H&R Coilovers on Tiguan - A Cautionary Tale

[Aztech]

So I purchased a set of H&R Coilovers for my 2010 Tig and have a lot of knocking in the front end, I was told by the mechanic that installed them that its probably the link ends causing it and i need to change them for adjustable.

Today I took the car to a suspension expert who took a look and showed me that its actually the design of the coilovers and theres nothing he could do, basically theres not enough travel in the front springs and the noise is from the springs compressing and also where the bottom of the spring travel. He has suggested a get a set of eibach springs and go back to stock with lowering springs on the front and then he can adjust the rear coilovers to match the height of the front.

I've called H&R directly who have put me on to a distributor in Brisbane who is happy to look at them although doesn't sound very promising that they can do anything to help me out without pouring more money into it. Also I bought them second hand from a forum member here who I now suspect took them off due to similar issues so they might wipe their hands of the issue due to me not buying them new.

Lesson learnt I should have just paid the $2500 I was quoted for a set of HW coilovers installed by a reputable VW performance shop.

Now I'm not sure whether to keep trying to get the issue sorted or just revert back to stock and be done with it.

[Sydneykid]

What the "suspension expert" is saying is that the springs are coil binding, which can be a good thing if they were designed that way. For example in a progressively wound spring (different gaps between the springs) they are designed to close up the gap and touch at low loads which then increases the spring rate. In the picture below the outer pair of springs are fronts and the inner pair the rears, note the closer winding on top of the rears to give progression in the rates.



But the fronts are not progressive which is quite common. I'd suggest a quick look at your front springs to see if they are progressively wound or not. If the front springs are in fact coil binding (very easy to see via the damaged paint between the coils), then I'd suspect the car is set for too low a ride height and/or the wrong kit is fitted. For example the 4WD kit is different to the 2WD kit and the diesel versions are different again. Put a "petrol kit" in diesel and it will almost certainly have too low a spring rate.

In summary, H&R don't generally in my experience make such a fundamental mistake, their stuff is pretty good, fit for purpose. So I'd suggest that the first job is to confirm that the kit part number is actually for your model Tiguan. If it isn't, then the solution maybe as simple as swapping the front springs for ones for the right model.

Cheers
Gary

[Aztech]

What the "suspension expert" is saying is that the springs are coil binding, which can be a good thing if they were designed that way. For example in a progressively wound spring (different gaps between the springs) they are designed to close up the gap and touch at low loads which then increases the spring rate. In the picture below the outer pair of springs are fronts and the inner pair the rears, note the closer winding on top of the rears to give progression in the rates.



But the fronts are not progressive which is quite common. I'd suggest a quick look at your front springs to see if they are progressively wound or not. If the front springs are in fact coil binding (very easy to see via the damaged paint between the coils), then I'd suspect the car is set for too low a ride height and/or the wrong kit is fitted. For example the 4WD kit is different to the 2WD kit and the diesel versions are different again. Put a "petrol kit" in diesel and it will almost certainly have too low a spring rate.

In summary, H&R don't generally in my experience make such a fundamental mistake, their stuff is pretty good, fit for purpose. So I'd suggest that the first job is to confirm that the kit part number is actually for your model Tiguan. If it isn't, then the solution maybe as simple as swapping the front springs for ones for the right model.

Cheers
Gary

The expert I went to is Accurate Suspension in brisbane that has been in the game for years and gets many positive reviews from car enthusiasts. They only offer 2 kits, 2wd and 4wd. It's supposedly the right kit. If they're meant to compact like that and make a ridiculous amount of noise I don't want them anyway. I had them raised and raising them made it worse. When the guy looked at it I asked if jacking them right up would help and he said no would make it worse the higher they went. Anyway the was no real performance benefit so going back to stock.

[Sydneykid]

The expert I went to is Accurate Suspension in brisbane that has been in the game for years and gets many positive reviews from car enthusiasts. They only offer 2 kits, 2wd and 4wd. It's supposedly the right kit. If they're meant to compact like that and make a ridiculous amount of noise I don't want them anyway. I had them raised and raising them made it worse. When the guy looked at it I asked if jacking them right up would help and he said no would make it worse the higher they went. Anyway the was no real performance benefit so going back to stock.

Ken is pretty good, been around a long time. I've used H&R stuff a lot and never found an issue, it's pretty damn good and works exceptionally well on VW's, so your case is unusual to say the least. It would be interesting to find out what's going on, I'll spread the word around and see if anyone else has had a similar issue.

FWIW I did notice in the technical data sheets that there are 2 front spring options, up to 1,130kg front axle weight and above 1,131kg front axle weight.

Cheers
Gary

[Aztech]

yeah I was surprised, and maybe they are the wrong ones, anyway I went back to stock, had Prestige and Performance put the originals back on with new stock shocks and few of the other bit and pieces, rides so well now with the factory set up and the rear sway bar I put on earlier takes most the body roll so happy now.

If anyone with more mechanical aptitude than me wants the H&Rs and have a crack with them, they're sitting in a box and I'll either give them away or turf them so let me know, I wouldnt take money for them.

[Muteki]

yeah I was surprised, and maybe they are the wrong ones, anyway I went back to stock, had Prestige and Performance put the originals back on with new stock shocks and few of the other bit and pieces, rides so well now with the factory set up and the rear sway bar I put on earlier takes most the body roll so happy now.

If anyone with more mechanical aptitude than me wants the H&Rs and have a crack with them, they're sitting in a box and I'll either give them away or turf them so let me know, I wouldnt take money for them.

hey mate id like to give them a crack if they are still around?