Gti lower or not to lower...thats is the question!

[jonathonturner]

right then, first off hello...

have just jiggled about my car ownership around and have opted for the mk5 gti as my daily drive...and i know i have made the right choice as the car so far is truly great...

well specced 3 dr in grey, nav, heated leather, dsg, sunroof etc...am adding cruise and parking sensors as a deal with my local dealer..500 quid for the pair fitted.

the advice i need is as follows...i think the cars sits a bit high and want to bring it down a bit, awesome have advised me that coilovers is the way to go...(eibachs made by KW)..i have kw variant 3's on my CSL and they are excellent but obviously track focussed,

is there a simpler and more cost effective route? , i.e does anyone do a spring kit that works good with the exisiting dampers without compromising ride quality( marginal is accepetable?

what do you reckon?

anyone lowered theirs? if so, can you please share your experience's to date?

[paulm007]

Firstly welcome, This may help

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=61033.msg473040;topicseen#msg473040

[jonathonturner]

thanks for the response, but that thread does not really give me a better idea..

in a nutshell, i want to lower the car, by at least 30 mill, without making the car noticably harder...

what are my options over and above the eibach coilvers as they apparently make the ride quite a bit harder and i dont want that.

i just want lower.... H and R springs for example..they give the effect of lowering, but how do they ride in the real world!

[Hurdy]

Hi Jonathon and welcome to the MKV section and the forum

Any lowering more than 35mm and you will need to have the geometry reset and I also believe that awesome can do this along with new shorter arms to keep the geometry correct. So you are with the right bods to do it
Awesome has a GTI show car fitted with all the stuff below:-

APR Stage 1 software remap - £499
APR 3” Turboback Exhaust System - £850
Carbonio Intake - £165
Neuspeed Hi-Flow Turbo Discharge Conversion Kit - £215
Neuspeed Power Pulley Kit - £110
Neuspeed Engine Torque Arm Insert - £24.99
ECS Magnetic Sump Plug - £9.99
BBS CH 19" Alloy Wheels with Toyo Proxes Tyres - £1395
TAROX 12 Pot Anodised Red Big Brake Kit - £2700
KW Variant 3 Coilovers - £867.23
Neuspeed Front Race Anti-Roll Bar - £195
Neuspeed Rear Race Anti-Roll Bar - £195
ECS Billet Alu Climatronic Rings - £14.99
APR FMIC
Smoked Wing Mirror Side Repeaters - £23.15
R32 Rear Tail Lamps - £165
Oettinger Front Bumper - £676
Oettinger Front Grille - £319
Oettinger Rear valance - £536
Oettinger Side Skirts - £425
LSD Door Kit - £935.32

So they opted for the KW variant 3's

[gazbutmk5gti]

I've been in the awesome car and it does ride really well, it is a little harsh but sporty, I was running koni fsd's at the time which are quite compliant so this is what I was comparing it with. The kw coilovers are expensive at getting on for a grand and then you've got fitting and alignment. In the end I opted for eibach dampers and lowered springs which again give a slightly harsher but sporty ride, the handling is excellent and the car is lower, spot on at the front, but a little higher at the rear which we are working on at the moment because I'd like it to match front and rear

[bmx]

i would say kw v1 or eibach pro street s.

although near identical kits i would  go for eibach pro street s as the springs are lighter and the ride is slightly softer. both kits use the same coilover shocks, and the ride is very oem