Mk1 cab lowering

[richard ellison]

Shortly will be buying a mk1 cab.

Has 15s on it, will want to lower it but dont really want to go the full hog with coilovers etc....

whats the deal when it comes to lowering?

If i go 60mm drop will it scrape on the standard soft suspension?

and rear lowering... scraping issues???

All help greatly appreciated  

oh yes, and any pics of cab's that are lowered? was thinking of 40mm if not 60mm....

[gibby]

AdamB is probably your best bet to answer these questions, I think he's pretty much sussed out the where's and what nots. Have a look at his feature from the main site.   I'm sure he'll be about at some point to answer in person.

http://www.golfgti.co.uk/viewfeature_content.asp?featureID=25

[AdamB]

Hi Rich
You will have no problems dropping 40mm on your cab, and I dont think that a 60mm drop will provide you with many, if any, problems. I used to run mine dropped 40mm on 17's and had no problems, and as the rolling radius is slightly smaller on 15's, you should be able to drop it the 60. I did have my arches rolled previous to the drop, but the tyres were 205 section - a little wider than yours probably.
I really would consider going with coilovers however. Due to the fact that as your taste or budget change you may want to fit different wheels, and the coilovers will allow you to do this without the need for having to carry out more suspension mods.
If you do go down the spring route, then G-Max do a 40 and 60mm drop set of springs for a mk1 cab.
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[richard ellison]

Hi Adam,

i spotted your car in the gallery- looks really good.

I was also considering putting some (15") Schmidt wheels on later- but wasnt sure about widths etc... a 7.5" wide wheel seems quite wide and i thought it might cause problems...

is your car running on standard shocks?
im reluctant to pay out ?200+ for shocks + springs... although i'd imagine with 15"s it shouldnt really be a problem... coilovers only lower the front?right?
heres a pic of the car i think im buying....

whats everyones opinion?

60 drop on current wheels and get some Schmidts later?

[AdamB]

Hi Rich.
The car looks nice, you wont regret buying a cab.
My 17's were 7.5" wide, providing the offset is correct, you wont have any problems with them. Now I have 14" Steffans and my rears are 9" wide and my fronts are 8" wide, but these may be to wide if you want to stick with 15" wheels.
I have coilovers on mine now, as the standrad shocks weren't up to the job, and I couldnt get enough drop to obtain the required look with the 14" wheels.
Coilovers lower front and rear, but tend to be quite rare in this country for a mk1 cab, so you may have to wait a few weeks for them to arrive on a special order.

[richard ellison]

thanks for the advice mate,

best place to buy from and price wise what sensible?

is it simply a screw twisted right or left to lower/raise the car?

The cars costing me ?2500- full leather trim proffessionally done, the works. just needs lowering, nice wheels and a decent mohair hood to look the daddy. should pick it up next week hopefully.

oh and how much did you pay for the wheels? The Schmidts were ?600 odd with tyres...

[AdamB]

I bought FK coilovers from Venom motorsport, for ?400, they did me a deal as the coilovers I ordered where late arriving. They should have been about ?470.
It is just a case of turning the two nuts to raise or lower as you suspected.
I bought the wheels fom Dubmeister, with conti sport tyres (to try and keep the car completly German) for ?850. A little expensive for 14" wheels, granted, but you will find they are worth the money. Be wary of the cheap deals on wheels and tyres, as you will end up with cheap tyres, that wear out in a short time and offer less grip.
Rememeber to have your camber, trackin g and toe aligned after replacing with coilovers, or it will feel a little sketchy when driving.
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[richard ellison]

jesus! ?400 is out of my price range..... plus ?600 for the wheels....

tempted to go for 60mm springs on standard shocks for the meantime and maybe upgrade when thinking about buying the new wheels...

forgive my stupidness but am i right in saying golfs dont have a torsion bar and therefore are lowered at the rear by springs? (had a 306 previously)

cheers again

[AdamB]

You can lower the front and rear with just springs. I can reccommend the G-Max springs from personal experience, and they are available in 40 and 60mm drop for you cab.
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[mezz]

I see you have decided to by the other cab!
It would of been nice of you to send me mail to let me know what yiu were up to !!
Then i can decide what to do with my cab!! >