Adding the Bilsteins made such a huge difference in the handling of the car! Stock shocks are sloppy by comparison.
i used bilstein sports with my gc setup...the bilsteins worked great and did everything they were supposed to.no more dive and squat.body roll was kept to a minimum and it offered GREAT comfort, but it just wasnt what i was expecting.
I've got a set of bilstein sports and ground control coilovers on the car right now and there have been no problems. Spring rates are 275F/250R, spaced about an inch lower than stock front to rear. Nothing rubs, theres lots of travel, and the handling and comfort characteristics are superb.
As far as the bouncing goes, mine did too. The roads are very bumpy around here, so I wanted to put new original shocks, but then I went with Bilsteins, they were cheaper. They are stiffer, but not so much and definitely improve handling.
I'm running OEM front springs with shine rear springs (150lbs) matted with Bilstein HD.
i run bilstein sports w/ cut springs and spring spacers up front and kyb gr2 w/ cut springs and spring spacers in the rear-stock swaybars and car oversteers predictably on all surfaces w/ very very little roll-ground clearance is down a little but i can still drive straight over a curb and have jumped the car high enough that it cut off when i landed w/o any weird rebounding or harsh bottoming-run bump stops in the rear because the the travel of rear shock is less than what it is when it's on the dsm cars-kyb also make an adjustable shock-agx-hack job that works better than anything else i've experienced
We lowered the car a bit (and cured the soft suspension issue with some bilsteins) so the rims look bigger relatively.
ipd still carries a range of OEM replacement, repair, and performance parts for these cars, including a 2130cc overbore kit, 2 different performance cams, a Weber carb conversion kit, exhaust header to fit carbed and FI cars (different intake manifolds), Bilstein shocks, and poly bushing kits.
Neuspeed springs( though I think 1.5 inch drop may be to much) bilstein sport shocks( heard nothing but good things)
Well it's done. The Spindles are in, the Bilstein Sports are on with H&R OE Sport Springs and a 28mm H&R Rear anti-roll Bar. Definately a difference, but since I had Chad at SCI install everything at once, I have no way to be certain about which part accounts for what change. Turn in is well controlled and has a 'right now' feel, body roll is reduced quite a bit, and I can feel the rear of car rotate properly around corners. The ride height of this set up is about 3/8" lower in the rear and 3/8" higher in front than the stock GLI 1.8T (which is about 1" lower than a Jetta GL), now the car sits perfectly level. Which means, if you ask my opinion, the car now sits and looks correct. Also, I no longer scrape on the way into my drive way. The OE Sport springs are definately stiffer than stock and so are the Bilsteins: as evidence by a good reduction in pitch (squat and dive). The ride isn't any rougher or any more "firm" than stock GLI 1.8T, but the suspension motions are WAY more controlled. The spindles live up to the prediction of reduction in bump steer--now there is NONE when hammering rough pavenent on clover leafs; now the car's wheels abosorb the pavement irregularities but the steering wheel doesn't kick back. In addition, the control arms are now angled in the correct direction. So the spindles, along with the springs, help with the decent amount of roll reduction I've noticed. Overall I'm very happy, I got exactly what I wanted. For most enthusiasts/tuners who only want to lower, this set up is a pricey suspension mod that will not give you what you want. However if cornering prowess with great feedback and motion control is what you seek, this is nirvana .
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