VW Sport spring weight decoded

This might be around somewhere else... but since I just went through it and finally figured out how to decode the PR-G76/L39 type info on the spring data, its time to share...

For the exercise I looked up a 2001 Jetta... (springs are same for everything but there might be a different color or two to add for different years)

I looked only at "Sports-type Running gear" springs
And what ya see there are those color dots (i'll get to examples in a second). Now you'll also see the P data in the far right column (in EPC/ETKA).

THAT is where the spring rate data can be decoded from... Sooo To decode THAT into specific weight ranges... click on ELA-Pages


That will take you to a window that will decode the spring rate... for example, going through the 2001 jetta:

3 green
1 brown
PR-G76/L24
weight range of 596-630 kilograms (2.2 pounds per KG - so 1314-1389 pounds) (thats for the front side of the car)

1 violet
4 yellow
PR-G76/L13
631-670 KG

2 green
4 white
PR-G76/L34
671-710 KG

1 violet
1 pink
PR-G76/L21
711-750 KG

2 blue
3 white
PR-G76/L08
751-780 KG

2 blue
2 white
PR-G76/L39
781-830 KG (1722-1830 pounds)

(notice the pattern?)
These are listed in order of appearance in the part catalog... The L number corresponds to the weight range of the spring, the G76 means sports-type gear...


Currently I'm running the PR-G76/L21 1 violet 1 pink spring set in my car. and i love it! Great spring rate. Pretty damn close match for the car - considering its right at about 3,000 pounds total weight with me in it.

Okay... now about the REAR...

simple - two choices (well for the most part)
PR-UA9 or
PR-1JC (PR-UB3 also)

UA9 is comfort suspension and is the only one listed for the Jetta
1JC is the sport-type for the Golf (so is UB3).

No decoding of the weights though.

(speculation comments removed - specifically the ones Peter references below - no need for incorrect info to be spread around)

Outstanding Geoff! Thank you very much..... I am doing some spring rate tests lately and would soon put the numbers together and see whether your findings correspond to reality. Would be interesting to see a match.... Great work!

One thing I would disagree with you, for the rear springs. The rear Jetta spring, even if only one available for Sport and non-Sport applications, is already stronger than any Golf GL/GLS/GTI rear spring. The only one that is stronger than the Jetta is the 337/20Anni rear, but that is a shorter spring too.

OOh it got stickified /images/graemlins/cool.gif my frist sticky /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Peter - yeah you are probably right - the extra weight in that goofy boot that some call a trunk probably requires a bit stiffer spring than the stock one.

-- Side note --

now that this is up i'll go through and get the rest of the spring weights for everyone. Might even try and get some P/Ns up.

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edit

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As a break from grading papers i'm working on an excel sheet with the data... hopefully I haven't taken on a project too overwhelming..

for now i'm sticking to what I know - A4 Golf/Jetta

here's the first bit - there's different weight class info based on the vehicle and MY you are in before hitting the ELA- button...

working on getting it all decoded...

you can see that already there is a significant overlap in color and spring rate...

Great job!! You're the first person I know who answered what the two green/four white code was on my VR6 sport springs...

It seems the 24v springs are substantially stiffer than the ones I have...

GeWilli,

Any plans to extend the list out . . . ? In particular I'm wondering what 3 white/2 blue equates to for P/N and load rating, as well as 3 green/1 pink.

Dean

[ QUOTE ]
Currently I'm running the PR-G76/L21 1 violet 1 pink spring set in my car. and i love it! Great spring rate. Pretty damn close match for the car - considering its right at about 3,000 pounds total weight with me in it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Geoff,

What are you running for shocks/struts ? Did installing (I assume you installed them) lower the car any ?

Dean

Excellent work! How is the list coming? Would like to know what the 337 springs I have come out to. They are 1 Blue, 4 Green, front. 2 Green, 2 Pink rear. Thanks!

[ QUOTE ]
....Would like to know what the 337 springs I have come out to. They are 1 Blue, 4 Green, front. 2 Green, 2 Pink rear.....

[/ QUOTE ]

1 Pink 2 Green for the 337 rear ..... Tested them on a spring tester, so here is a picture of how they behaved for the first four inches of compression. Would be nice to see what Geoff finds out and then compare to what real life tests give/take.....

Neat info Peter, Did you do the fronts?

one problem i'm running into is that the weight codes are not published for the most recent vehicles it seems. All of the '03 Brazil weight codes for the Golf are listed as engine configurations. But the '03 Jetta codes are listed... kinda confusing - its taking a bit more time than i anticipated. Its a huge manual repetative busy task...

Okay - i don't have some of the newest ones on here yet - but this is what i have:



thats pretty much the complete range... from lightest to stiffest for the A4 body style.

These are for front springs only... i'm still looking for the rear weight values...

How does one determine what springs are good for a particular car? In particular what would the options be for a TDI Golf?

What are the stock springs on a Golf and what are the GTI VR6 springs that are often used as an upgrade?

alex

[ QUOTE ]
How does one determine what springs are good for a particular car? In particular what would the options be for a TDI Golf? ....

[/ QUOTE ]

It all depends on what do you want your car to be. When you say "good for" you have to determine what really stands behind the "good" word..... If handling is the case (I suspect) and if THIS ONLY LIST ABOVE is all the options you are exploring, then the last spring is the best, because it is the strongest. Which does not mean that stiffer is always better, because after a point (for street use) there is no point, but for this particular list, the difference in spring rates is relatively minor, so the stiffest will provide the better front geometry....... However, I thought there is one more (not listed here) that is even stronger, but let me check and make sure I am not wrong...

Do all of these provide the same ride height?

A friend's car was lowered by the previous owner with H&R Sport Springs. She likes the ride, but doesn't like being lowered (and the stock struts which are on there don't either), so we would like to find a suitable replacement.

H+R doesn't list the spring weights for their springs that I can find, so I don't know what the spring weight of her current springs are. She has H+R 29526-2 springs.

My car (also a 2000 Golf) has GTI VR6 springs on it (maybe this weekend I'll pull the wheel and look up the color codes). Someone on VWVortex is selling the GTI 1.8T springs for a good price and we are trying to figure out if they will be similar to my springs or different. I'm getting the color codes for those springs from the buyer today.

alex

Alex, the VR6 front are the strongest. They will make your front little bit taller too, as you have less weight than a VR6 in front, so there will be some lift, but not much. Forget about 1.8T front springs, you have better now ....

As for the color codes, you do not need to take out the wheel, just jack up the car and you will see them .... actually, you do not even need to jack it up, it is pretty visible from the wheel gap. If you mounted them correctly on the strut, the color codes always face the outside (for the front).... For the rear just look below and you will see them.

H&R does not publish their spring rates, as (they say) they do not want others to copy them (!) but the real reason is they do not want people to know that the Sport (for example) are not much different than stock spring rates, just lower. Otherwise people may hesitate to buy them. Anyway, we tested the H&R Sport rear (the code you provided) and comes out at about 130 lb/ft front and about 137 lb/ft rear. It is pretty poor for handling when combined with stock shocks, specially when the shock are gone.....

GeWilli,
Any info on the 337/20thAE springs? These are 1Blue/4Green. Thanks!

Anyone tried the canadian TDI sport parts? Or the GLI parts?

Interesting enough my 2003 wagon has the 2 Blue 2 White springs that show up:

NA = Stock Wagon

Euro = Sport or Heavy Duty Suspension

/images/graemlins/cool.gif

And to think that I was trying to get some VR6 springs to replace them with... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Great post. I have the 2wh 2 bl with Bilstein TC's & am well pleased. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Interesting enough my 2003 wagon has the 2 Blue 2 White springs that show up:

NA = Stock Wagon

Euro = Sport or Heavy Duty Suspension

/images/graemlins/cool.gif

And to think that I was trying to get some VR6 springs to replace them with... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Those springs are listed as Both Not sport AND sport in the North American catalog...

these #s and classes are all just from the N.A. catalog.

here's the current problem. For the GOB vehicles VAG decided NOT to include the weight classes in the spring section. I can see the specific ones asked about (4 green + 1 blue) and based on the way they've listed everything these are the strongest availible... BUT... no weight claims. HOWEVER if it is possible for someone to peak inside a 337 and get that code chart that is usually inside the spare tire well (a sticker with a huge list of codes) I THINK the codes should be able to go backwards to the weight class lists from the GOG set of vehicles... i'll at least update the list with any new springs not listed there...

Found the spring rates for that one... I'm also coming across stuff that is pretty cool.

04 new beetles have 4 springs listed and they are strong!

anyway thats where I found the weight code for those 4 green 1 blue.

Someone ain't gonna be happy...

those are wussy springs! 644-680kg!

The strongest spring so far still is the 2 blue 2 white (781-830 KG) or the 3 pink 1 violet (786-820 KG)

Oh and the '04 Jetta Wagon's have pretty stiff springs! At least as an option!

GeWilli, Thanks for the info...strange the 337 springs seem pretty stiff....I like them anyway. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

My 98 Beetle has 1 pink 4 green....not on the list GeWilly posted. Any clues at what these springs are? My car handles very good, but very sporty-uncomfortable. If you drive on a bumpy road everything rattles and your eye balls might just fall off. I wanted to put on some 17" wheels but already find the oem 16" configuration way too harsh.

My sister's 00 Beetle has 2 green 2 brown and has a much more comfortable ride.

Any clues? if I'm looking for the most soft-comfortable ride for my NB, which springs should I look for?

Thanks y'all.

Luis,

I can't find those in the list i've got for that year. If it is violet not pink then i have a weight for you, but not a 1 pink 4 green, that I can find for any NB...

There are a few vehicle color codes I still have to decode and assemble.

If its is 1 Violet and 4 green you've got a 676-715 KG spring.

Don't forget that spring rate is only a small part of the ride... the strut and shock have a very significant affect on the handling. The compression and rebound damping can make a spring feel excessively stiff. Or too soft.

What seems to be often underestimated is the matching of spring rate with the dampers. IE people putting Bilstein HDs on soft stock springs. Yeah it stiffens the ride often, but it also stress the shock a bit more than a propperly matched set. NO i don't have a good guide for matching them. Peter might though.

Luis, the NB is very interesting car if we talk about springs, because since it came out they have changed the color codes (and I guess spring rates) almost every two years. I have a list with the codes year by year and engine by engine, but have to look for it. Give me some time....

[ QUOTE ]
Interesting enough my 2003 wagon has the 2 Blue 2 White springs that show up:

NA = Stock Wagon

Euro = Sport or Heavy Duty Suspension



[/ QUOTE ]

My 03' wagon had the 1 purple 4 pink, but now has the 3 white 2 blue from a vr6 with the Bilstien TC "sports" I like it a lot.

Thanks for putting this list together! Great resource!

-Jack

GeWilli/Peter, thanks for your replies.

Well, the color is definitively pink to my eyes. I haven't seen any other springs with the violet color, and this is the first pink I see....so, therefore I have no reference. But it looks more like a faded red than a faded purple.

Will a set of 2000-2003 Golf GL/GLS springs work with my car? If I look for a wrecked Golf, what color codes will be the most non-sport alas most comfortable to pick?

I pretend to fit the softer springs with a typical Monroe gasmatic or a Gabriel Gas strut/shock package... I would dare go to hydraulic shocks looking for a softer ride.

Any ideas/comments on how to make my beetle more like a regular comfortable car than a weekend roadster? (guess I'm asking at the wrong crowd here... /images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Thanks again.

Luis

GeWilli:

By chance have you found the color codes and weights for the rear springs?

I am going to be purchasing some GTI VR6 springs probably next week sometime. If the fronts are 2 Blue/3 White I am going to go for it either way, but I am not really sure what to get for the rear. I currently have 3 Brown on the back, our 2.0 Jetta has 3 Green on the back.

[ QUOTE ]
.....our 2.0 Jetta has 3 Green on the back.

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Adam, could you take a look again.... it has to be 1 silver and 3 green for the Jetta. Please confirm... otherwise there is something new again...