H & R lowered coils - Golf GTI Mk6 Opinions please?

**Stump** · 04-02-2016, 02:26 PM

Guys, I have recently (just prior to Christmas) had some H & R lowered coils fitted to my 2010 GTI Golf.
After reading all I could on them I decided they would be my best option, good value for money etc....
They made the look of the car look just amazing, lowered it by approx. 30-35mm, way better than stock.
I had fitted 18inch rims with 40 profile tyres only a month before the springs went in....

Initially, I was concerned that the ride might be too harsh.......man, how wrong could I have been...
If anything, the ride feels smoother, if not...dare I say, too soft!????

Are H & R generally considered to be a soft spring? I know little regarding spring rates, lineal versus progressive etc...

I was expecting a firmer ride and quite frankly, I'm a little disappointed.
I've not been brave enough to "push it" yet....even on a road that I know and am used to.....it just feels more "loose" on corners where I thought it would feel more rigid?

Which kinda leads me to what I'm trying to find out.....
Are there more than one lowered spring from H & R, for the 2010 GTI? Can you get a "hard" or a "soft" option??

Reason is, I have no documentation from the supplier-fitter. No box, no warranty card.....Just a "there you go mate, all done"......I actually saw the springs getting changed, from a distance. I was not permitted into the workshop.

What also caught my curiosity was that one supplier told me there was a 3 month wait (when all the strife was going on in Europe) and the place I got them, had them within a week......

Some thoughts and feedback from anyone with a set of H & R's would be awesome, thank you.
Cheers
Greg

**seangti** · 04-02-2016, 04:20 PM

Throw your head under the car to see that they are the H&R's, there would also be a code on them.

Springs alone will typically result in the car feeling softer as it's now under damped for the spring rate (or over sprung pending your perspective). The feeling is typically bouncing as the strut doesn't control the spring. A spring has a tendency to want to stay in motion, a struts job is to absorb and control that motion. You are best to match the spring with an appropriate strut designed for a lowered spring, e.g. koni, bilstein, et al. I too put a H&R spring in with the stock struts initially (car had barely 20,000kms on it), knowing I was going to add aftermarket struts anyway, but that disconcerting feeling was evident within 1km of leaving the garage. It was bloody awful and didn't last long that way.

Add a good strut and it's a night and day improvement. There's nothing wrong with H&R springs, it's the stock struts that don't cope with lowering.

I put bilstein struts in my daily on the lowest of H&R springs and it drives great 99% of the time. It will bottom out at speed on back country "B" roads though that's cos my springs realistically being too low. My H&R coilovers on the other car are great

**Has** · 05-02-2016, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by seangti

Throw your head under the car to see that they are the H&R's, there would also be a code on them.

Springs alone will typically result in the car feeling softer as it's now under damped for the spring rate (or over sprung pending your perspective). The feeling is typically bouncing as the strut doesn't control the spring. A spring has a tendency to want to stay in motion, a struts job is to absorb and control that motion. You are best to match the spring with an appropriate strut designed for a lowered spring, e.g. koni, bilstein, et al. I too put a H&R spring in with the stock struts initially (car had barely 20,000kms on it), knowing I was going to add aftermarket struts anyway, but that disconcerting feeling was evident within 1km of leaving the garage. It was bloody awful and didn't last long that way.

Add a good strut and it's a night and day improvement. There's nothing wrong with H&R springs, it's the stock struts that don't cope with lowering.

I put bilstein struts in my daily on the lowest of H&R springs and it drives great 99% of the time. It will bottom out at speed on back country "B" roads though that's cos my springs realistically being too low. My H&R coilovers on the other car are great

How much were the bilstein struts? Isnt it just better to get coilovers then if you look at the price of getting new struts and springs? BC coilover goes for $1299?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Lucas_R** · 05-02-2016, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by Has

How much were the bilstein struts? Isnt it just better to get coilovers then if you look at the price of getting new struts and springs? BC coilover goes for $1299?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BC coilovers are rubbish. Cheap and nasty crap.

Ive got SPM lowered springs in my Mk6 GTI and ran them on the original shocks for a few months. After this time i purchased Koni Sport adjustable shocks (the yellow coloured ones) and the car feels much better than it did on the original shocks. Perhaps the Bilsteins would have been better, but i got the Koni's through a contact at my local suspension shop for a good price, so i went with the Koni's.

Ive used the Koni Sport shocks in other cars previously and never had any issues with them.

**Stump** · 05-02-2016, 06:45 PM

Ah, thanks so much for the added input Sean, Has and Lucas.

Sean, what you described sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing...never thought of upgrading shocks.

Mind you, the car does have 80k on the clock, so I'm a little surprised the installer never asked about them.

Has, I too have looked at the BC stuff, but my mind was subconsciously thinking like Lucas.....Rubbish. lol

Which again leads me to where Lucas is going....How expensive will this end up being?
The springs have already set me back in excess of a grand..Don't ask......

Shocks, either Koni (expensive) or Bilstien (very expensive?) ......It's beginning to add up, huh.

Then coil-overs....Once adjusted to what a person wants, ride height, stiffness etc....Are there any issues with them once fitted? Like, is there constant adjustments, tightening that they require??
I bloody near went with the overs, starting to wish I had...

**Has** · 05-02-2016, 07:33 PM

H&R springs set you back almost a grand? Thats with labour and alignment? Isnt it too expensive for just springs? You could get Vogtland lower springs with their shocks (made for lower springs) you could get for $800 free shipping from Germany, heard they are good too. H&R must be really good for the price they charging then?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**azzdat16** · 05-02-2016, 08:58 PM

[QUOTE=Lucas_R;1171817]BC coilovers are rubbish. Cheap and nasty crap.

Gotta disagree with you there bro. I had BC coils on my S14a for 3 years and never had an issue. They performed exactly how I expected and how they marketed them to. Yes there are better available, but for the price and I believe from personal experience you could do a lot worse. Have you actually used BC coilovers before?
As mentioned there are plenty of better, and more expensive options available, but let's be honest, most of the guys around buy coils to go low, not to get into Motorsport, so from the average punters perspective they are great value for money!

**Lucas_R** · 05-02-2016, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by azzdat16

Have you actually used BC coilovers before?

Speaking from experience - my best friend had a set on his Mk5 GTI and they were nothing but trouble. They rode ok, but he had 2x struts die, the sway bar mount snapped on the passenger front strut, and the strut mounts rattled over bumps. Just cheap Chinese junk.

If you want decent coilovers you need to get good stuff from Europe or Japan.

**Lucas_R** · 05-02-2016, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by Stump

Ah, thanks so much for the added input Sean, Has and Lucas.

Sean, what you described sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing...never thought of upgrading shocks.

Mind you, the car does have 80k on the clock, so I'm a little surprised the installer never asked about them.

Has, I too have looked at the BC stuff, but my mind was subconsciously thinking like Lucas.....Rubbish. lol

Which again leads me to where Lucas is going....How expensive will this end up being?
The springs have already set me back in excess of a grand..Don't ask......

Shocks, either Koni (expensive) or Bilstien (very expensive?) ......It's beginning to add up, huh.

Then coil-overs....Once adjusted to what a person wants, ride height, stiffness etc....Are there any issues with them once fitted? Like, is there constant adjustments, tightening that they require??
I bloody near went with the overs, starting to wish I had...

Springs cost you a grand!! I had H&R springs in my old Golf R and they were about $320 delivered direct from Germany. I installed them myself so there were no further costs except for a wheel alignment.

I was quoted around $1,400 for the Bilstein struts or around $1,000 for the Koni's. The Koni's were already overkill for what i wanted so i just went with those, and got new strut mounts and bump stops etc so that everything was new.

**azzdat16** · 05-02-2016, 10:31 PM

HKS, K-Sport, Tein.... No brand is exempt from issues, failures etc. seen plenty of these "quality branded" coils fail. All I'm saying is that I know that myself, and a lot of other guys in the JDM scene have had a lot of positive experiences (for the price) with BC coils. Yes... If you were a serious track day guy then there a lot of better units available. I know what you are saying, but one persons bad experience shouldn't label a brand "crap".