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VWR Racingline spring and damper kit

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rizmeah:
To those who have fitted the VWR Racingline spring and damper kit, how is the ride quality?

My car is on cheap KYB shocks from AUTODOC paired with used 30mm H&R springs (29176-1).. Ride is crashy, non-stop bouncing, unforgiving and it feels like my bones are being shaken.

Doing speeds of only 20-30mph, on an average quality UK road, will give horribly noticable crashiness and discomfort - I am rattling about in the cabin as I am cruising around.

Even on the motorway I find I cannot rest with one hand on the wheel, due to how bouncy the car is.. Thus, I bounce.. It becomes even more dangerous than it already is when driving 1 handed..

I've clearly f***ed my set up and I am now leaning towards the VWR Racingline spring and damper kit, to fix my f*** up.. Also thinking of TTRS top mounts.

Alternative suggestions welcome. Main focus is comfort. Do not want to go back to stock, do not want a stock arch gap.. But do not want to be slammed either.

brian_badonde:
I had Eibach sportline springs (similar drop to your H&R springs) with stock dampers and it was pretty awful. It killed my rear dampers in no time at all and I found the ride crashy and bouncy just as you've experienced. Also decided it was too low for me but, like you, I didn't want to go back to stock height either. I spoke to Damian at DPM performance and we agreed that this kit was the best compromise: https://www.dpmperformance.co.uk/car-parts/volkswagen/golf/bilstein-30mm-b12-pro-lowering-springs-shocks-suspension-kitgolf-mk5-20042009-14tsi-16-16fsi-19tdi-20fs

It's basically Bilstein B8 dampers with their pro kit springs which lower GTI's about 10mm, here's a bad picture of them fitted on mine to give you an idea of the drop:


Massive improvement of ride quality over what I had previously but more supportive/responsive in the corners too. With big hits (e.g. potholes) it handles them very well, it's the more chattery stuff that you notice it being a bit firmer than the stock setup. It's not harsh by any stretch of the imagination but is obviously a compromise over the stock spring/damper combo. It's one I'm willing to accept as I take mine on track and, as it's not my daily driver, it gets driven pretty hard when I do take it out. Where I live in the central belt of Scotland, the B roads are basically rally stages so there was definitely a limit to how harsh I was willing to go which ruled out a lot of kits and more track-focussed coilovers.

Don't have experience of the VWR Racingline kit but @Pudding does. From memory he said it was very comfortable but would bottom out too easily when driven hard.

The TTRS top mounts are a great addition for handling and I haven't noticed an increase in NVH since fitting them. Make sure you buy genuine or Lemforder ones though, I've had some mixed experiences with Febi stuff from Autodoc recently.

chimp400:
I have the Vwr kit as you know but if funds allow I'd go for the Bilstein kit listed above.
Should be fit and forget as the quality is great.
I don't have any issues with the Vwr kit personally, I just love bilstein stuff too!

Dave J:
I have VWR springs and Bilstein B8 dampers, which I was lead to believe is the same as the VWR kit.

I only bought them separately as I ran the car with springs and stock dampers for a while, and then later added the upgraded dampers.

It is a firm ride, but absolutely planted at speed on a B-road. I wouldn't say it is crashy, but is firm.

I went with VWR as the drop was only 20mm - everything else on the market was 30 or more, and just looks to much for my taste.

pudding:
The VWR kit doesn't use B8 dampers.  I'm not sure what they are but mine were orange under the glossy black paint. Koni SRT.T dampers are orange, so could be those, not sure.

Yeah the VWR kit is way too soft for my tastes, but not just that, the transition from soft to firm is unpredictable.  The progressive rate springs aren't a good match for the dampers they chose.  That kit just did weird sh1t no other kit I've used did, not even worn out OEM. Random understeer, arch fouling, and too much brake dive.  Maybe I had a duff set but based on my experiences, it's not something I'd recommend if you drive hard.

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