Coilovers or Springs?

[franky67]

Hi there.
I know there are tons of topics in multiple forums about lowering our Passat's.
What I am wondering, since the youngest-newest Passat TDI in the U.S. and maybe Canada too is at least 5 years old, can you please share your experiences?
I have seen some raceland coilovers and some at ecs tuning website around 350-400$.
Meanwhile H&R springs or Eibach's are around 250-300$
Some folks believe that coilovers are better since you can adjust it(back to the stock when you sell). But I have seen many posts about springs, started to wonder why is it more popular?
I am only planning to lower enough to close the gap between the body of the car and the tire. I am not planning to slam it, no camber.
What do you guys suggest? What are your experiences,thanks?

 

[turbobrick240]

I'd go with the springs. I think they are more durable and better suited to cars like the Passat.

 

[Fixmy59bug]

They each have their pros and cons...

Coilover pros include adjustable height (Set it EXACTLY where you want it), adjustable damping (most of the time), install as a complete assembly, and higher resale value.

Cons would include higher initial buy-in, over time the body corrodes and the threads can get boogered up, and it takes time and work to get everything setup perfectly.

Spring pros include cheaper initial buy-in, install them and never have to mess with them again, and they are cheap enough that you could just leave them on the car when it is time to sell.

Cons include disassembly required (unless installing with new struts) and height not adjustable you are stuck with the height the spring is set for.

But with coilovers, remember... YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!

If you buy a $350 set of coilovers, you are going to get sh*t quality. I've heard SO MANY complains with the MkIV and MKV guys about the horrible ride quality with racelands.

 

[franky67]

They each have their pros and cons...



If you buy a $350 set of coilovers, you are going to get sh*t quality. I've heard SO MANY complains with the MkIV and MKV guys about the horrible ride quality with racelands.

I think you are right. I always heard that coilovers were close to 800-900$. I was wondering why they looked cheap.
I think I will go with the springs, probably H&R.
Thanks!

 

[gforce1108]

I was very happy with the H&Rs in my 13 passat. The car was almost new when I installed them (10k miles) so I reused the stock struts and shocks. By 30k they were worn and I had purchased a set of Koni Yellows with Audi TT mounts. I never got around to installing them before the "scandal" hit and I sold it back (manual with no "fix"). The H&Rs fixed the soft wallowy suspension that the NMS came with and gave it a much more european feel - even when running 19" wheels.

 

[franky67]

I was very happy with the H&Rs in my 13 passat. The car was almost new when I installed them (10k miles) so I reused the stock struts and shocks.

That looks really nice!
I think I will stick with stock struts and shocks until they really bother me.

 

[Roofgoof]

Any others out there? I too want to use lowering springs. Looking for company used and how low you dropped with them. ��

 

[Fixmy59bug]

I had the H&R Sport springs on my '13 Passat which lowered it about 1.5" and I LOVED the way it looked on 20" wheels.

However, I WOULD NOT recommend putting lowering springs on stock shocks and struts.

I would say 75% of the stories I have read where someone did this resulted in a terrible ride or blowing out the stock shocks and struts in short time (like gforce mentioned).

Get shocks and struts that are designed for use with lowering springs. The ride will be MUCH better and they will last longer.