Koni/Eibach or FK High Tec?

...for post MY03 Leon Cupra

Been researching this for a couple of weeks - I think I've read most of the Leon related suspension threads from the last 2 years but I need a bit o' help!

Prime motivation is improving the handling - get rid of that bounce and wallow. A nice subtle drop is good too but is not the main reason.

I'm new to aftermarket suspension and I'm a bit worried about some of the appalling roads in West Yorkshire and also bottoming out on speed bumps. Also getting on and off future in-laws' drive, but that can be sorted with a couple of planks

FK - 35-40mm drop, £233 from performancedriven.
Koni/Eibach - 25 ish mm drop. From Larkspeed £350 for the Koni kit, £159 for the Eibach springs and then sell on the koni springs, or someone said they might swap round the springs for a bit more cash. Seems a bit of a faff - does nobody sell them as a kit online?

There's a decent mechanic I've been going to for years who will fit it for about £70 and then have the alignment sorted.

My question really is: FK wins on price and convenience, but is it as good and will 40mm be too much drop? Has anybody tried both the above?

Cheers

Steve said:

I am interested in this too and am weighing up the same 2 options. I want to stiffen the car up a bit for a few track days but I also don't want to worsen the ride.

I'd like the car to look lower but not overly so (the Bilstein kit on my 8v Ibiza was too low). If it only looked lower to those in the know I would be happy.

I am tempted with the FK kit based on the price.

Are the springs that come with the Koni kit crap then?

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Sounds like you're after the same thing as me then. I keep changing my mind, lol! Last night I'd more or less decided on koni/eibach, today I'm thinking FK and put the change toward revo. Then again I dunno - the konis are adjustable and the shocks in the FK kit (although apparently also made by koni) are not.

I wouldn't have thought the koni springs are crap, just it seems not as good as the eibachs.

dangel said:

Go for koni/eibach it's a great setup and it's about as low as you'd REALLY want a car for everyday driving..

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Yes I'm leaning toward that way of thinking at the moment.

One question though is what to order - am I right in assuming these are the right ones?

Koni kit

Eibach springs

P.S Cheers for the athlon mobile advice last autumn, saved me a few quid on a 3200+

Steve said:

Has anyone else got any comments on the FK? Still looks loads cheaper than the Koni/Eibach route. Also is anyone running the Koni kit with the Koni springs rather than Eibachs? I'd be interested to know what that was like.

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There are several threads over on one of the other seat forums (SEAT "enthusiastic people" )
I can't link to them unfortunately but there's quite a bit of info. I'm currently considering just the Koni kit, and seeing what these springs are like. According to a guy on the above forum, the springs in that kit were made by Vogtland and were very good, but a little bit softer than the eibachs. Gives me a chance to try out some less hardcore springs and then I can always sell those & buy Eibachs later if I want.

Another thing I've realised is all the quoted drops seem to be for generic Leons or pre-facelift Cupras. The MY03+ cupras are a bit lower to start with IIRC. Exactly how much I don't know, maybe 10mm?

Saul said:

they are not vogtland springs anymore, i think they are terra

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Righto, cheers. Any good?

m0rk said:

My FK's have been on for 20 months, still fine, nicely damped & sprung

for me if it was a track only car it's way too soft, but it's spot on for fast road where there are potholes & dips.

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Cheers m0rk. Any idea if the springs are softer or harder than the Eibachs? I remember from my golf mk2 days, koni/eibach was regarded as the combo to have, but some said that the eibach springs were pretty hard for the rubbish Yorkshire roads.

FK it is!

I had a chat on the phone yesterday to a bloke at Performance Driven, and one at Larkspeed.

The Larkspeed guy says springs are still usually Vogtland, but can vary depending on whether the kit is assembled by the Koni factory or the importer (Koni = Vogtland, importer = whatever they can source). Also they won't swap the springs so I'd have to order the Eibachs too and sell on whatever comes with it.

So going down that route I'm either buying a pig in a poke or spending a lot of money, double the money of the FK kit when I've included fitting etc.

The Performance Driven chap confirmed what I thought, that the quoted 35-40mm drop on the Leon refers to standard leons, and that on the MY03> cupra it won't be as much, probably around 20-25mm. That I can live with, and the feedback from everyone is good, so I've ordered one!

FK Hightec for me then

Thanks to all for advice.

Happy to, but it might take a while. Got to:

1. Get it delivered (guy said 2-3 weeks fm factory)
2. Get it fitted + alignment
3. Find time around work etc to have a good back road thrash.
4. Find time to write a review!

Since I get married on 3rd June then go off on honeymoon for 3 weeks, if I haven't done 3. by end of may, don't expect 4. before july/august.

2 weeks after order: Performance Driven assure me FK have received factory order but still waiting for kit to be shipped from Germany.

Indeed it is - order placed three weeks ago to the day.
Thanks for reminding me, it's time for my weekly order-chasing phone call!