Mk3 Golf Suspension Query

QUOTE (daddycruise @ Jan 10 2006, 04:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Tell ya what it is.. Im tryin to get a suspension kit for my mk3 Golf TDI but anywhere im lookin up all i can seem to find is a 30mm drop and i need at least 60mm, has to be euroish afterall...

In my last Golf there was a 60mm G-max shocks n springs set up but again cant find it anywhere... So went down the local motor factors bout what info i could learn there... Any replacement shocks they do fit all the mk3 golfs basically according to the catalouge, no difference...

So y r these listed as different by the likes of Jamex, Gmax etc??? Is is to do with weight difference??? Or could i just go ahead and get a kit say for the likes of a 1.6 n hopefully it should just go in???

Thanx, Gary
They are listed different due to the different spring rates, ie. a 1.4 petrol engine would be lighter than a TDi like yours, so therefore the spring needs a different "poundage rate" to carry the extra weight, it's also to do with the different drops.

What year is your car? Later mk3s had bigger spring caps so make sure you order for the right car as the springs are slightly different at the top.

FK go upto a 75mm drop in susp. kits as far as I know (75 front /60 rear I think).
Would you consider buying coilovers when going that low?

Hi its Boyd, (Motech Ireland)
I've just checked with the APEX technical department who have confirmed that APEX can do a 60mm (+/-5mm) full suspension kit for your TDi. Thats 4 uprated and lowered springs with a lifetime warranty and 4 uprated and shortened dampers to match the springs.

The kit part number is ASP80-6040/1-60 and retails for €449.50

I can supply this kit for €400 as i'm prepared to offer 10% discount to VAGdriver members.

If your interested then give me a shout on 04493 76837 or 0876764141

If you want any more info on Apex the follow the link www.apexsuspension.com

or visit my website by clicking on the link below.

I hope this helps Boyd

QUOTE (VwDan @ Jan 11 2006, 03:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Are Coilovers a harder ride than a normal lowered suspension, I thoght coilerovers where better???
Coilovers are better for handling but can be harder on the road and have a much smaller spring diameter, some are hard while others can be quite soft. It mainly depends on the make of the kit and what settings you have it at.
The better kits have two springs per damper (one short, the other longer with a spacer between them), this is to help soften the ride and reduce noise inside the car.
I would have no problem fitting good quality coilovers to an everyday car though, especially if they had damping adjustment, I would probably go for a Weittec/KW kit if I was buying (both are from the same manufacturer).
The main reason I would fit coilovers at or below 60mm is mainly because they would allow the car to handle a bit better at that much of a drop though a good quality susp. kit probably wouldn't be bad either...upto who's buying really.

You have a Raceland kit in your car, is it a susp. kit or coilovers?

I don't really know what Supersports are like, they are pretty cheap alright but that might be a bad sign.
They are fairly new to the market so I suppose they haven't been around long enough to know what they are really like, at least with the bigger names like Koni, Kw etc you know what you're getting but then these are all more expensive.

I was actually considering buying a set of Supersports for my own car before but then I read a feature in Golf+ the lad who owned the car said that when he got it there was a set of Supersports in it. He said he was planning on changing to Konis, though he didn't really say why.

I'd say you could take the gamble and buy them, they might be fine. Sometimes I find asking people for their opinion on a product can be confusing as you'll often end up with a load of different opinions, then you don't know what to do... At the end of the day it's down to what you can best afford.
You say the Raceland kit hasn't let you down so far, and they are quite cheap, then you could meet someone who say they are not great so it can be hard to tell... though out of interest I don't think those kits are available anymore.
Seen as your a Knockalla man I'd say the back roads up there probably tested them for you .

Thats True lol, The Old Coast road is great for time trails, a lad was trying his best time up the hill last month and put his Mk3 vr6 in the ditch it was a bad sight!!

I have a new supersport suspe kit for the mk2 in the shed 80mil, wont be able to see what its like
until i get the car sprayed!

Ive herd reports that the FK kits are not great, you read that much shit on the net its hard to know what
to belive

That's true, I've heard mixed reports about the FK ones, some say the coilovers are good, others say they're bad...I suppose the ones with the Koni inserts are the better ones - Konigsports (sold by FK).
I don't really know about the susp. kits to be honest, probably not the best I'd imagine though I have a brand new set of them here myself but not fitted yet. The only reason I bought them is because they came at the right price and I was having difficulty getting the Weittec kit (suppliers) so I decided to take the chance...see how it goes .

Pitty to hear about that VR6, there seems to be a few headers up that side alright . I used to go to college with a lad from up Gweedore side , bit of a head case too.

Is that black mk3 in your homepage the Gti?

The mk3 is the one that's lowered 40mm so, looks good, I actually thought it was lowered more than that.
I should be happy enough with my own if it turns out like yours , I've a 40mm drop too, well it's actually 35/40 but I can lower the front more if I want by using different spring caps or top mounts...see how it goes I suppose.