lowering springs vs coilovers
- Thread starter RaviR50
- Start date
If you want springs only go eibach sportlines (red ones)
Work fine with oe dampers
And coilovers you really want a decent set £500+ the cheap kits are for looks only and are as uncomfortable as hell
Id go for the eibach springs! If your oe dampers fail you can always uprate at a later date with some kw / koni fsd dampers
Work fine with oe dampers
And coilovers you really want a decent set £500+ the cheap kits are for looks only and are as uncomfortable as hell
Id go for the eibach springs! If your oe dampers fail you can always uprate at a later date with some kw / koni fsd dampers
That's a load of bollocks about coilovers under £500 being rubbish lol. Look at AP coilovers for example, there about the £400 mark and are very highly rated.
Weitec are another good make for springs only.
Weitec are another good make for springs only.
I agree,i got jom's that are the cheapest you can get & have had not problems,lowering a car you always compramise in ride comfort,i would say if its ride comfort you want go for a spring & damper package,i went for coilovers because i wanted to be able to choose my ride height
If i was to do it again i would go for some good condition secondhand coilovers there is a big saving to be made
I have had a few sets of cheapo ones
Jamex iirc on my lupo gti (completely shizer)
Apex on my mk5 golf £425 (crap)
Vmaxx on my fabia vrs £400 (crap)
I've had weitec before and they were alright. I go for kw's now as you cant go wrong
As said this has been covered enough times, and once you decide between springs or coilovers then there's the minefield of which is best. Cheaper ones are apparently prone to problems and expensive ones are, well, expensive! To make the most of springs you want to be looking at springs/shocks combo but as already said, you can always update the shocks at a later date if yours are in good nick.
In terms of pros/cons, springs give more of a OE feel with small performance increase and fixed lowering, coilovers give a firmer ride with greater performance increase and adjustable lowering so it's whatever suits your needs.
And I'm comparing like for like before people jump on me about THIS spring being better than THAT cheap and nasty coilover
In terms of pros/cons, springs give more of a OE feel with small performance increase and fixed lowering, coilovers give a firmer ride with greater performance increase and adjustable lowering so it's whatever suits your needs.
And I'm comparing like for like before people jump on me about THIS spring being better than THAT cheap and nasty coilover
I think Eck was saying that you can't just make a sweeping statement regarding ALL <£500 coilover kits. The AP kit comes from the same factory as KW iirc and has had rave reviews so far, and many members on here and on uk-mkIVs have the JOMs without having any issues.
good responses there, with regards to the JOMs they cant give an uncomfortable ride can they?? ive seen that the eibach springs are about the same price as the JOMs
Just keep in mind if going lower with coilovers you screw the geometry up... personally for road driving a decent spring / damper combo that lowers 35mm over standard with the correct geometry will be spot on... coilovers are better for track work but sorting the geometry properly can be very difficult on these cars.
think im veering towards the coilovers. With the JOMs ive heard of them rusting then seizing, are there any good ways of stopping that?? i was thinking ive you use some galvanising spray or something it might stop that??
If it's anything similar to my old MR2, if you get coilovers then get them aligned and set up properly (not jsut a standard 4 wheel alignment). Otherwise your handling can suffer drastically and so can the way the tyres and other suspension components wear.
As MR OCD said really, coilovers are brilliant for track use but for normal/fast road use i'd go with shorter, stiffer springs and uprated dampers to pick up any slack
EDIT: also with some coilover kits (not sure about Leon ones as i said) tend to have problems with leaking dampers...i'm sure normal dampers will have the same problem after a while, but then you have to try and find a damper that's the same, if not very similar specs to the one that came with the coilover and have it replaced.
As MR OCD said really, coilovers are brilliant for track use but for normal/fast road use i'd go with shorter, stiffer springs and uprated dampers to pick up any slack
EDIT: also with some coilover kits (not sure about Leon ones as i said) tend to have problems with leaking dampers...i'm sure normal dampers will have the same problem after a while, but then you have to try and find a damper that's the same, if not very similar specs to the one that came with the coilover and have it replaced.
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ok i think im going towards the springs now 
im pretty sure my standard dampers are ok atm so i can look at getting those done at a later date. I'm not looking to go super low right now anyway, if i could justify the money i would get an air ride kit but then id be looking at raising the engine and getting a shallow sump ect. ect.
im pretty sure my standard dampers are ok atm so i can look at getting those done at a later date. I'm not looking to go super low right now anyway, if i could justify the money i would get an air ride kit but then id be looking at raising the engine and getting a shallow sump ect. ect.
If all you want is a 30mm drop then springs are more suited to ur needs,as i said in my first post depends what you want
I'd personally just go down on some 30-35mm springs then do uprated dampers at a later date as you said.
Standard dampers are never too bad for lowering..my Saxo i had a couple of years ago was down on 40mm springs (just some cheap Spax ones) and it was still on them when i sold it nearly 2 years later on standard dampers.
Something i keep meaning to ask, i'm pretty sure the Leon has rear springs doesnt it? as well as a beam?
Only reason i ask is because i've only had the car a week or 2 and my Saxo had torsion bars on a rear beam with dampers but no springs, and my MR2 had springs and dampers so just wanna clarify.
Standard dampers are never too bad for lowering..my Saxo i had a couple of years ago was down on 40mm springs (just some cheap Spax ones) and it was still on them when i sold it nearly 2 years later on standard dampers.
Something i keep meaning to ask, i'm pretty sure the Leon has rear springs doesnt it? as well as a beam?
Only reason i ask is because i've only had the car a week or 2 and my Saxo had torsion bars on a rear beam with dampers but no springs, and my MR2 had springs and dampers so just wanna clarify.
Ive just lowered my partners golf mk5
First of all i tried £400 apex coilovers. Looked awesome but was as harsh as hell, ate droplinks like nobodys business and after a while started to creak / bang / knock
Ditched them for oem dampers and eibach pro-line springs. Wasnt happy with the drop coming from coilovers although the ride was improved 10 fold
Soo i then plumbed for eibach sportline springs and oem dampers and i've found this is the best combo! Good looks around 45-50mm lowering on front and 40mm on rear. Gives a slight nose down look that looks perfect! Ride is not bouncy or hard. Exactly like oem feel!
Took me 3 attempts but now im happy
First of all i tried £400 apex coilovers. Looked awesome but was as harsh as hell, ate droplinks like nobodys business and after a while started to creak / bang / knock
Ditched them for oem dampers and eibach pro-line springs. Wasnt happy with the drop coming from coilovers although the ride was improved 10 fold
Soo i then plumbed for eibach sportline springs and oem dampers and i've found this is the best combo! Good looks around 45-50mm lowering on front and 40mm on rear. Gives a slight nose down look that looks perfect! Ride is not bouncy or hard. Exactly like oem feel!
Took me 3 attempts but now im happy
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