Lowering question

[richy]

  You may have noticed some dumb questions from me posted recently, and here's another one for you..... (Sorry, I've just got me a MkIV GTI a few months ago -my first golf- and in the past, the only things I've done to my cars has been to get them serviced/MOT'd!)

When it comes to lowering suspension, what sort of place should I go to to get it done, how much does it cost, and what sort of amounts do you recommend.  Would I lower front and back by same amount?  After lowering, does the suspension seem harder (I'm not sure how it works)? Does something need to be done to harden it up to avoid trouble with speedbumps!?

Cheers for your help.
Rich.  

[frosticles]

Lowered my GTi with Boge -35mm springs. Rears are dead easy to do and should take you no more than half an hour. The fronts are a little more difficult. You'll need a pair of coil spring compressors to enable you to take the top mounts off safely. All you do is undo the top nut on the strut mount, Undo the Anti Roll Bar, take the two bolt out that hold the strut into the hub. Knock the hub out of the strut, Remove the strut, slacken the nut that holds the top mount on, Apply the spring compressors, wind down till spring starts to move, undo top mount, remove spring. The fittment of the new springs is a reversal of the above.
  You can whilst you're at it, also fit new shocks (Uprated) but the standard ones are ok if not showing signs of wear/leaking.

[golfvr6]

Boge lowering kits are sh!t. I hope yours is ok.
 

[richy]

Thanks for your advice, but as I'm not very experienced in the field of automotive tinkering, I was going to pay someone else to do it.  

What sort of cost am I looking at?

[frosticles]

Not had a problem with mine so it's not "sh!t"

[golfvr6]

I'm glad yours are ok
I was just saying, as i've seen several very bad Boge lowering kits. The front springs are the problem, too hard and uneven in height.
No need to get so defensive mate.
 

[modulater]

I have a boge lowering kit in my shed, was on the car for 6 months, now have koni's and eibach.

In my opinion BOGE are sh!t. I have the kit in my shed to prove it.

Its not just me having a moan either , the ride quality was terrible and I got fed up of the poor rebound damping abilities of the kit.

Also one of the springs was a different height to the other so the car sat funny.

The koni and eibach set up I have now put it in a different league.

[golfvr6]

And i helped him do it
I rejected the Boge kit for my VR cos it was such poor quality.

[frosticles]

Explain the "Rebound" Mine sometimes "Bounces" on the front end. Not replaced my shocks, just the springs. Sits lush though.

[Terminator]

Richy, what is your reason for lowering the car? If its purely for aesthetic reasons then some Eibach or H&R lowering springs will do the trick. If the mileage of your car is 70k plus, then the shocks will probably need changing anyway,in which case you could consider coilovers (shocks and springs in one unit and usually adjustable). I personally like Konis, but Spax also do some reasonably priced kit. If your reason for lowering is to enhance handling then you may want to consider beefing up the rear anti roll bar first, which will dial out understeer (Try Neuspeed or Eibach) and probably have a more positive effect on handling than lowering the ride height.