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Best aftermarket suspension kit for UK roads


bantam1
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coilovers are more for looks tbh

For most people on here yes. But how many true track cars do you see with fixed suspension? On coilovers you can set the corner weight balance, which is a massive advantage. Never got round to doing it with mine.

I would say coilovers are set up too hard for the road as they are devoloped on track, with no pot holes.

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great thread

just fitted bilsteins and eibachs to mine. The B12 kit is no longer supplied/made by bilstein - you can still get it in parts though as it is only a set of B8 sprint shortened dampers and H&R Cup springs (30mm). I opted for the eibach pro kit (30mm) just from friends and reviews.

Verdict - It is fantastic over the glasgow roads. I actually aimed for some bumps and the springs and dampers deal with the bump comfortably! On a wee blast up the backroads, I felt the car was gripping to the road well especially over heavily cambered corners and undulations on the road.

Its the most ideal compromise for the UK backroads in my opinion. The lower your car is to the ground, the better on a track - but on our roads nothing can beat the travel and dampening combined with the control that this kit offers. yeah ok it cost me nearer 700 notes if you include new top mounts etc, but i put it on, didnt have to measure the drop on all 4 corners, havent even had it set up and aligned yet and it handles extremely well.

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whats ride height like?

just got some standard wheels on mine

so here a pic of the AP fixed kit drop for future reference, and i personally think the height is spot on...

7a865ec3.jpg

Edited by Big Jase
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I have (and I think I am the only one!) a set of Koni coilovers with vairiable damping. I got them 2nd hand but I think the rrp was over £700

I am fairly certain I could drive faster with a set of £250 AP fixed springs/dampers, the roads round here are just not good enough to exploit the advantages of the coilovers.

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Nice pic jase - my bilstein kit sits about the same - still to settle especially at the back so its a bit higher - i'll wait and see how it all works out.

I'd like to edit my verdict - I think I kinda still prefer coilovers; at high speeds and on long fast 100+mph corners, the car does feel slightly less stable especially the back end than the slammed fks did. even attacking a tight uphill right hander - full throttle in 3rd to about 65mph, got understeer then lift off oversteer (not been sideways since i took my mister 2 off the road!) - the back end just doesnt feel great stiff or predictable and my mate, who has a fabia vrs with coilys and the rear arb mod felt the same so hopefully get that bought and fitted soon and if its still shaky i think some bracing/cages would need looked at.

Theres no doubt that over steep crests, dips and cambered corners my setup beats his hands down. it just pisses me off that when you do finally get a bit of straight level smooth road, the springs and dampers just dont feel as planted as coilys. guess you cant have it all!

so if you want looks, trackday driving or even just smooth dual carriageway/motorway blasting; coilys win. if you want comfort, stability and general backroad blasting, the springs and dampers just win. if you have to much money, buy KW variant 3s and a KW engineer to set the suspension up every time you want to head up a different road surface! short of that, you cant have it all so its best to just pick the choice that suits your preferences best.

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@ vishpish

I looked at all the possibilities of fixed kits available vs make your own spring / damper combinations and also plumped for the Bilstein / Eibach combo which i'll be fitting in 2/3 weeks with the rear arb and a refresh of other suspension components at the same time so there'll be a second opinion to be had.

Did you go for the B6 or B8? Spoke to a couple of people who advised the B6 with the limited drop of the eibachs, which i've ordered, but not sure how much difference there would be between the 2. Last time i used the bilstein dampers with a limited drop (on another car) bilstein actually recommended the B6 over the B8 saying the B8s were designed for 40mm plus, but again not sure what difference if any there would be on the road?

Have you had yours aligned yet or are you waiting for it to settle more? Not sure i'd want to be testing a new suspension set up at mega speeds without knowing the geometry is set up properly TBH. Knowing how geometry can affect stability etc. i'd reserve judgement till that's sorted.

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And if you really want it to handle absolutley awesome go out and buy a car that handles well out the box. Fact.

THIS !! :)

All you can do with this car is try to improve it but the handling is never going to compare to a well sorted RWD set up. I've just sold a 130i m sport beemer which demonstrated how a well set up car can actually take corners at high speed. No way the lupo or equivalent could ever come anywhere close to it (before anyone says i know how unfair a comparison this is to start with).

Having said that which car do i still own? The Gti! It's slower, handles poorly in comparison, isn't very practical BUT i enjoy driving it more and will get it as good as i can as it's a keeper.

BUT expecting the gti to handle well on the limits at stupid speeds is crazy and a recipe for disaster.

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Nice pic jase - my bilstein kit sits about the same - still to settle especially at the back so its a bit higher - i'll wait and see how it all works out.

I'd like to edit my verdict - I think I kinda still prefer coilovers; at high speeds and on long fast 100+mph corners, the car does feel slightly less stable especially the back end than the slammed fks did. even attacking a tight uphill right hander - full throttle in 3rd to about 65mph, got understeer then lift off oversteer (not been sideways since i took my mister 2 off the road!) - the back end just doesnt feel great stiff or predictable and my mate, who has a fabia vrs with coilys and the rear arb mod felt the same so hopefully get that bought and fitted soon and if its still shaky i think some bracing/cages would need looked at.

Theres no doubt that over steep crests, dips and cambered corners my setup beats his hands down. it just pisses me off that when you do finally get a bit of straight level smooth road, the springs and dampers just dont feel as planted as coilys. guess you cant have it all!

so if you want looks, trackday driving or even just smooth dual carriageway/motorway blasting; coilys win. if you want comfort, stability and general backroad blasting, the springs and dampers just win. if you have to much money, buy KW variant 3s and a KW engineer to set the suspension up every time you want to head up a different road surface! short of that, you cant have it all so its best to just pick the choice that suits your preferences best.

rear arb will be next on my list...

you can stick strut braces front and rear, also a lower front brace i've seen

then theres LSD :shades:

Edited by Big Jase
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rear arb will be next on my list...

you can stick strut braces front and rear, also a lower front brace i've seen

then theres LSD :shades:

has anyone on here actually fitted and reviewed the quaiffe LSD? is it readily available - thought it was a limited run via group buy?

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i think they still make them?

i do want one but don't have a spare 700 squid!

LSD's are brutal, i had an ek9 civic with b18c6 teg engine with s80 LSD box and it was an animal :shades: (only one i've had a go with lsd but i'd love the lupo to have one)

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great thread

just fitted bilsteins and eibachs to mine. The B12 kit is no longer supplied/made by bilstein - you can still get it in parts though as it is only a set of B8 sprint shortened dampers and H&R Cup springs (30mm). I opted for the eibach pro kit (30mm) just from friends and reviews.

Verdict - It is fantastic over the glasgow roads. I actually aimed for some bumps and the springs and dampers deal with the bump comfortably! On a wee blast up the backroads, I felt the car was gripping to the road well especially over heavily cambered corners and undulations on the road.

Its the most ideal compromise for the UK backroads in my opinion. The lower your car is to the ground, the better on a track - but on our roads nothing can beat the travel and dampening combined with the control that this kit offers. yeah ok it cost me nearer 700 notes if you include new top mounts etc, but i put it on, didnt have to measure the drop on all 4 corners, havent even had it set up and aligned yet and it handles extremely well.

From speaking to the uk distributor of Bilstein; the B12 kit is not discontinued as such, but will be using different part numbers due to a switch from H&R Springs to Eibach pro-kit springs.. Up until we get the new kit part numbers we will be supplying it as a bundle through our site:

>B12 kit (B8 dampers + Eibach springs)

If anyone wants it with the H&R springs we can supply the dampers and springs separately:

>Bilstein B8 dampers

>H&R Springs

I've got one of the Quaife diffs also but i've just got myself another gti to use as a track car which its now going to be put on instead of my daily runner..

Edited by Kam Racing
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  • 2 weeks later...

Im currently running KW V1s on my gti, i cant reccomend them enough! Comfiest coilover ive ran on any car ive had.

Ran FK silverlines on my polo 9n3 but they were hurrendous, FK konigsports on mk5 golf gti quite good with the adjustable dampning, PhilJ on my first lupo.

But id say the comfiest ride ive had was Eibach Sportline springs on my Leon FR, ran with standard shocks, firmed up the ride, lowered it a fair bit but it was still comfortable like a standard car.

Hope that helps!

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I have B12s fitted to my sport (H&R springs) and i love them to bits. I drive over really bad roads all the time and i am perfectly happy. They are bumpy but they dont crash at all unless you go into a really big pothole and then any setup is going to crash.

Dont forget a lot about the ride depends on your wheel weight. If i put the 3L wheels on my sport its blows me away with just how smooth it is compared to the alloys i run with normally.

Edited by Unheard
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

x2 mate

rear arb made all the difference

cannot quite believe the difference - so much so that im already going to be looking at new front tyres soon (although thats maybe more to do with the fact my tyres are soft advans which aint gonna last long anyway!)

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  • 1 month later...

Bantam1, how are you getting on with your suspension mods? I'll be buying mine towards the end of the week, can't decide between the h&r cup kit or the wertic coilovers, fast road use only, will be Poly bushings and updating the rear arb at the same time. Your views would be appreciated. Cheer pal

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Bantam1, how are you getting on with your suspension mods? I'll be buying mine towards the end of the week, can't decide between the h&r cup kit or the wertic coilovers, fast road use only, will be Poly bushings and updating the rear arb at the same time. Your views would be appreciated. Cheer pal

I think the Bilstein / Eibach combo is very good and coupled with the rear ARB and lighter wheels (oz ultraleggera) i'm v.happy with it. I can only compare this to the KWs i had on before in terms of ride comfort, and they are very similar, so perhaps i failed on one of my objectives! The damping with the Bilsteins is excellent though.

I can't comment on the other kits you mention so can't help there, although i was told that the H & R cup wasn't available for the Gti when i enquired.

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  • 4 years later...

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