Lowering my .:R

[drewr]

Hello all,

I've searched this topic, and have found quite a few answers i'm after, but wanted a litttle more clarity. Basically, i want to lower my .:R ~1.5-2", both for performance and asthetic benefit. What I want to know is, what is the cheapest and most effective way to do so (still building the bank up after purchasing the car! hah!). As far as i'm aware there's just stock suspension in it currently, i was hoping I could just put in lowered springs or something along those lines? I didn't really want to fork out the good part of $1000-$2000 for a new suspension/coilover setup, yet.

I'm going to make an ECS order soon, so if i need to order something off there I will!

Regards,
Drew.

[team_v]

H&R coilover kit would be a good way to go imho.


However there is a thread on vortex carlounge about R32's and their handling ability in stock form.
The guy says that most drivers don't know how to use their car properly and thus feel the need to update the suspension when in fact it is the driver that needs to adjust their style.

Might be good for a read and save you some $$.

[Manaz]

Lowering for aesthetics is fine if that's the look you're after (and aesthetics are subjective, so you can't be wrong).

But lowering does not automatically mean better handling - and in fact, it can be detrimental to handling unless you're careful.

Going too low on any car can create sub-optimal suspension geometry, which can lead to abnormal or unpredictable behaviour, so be careful of that. On the R32 (and Bora V6 4Motion) in particular, going too low will introduce excessive negative camber at the rear end, which you'll need to adjust for - there are some camber bushings or shims that you can get, but they're a half-arsed solution in my opinion, you're better going for adjustable control arms to bring the camber back into check. ECS sell some, and you can also get some from Gruvenparts (they're cheaper than the alternatives, but by all reports are built well enough that they should be a serious consideration for your money).

Unless you'll be driving on racetracks, you also don't want to go too stiff - you need compliance in your suspension to absorb the bumps and dips that public roads deliver and to ensure that your wheels stay in contact with the road at all times.

As team_v has indicated, the best place to start would be to learn about suspension setups, and establish your car's behaviours and reasons for those behaviours, and once you can identify, understand and come up with reasons why you may want to change them, THEN start looking for solutions.

[drewr]

H&R coilover kit would be a good way to go imho.


However there is a thread on vortex carlounge about R32's and their handling ability in stock form.
The guy says that most drivers don't know how to use their car properly and thus feel the need to update the suspension when in fact it is the driver that needs to adjust their style.

Might be good for a read and save you some $$.

I can fully appreciate the .:R's stock handling ability, it's fantastic! Its a lot to do with aesthetics though, but i'm obviously not a guy to deny performance to improve looks (cough rice cough), id just like the car to take a bit more of a 'meaner' stance; i threw performance in there, too because obviously I would like to improve it at the same time if it's possible. I will look at the thread though.

Lowering for aesthetics is fine if that's the look you're after (and aesthetics are subjective, so you can't be wrong).

But lowering does not automatically mean better handling - and in fact, it can be detrimental to handling unless you're careful.

Going too low on any car can create sub-optimal suspension geometry, which can lead to abnormal or unpredictable behaviour, so be careful of that. On the R32 (and Bora V6 4Motion) in particular, going too low will introduce excessive negative camber at the rear end, which you'll need to adjust for - there are some camber bushings or shims that you can get, but they're a half-arsed solution in my opinion, you're better going for adjustable control arms to bring the camber back into check. ECS sell some, and you can also get some from Gruvenparts (they're cheaper than the alternatives, but by all reports are built well enough that they should be a serious consideration for your money).

Unless you'll be driving on racetracks, you also don't want to go too stiff - you need compliance in your suspension to absorb the bumps and dips that public roads deliver and to ensure that your wheels stay in contact with the road at all times.

As team_v has indicated, the best place to start would be to learn about suspension setups, and establish your car's behaviours and reasons for those behaviours, and once you can identify, understand and come up with reasons why you may want to change them, THEN start looking for solutions.

Ok, no worries thanks for the advice! I cant actually really flaw them as of yet, but i'm taking it around the track for the first time in a couple weeks as i try not to go too wild on the roads just to save anyone getting hurt, so that will be a good indicator for me as well before i start forking out on mods that dont suit me. Thanks.

[quozl]

The issue with the Mk IV R32's stock suspension is it is not the suspension as envisaged by the designers. Both the US and AUS spec cars were fitted with softer monroe shocks, softer non H&R springs and smaller sway bars than the European cars, The Euro cars came with Bilstein shocks and H&R springs and thicker swaybars. My suggestion to you if you are looking for a more aggressive stance and better handling while staying OEM would be to buy the Euro spec suspension (shocks and springs and install the H&R sway bars if you want the car to have the stance and handling as envisaged by the designers of the car. You can find the Euro spec suspension on various sites like Parts4VW's Euro R32 Suspension Kit and the H&R swaybars can be found on most sites as well.

EDIT: oh and you might want to send Graeme86 a PM as I'm pretty sure he will be selling his KW V3 coilover kit that he bought for his Mk IV R32 fairly soon as he is going to another supplier so you might want to check out what he is asking for that.

[drewr]

The issue with the Mk IV R32's stock suspension is it is not the suspension as envisaged by the designers. Both the US and AUS spec cars were fitted with softer monroe shocks, softer non H&R springs and smaller sway bars than the European cars, The Euro cars came with Bilstein shocks and H&R springs and thicker swaybars. My suggestion to you if you are looking for a more aggressive stance and better handling while staying OEM would be to buy the Euro spec suspension (shocks and springs and install the H&R sway bars if you want the car to have the stance and handling as envisaged by the designers of the car. You can find the Euro spec suspension on various sites like Parts4VW's Euro R32 Suspension Kit and the H&R swaybars can be found on most sites as well.

EDIT: oh and you might want to send Graeme86 a PM as I'm pretty sure he will be selling his KW V3 coilover kit that he bought for his Mk IV R32 fairly soon as he is going to another supplier so you might want to check out what he is asking for that.

That would be great, but from ECS i can get H&R and bilstein coilovers for $400USD less than those! Going from that site price, that's much too expensive for me. I'll send him a PM for sure. Good information though, thanks!

[Treza360]

Lowering will also impact on the stock swaybars. The H&R ones are formed in such a way in that they will not knock (I believe it hits the subframe). Also your camber will be affected heavily especially at the rear. There is some minor adjustment on the front of the car via the subframe to get the front camber back into alignment (just). The rears though you will need to get adjustable control arms to get the camber back into line. While 2.5 degrees or more of camber looks sweet as and handles nicely, it destroys your tyres in no time.
Cheers,
Trent