I lifted my Jetta

I got tired of scraping on every dip in town. Getting stuck on anything but dry pavement in the winter. So here's what I bought:

MOOG springs from Amazon.
Koni Yellow shocks
Kerma lift kit

The springs and shocks were absolutely shot after 375,000 miles of abuse and needed to be replaced anyway. I figured while I was at it and needed to spend the money anyway I might as well pick the thing up a little while I was at it.

The MOOG springs are listed as replacements for the VR6 (front) and the towing springs for the wagon (rear). I don't have the OEM equivalent to compare but when putting them side by side with the worn out crap I had there's a big difference. The new MOOGS looked like some seriously heavy hardware. The old OEMs looked like bent up springs you'd pull out of a click pen in comparison. But! They fit. They went in just fine actually and ride well.

I was advised that the MOOG springs won't work with the lifty block things from Kerma, something about the diameter of the pigtail being too small to fit over the lift block or something. Guess what. They fit. They work just peachy fine.

Overall my car now sits about 2.5"-3" higher than stock. Not enough to "stand out" really, unless parked side by side with a stock Jetta. Sits about like a Subaru? I'm happy. Very happy. The ride is very nice. I was worried about using heavy springs with Koni Yellows but they work very very well together.

I think you're going to ruin all your bushings like that but it sounds like you need the lift

On my Jetta I am running R32 front springs/struts and the Moog Wagon rear springs with stock shocks and a BFI rear sway bar ridding on Beetle 16" steel wheels with 205/60 rubber. Is about 1 1/2" higher and handles great.

Where's the pics?

You did an alignment afterward, right?

Pictures or it didnt happen!

3", must be really close to hitting the subframe with the RH drive shaft!

I'm going from lowered to lifted next week. I went moog as well, with OEM replacement shocks, my KOnis are going on the golf!

You guys are nuts. I'd lower mine if the roads weren't so bad everywhere I go.

Please post info/pictures when you do it!

verboten1 said:

I'm going from lowered to lifted next week. I went moog as well, with OEM replacement shocks, my KOnis are going on the golf!

Click to expand...

The front shocks prevent over extension so things can't hit. So when lifted you basically have less extension when going over a bump. But in snow country it is needed more. I also have done 3 inches on one gold and plan the other cars as well.

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The Jetta is almost done! I need to get the 215s and I'm done.

Before


After




Front suspension


Rear plates





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Got prints or sketches? I have access to Autocad and machining equipment...

Edit just saw you bought the Kerma (Evolution) kit...

details?

verboten1 said:

Click to expand...

looks great!


questions about front

1)I can see unity ready inserts up front the springs look new, so I assume there are the drop in style ones?

2)I also presume they are kits/springs designed for VR6 wagon (I was looking at these the other day but not wagon specific)

3) no spacers or anything else as the photos would indicate?

rear questions.

1)karma spacer?
2)what spring spring? (looks used)
3)koni reds?

Thanks!

Just as an added bit of information to anyone looking into the MOOG springs for an MK4. The models 81134 (fronts) are rated at 128 lb/in and the rears 81055 (rears) are rated at 158 lb/in. I just installed Bilstein shocks and struts with MOOG springs in the rear, I reused my front springs as they were stock but the 'sport' model rated at 155 lb/in and still in good shape. With a 10mm spacer on the front my jetta raised up an 1.25" in the front and 1.5" in the back. Also got 1.5" of clearance on the receiver hitch. Also put new rear axle bushing and rear control arm Audi TT bushings up front. So far I am really happy with it.

Its not to high where I have to worry about CV joints and axle mis alignment, but still slightly higher than stock i think. Rides and handles much better, much stiffer rear when towing with a 4'x8' and ATV on it. Rides a 1/4" high in the rear when empty. So far its been good, just did it last weekend so time will tell!

tonyweiss11 said:

Just as an added bit of information to anyone looking into the MOOG springs for an MK4. The models 81134 (fronts) are rated at 128 lb/in and the rears 81055 (rears) are rated at 158 lb/in. I just installed Bilstein shocks and struts with MOOG springs in the rear, I reused my front springs as they were stock but the 'sport' model rated at 155 lb/in and still in good shape. With a 10mm spacer on the front my jetta raised up an 1.25" in the front and 1.5" in the back. Also got 1.5" of clearance on the receiver hitch. Also put new rear axle bushing and rear control arm Audi TT bushings up front. So far I am really happy with it.

Its not to high where I have to worry about CV joints and axle mis alignment, but still slightly higher than stock i think. Rides and handles much better, much stiffer rear when towing with a 4'x8' and ATV on it. Rides a 1/4" high in the rear when empty. So far its been good, just did it last weekend so time will tell!

Click to expand...

Wait, you left the front spring the same and used a 10mm spacer up front for an upwards gain of 1.25 inches?
What else did you do to the front suspension?
How did the front lift up 1.25" from a .39" spacer?

I am no expert, all theory waiting to practice, so it's likely I'm missing something here.

Which bilsteins did you use?

Yeah front springs were left the same, but for some reason they were the stock springs but the 'sport' package rated at 155 in/lb. The stock, non sport OEM springs up front are 133 in/lb for a 2001 jetta sedan (I was told). I was concerned if I got the MOOGS which are only 128 in/lbs up front it would sag down even if they are new, plus I would loose the stiffer springs which I liked. Mine showed no wear so left them them and just added the spacer and new struts.

Extra ride height came from the new struts, and new mounts in combination with the .39" gained from the spacer. The old struts were dead and the mounts squished down and mushroomed. So just the refresh of the mounts added roughly 3/4".

I used the Bilstein TC struts and shocks. Thought about the Bilstein TC sports, HD's, and the koni's but they were all significantly more expensive and much more of an upgrade than I was looking for. I just wanted to get a refresh and slight upgrade for driving country gravel roads and pulling a trailer. The TC's are about 10% stiffer than stock and the TC sports are about 20% stiffer than stock. However I was told they are usually only recommended when lowering the car, that is why I went with the TC's instead. They are a slight upgrade and I got them for a 1/4 the price of the koni's or HD's. Plus they have a lifetime warranty to the original owner. So for my application I couldn't beat it.

http://m.imgur.com/Q5Rdc0G

Tig springs up front, towing springs in the rear. Also replaced the front struts.

Before I could only fit 2 fingers between the tire and the fender. Now I can fit my whole fist in there. I one of my front springs broke, so I made the plunge.

Thanks for the info. I just finished my lift kit install...

What size wheel is in the back?
Deeper offset, looks good.

Mirror plastica can be found cheap at junkyards and always look good painted black.

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OEM rims widened to 15x8 with 5" backspace (fronts are stock). All rims were powdercoated to a factory color with a UV clear

New tires installed - Front: 215/75R15, rear 225/70R15

That looks strange with the different wheels in back. I mean, stranger than it already does, although I don't really find it bad looking. My one Golf is lifted a bit, but I have stock wheels and tires on it.

Is there a point to having wider rear tires on a fwd?

Good question. I cannot think of a good reason, though.

Only thing that I can think of is to take up for the offset front to back as the back is about 10mm narrower on each side. It would fill out the fenders better and have a more even looking appearance in that regard? I can only think it's for looks instead of adding 10mm spacers in the rear, or making it look like a rear wheel drive car.