Matt Devo
08-03-2005, 04:24 AM
well the shock/spring aspect anyway. As many of you know from my many posts on the subject, I've had trouble finding a good setup for my FWD that balances performance and ride quality.
My car came with the OEM sport suspension, and being a 2002 model, was the lowest of the B6 sport suspensions. The ride quality was good, but a little bouncy at times, and there was a bit too much roll when cornering.
I upgraded to the Stasis/Koni streetsport coilovers. While they were a dramatic improvement in terms of handling, I could never get them set to the "perfect" height/rebound. As a result, the car sometimes felt a bit wobbly when taking low-speed turns on imperfect roads, and was a bit too harsh. I adjusted them 5+ times over the course of 1 year, and had 2 local shops try also but could never get it just right.
Next I swapped my COs for Koni shocks (set at 50%) + Neuspeed race springs (did this on 7-21-05). Koni shocks are supposed to be closer to OEM sport ride quality than Bilsteins, which is what I wanted - my goal has always been to find a setup that has close to OEM sport ride quality, while reducing the roll/bounciness and (if posssible) wheel gap. This spring/shock combination was also not ideal. The ride was harsh b/c of the low height, and the koni shocks seemed underdamped for such stiff springs. I supposed I could have set the Konis firmer, but really didn't feel like disassemling to mess with it.
On monday night, I switched the NS race springs for OEM sport springs, supposedly from an '02. Somehow the ride height ended up higher than the original OEM setup, and the ride was way too bouncy too. This clearly wasn't going to cut it.
Last night I swapped the Koni + OEM sport spring setup for a friend's Bilstein sport + NS Sport setup. Riding in her car was what originally convinced me I needed to upgrade my suspension. Since she was looking to go back to an OEM setup before selling, this was a good opportunity to try another combination. After driving in to work this morning, I can say that this is the setup I've been looking for. Slightly firmer and lower ride than OEM sport, but not too harsh. I'm not sure why I let AW convince me COs would be the superior option =P
next up...swaybars. Throw my NS rear sway back in, or upgrade F/R to H-Sports....hmmmm
the saga continues...
PS - a huge thanks to everyone who has helped me with the installs, Paulab and the MA mod crew, and least of not my bud Chris.
My car came with the OEM sport suspension, and being a 2002 model, was the lowest of the B6 sport suspensions. The ride quality was good, but a little bouncy at times, and there was a bit too much roll when cornering.
I upgraded to the Stasis/Koni streetsport coilovers. While they were a dramatic improvement in terms of handling, I could never get them set to the "perfect" height/rebound. As a result, the car sometimes felt a bit wobbly when taking low-speed turns on imperfect roads, and was a bit too harsh. I adjusted them 5+ times over the course of 1 year, and had 2 local shops try also but could never get it just right.
Next I swapped my COs for Koni shocks (set at 50%) + Neuspeed race springs (did this on 7-21-05). Koni shocks are supposed to be closer to OEM sport ride quality than Bilsteins, which is what I wanted - my goal has always been to find a setup that has close to OEM sport ride quality, while reducing the roll/bounciness and (if posssible) wheel gap. This spring/shock combination was also not ideal. The ride was harsh b/c of the low height, and the koni shocks seemed underdamped for such stiff springs. I supposed I could have set the Konis firmer, but really didn't feel like disassemling to mess with it.
On monday night, I switched the NS race springs for OEM sport springs, supposedly from an '02. Somehow the ride height ended up higher than the original OEM setup, and the ride was way too bouncy too. This clearly wasn't going to cut it.
Last night I swapped the Koni + OEM sport spring setup for a friend's Bilstein sport + NS Sport setup. Riding in her car was what originally convinced me I needed to upgrade my suspension. Since she was looking to go back to an OEM setup before selling, this was a good opportunity to try another combination. After driving in to work this morning, I can say that this is the setup I've been looking for. Slightly firmer and lower ride than OEM sport, but not too harsh. I'm not sure why I let AW convince me COs would be the superior option =P
next up...swaybars. Throw my NS rear sway back in, or upgrade F/R to H-Sports....hmmmm
the saga continues...
PS - a huge thanks to everyone who has helped me with the installs, Paulab and the MA mod crew, and least of not my bud Chris.