, 2017

Cornelius,

Spent an hour or so yesterday with Jeff of RC upgrading my tune.
His comment on the top strut tie/brace bar was interesting.
"Serious racers and offroad guys put them in to stop the windshield
cracking".

It's the only thing holding the body from flexing, and it's not very substantial. His take was that it really helped stiffen the car up,
as well as the internal C pillar brace I've got. I was surprised as to
how much of a difference it made to the way the car feels and drives.

My guru mechanic also agrees, for racing old Rabbits and Siroccos,
they're a must have. The top of the strut towers move a lot in his view.

Food for thought.

Cheers,
R*2

Ps. Found this blurb on them, sums it up nicely:

"The purpose of strut bars is to reduce flex that these towers experience during hard cornering. When taking a turn a car's strut tower normally flex, resulting body flex and losing some traction. As a strut tower bar is designed to keep your car's strut tower from flexing, they distribute the pressure applied to one strut tower when taking a turn to both towers instead of just one. This keeps the wheels in position. Keeping the wheels in position helps keep the tires in the desired position on the road, and this will help to improve traction on the turns.

Strut bars are a must for any upgrade to a wider tire&wheel combination. Addition of suspension upgrades such as sports springs, shocks and low-profile tires adds additional stress to the chassis which result in chassis flex. Strut bars not only reinforce the sub frame and improve chassis stiffness but also make steering quicker and more responsive." protuninglab.com

Yukon Cornelius · Nov 18, 2017

Thanks again for all the info.....ill have to put one in. Does it go under the top plate and nut on strut tower? Hmmmm wondering if I need to get some new nylock nuts to torque to spec? The Bilsteins have nylocks on top.

A limited slip would be sweet..... Even without power upgrades. How much did that set you back?

Rrusse11 · Nov 19, 2017

Cornelius,

The strut bar that I got bolts in the tower surround, I did have to drill 3 holes in each side. I used grade 5 5/16"x1" flange bolts with large washers and nyloc nuts on top. Ez enough install.

An LSD is expensive, ~$800, and then there's finding someone who can put it in. I did it before my auto>manual swap with the tranny out of the car. While it was open the tech checked the used gearbox and also redid the 2nd speed synchros. He said that's the most common problem he runs into, had OEM parts in stock. After talking to him for an hour with the tranny in front of us, I said do whatever you got to do. Mike really knew his stuff, and it was waaay over my limited mechanical abilities.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Peloqui...peed-Mk4-02J-Early-Transmission-/291761907106

This is cascadegerman, aka Boraparts, he's here on the forums. He'd probably know of someone near you capable of putting it in. Or there's a sticky at the top of this section.

Cheers!

Ps. Once you've got one, you'll never look back.

2003 Jetta 2 inch lift, shock/strut and spring, front end parts upgrade

Yukon Cornelius

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