Hi there,

considering going up to 18" wheels and based on photos I have seen of other people doing it, 30-40mm of a "drop" is required to make it look right. Is this a DIY job, how hard is it to do? I have never in my life changed springs and dampers on a car mind you. Do I need a spring compressor, or some other specialist tooling? Will tracking be affected? And finally to maintain xenon level regulation I would need to fit some sort of modification to the sender unit on rear suspension otherwise headlights will get dipped too much. Is this readily available? I know ABT (Germany) sell this as part of the suspension drop kit.

Finally, I really don't like to make a comfort compromise (not a big one anyway), so can someone recommend a kit that does not compromise this too much, and is reliable, and do I go for new dampers too to make the whole system work nice nicely, or are OEM dampers ok to keep? Mind you they have 75000 miles in them so are probably gone past their prime, but having said that I do not have any problems with them. I am no boy racer, just want a bit of a "stance" to the car. With so much choice of nice alloys from the VAG stable, it would be rude not to experiment a little

Next thing of course is the remap/chip :yes:

Hi there,

considering going up to 18" wheels and based on photos I have seen of other people doing it, 30-40mm of a "drop" is required to make it look right. Is this a DIY job, how hard is it to do? I have never in my life changed springs and dampers on a car mind you. Do I need a spring compressor, or some other specialist tooling? Will tracking be affected? And finally to maintain xenon level regulation I would need to fit some sort of modification to the sender unit on rear suspension otherwise headlights will get dipped too much. Is this readily available? I know ABT (Germany) sell this as part of the suspension drop kit.

Finally, I really don't like to make a comfort compromise (not a big one anyway), so can someone recommend a kit that does not compromise this too much, and is reliable, and do I go for new dampers too to make the whole system work nice nicely, or are OEM dampers ok to keep? Mind you they have 75000 miles in them so are probably gone past their prime, but having said that I do not have any problems with them. I am no boy racer, just want a bit of a "stance" to the car. With so much choice of nice alloys from the VAG stable, it would be rude not to experiment a little

Next thing of course is the remap/chip :yes:

You be needing to speak to Baker21 or Bluefox about this one.

Done exactly this on mine. Dropped by -30mm and 18'' alloys.

You will need access to spring compressors. There shouldn't be too much effect on the tracking. I didn't have mine re-aligned and it's ok. As for the xenons, not too sure, mine doesn't have them. Can't imagine dropping both the front and back by 30mm would have much of an effect. Don't quote me on that though. After the springs settled in the @rse end of my car does sit slightly higher than the front so perhaps?

I used Eibach Pro springs (around £160 and a good branded make). The ride comfort wasn't compromised much. A little stiffer but not a harsh ride in any way at all. Handling improved slightly but it'll never be sports car - the Superb is a land blimp. If you're lowering by only -30mm the original dampers are ok to use as is. Anything up to 40mm is ok with OEM dampers.

Dependant on which 18'' alloys you're going for and their ET values you may still want some extra width on the wheels so they fill the arches better ... well I did anyhow. I opted for 15mm spacers both at front and rear. The 18'' alloys had more of an effect of the ride than the springs. Low profile tyres do make it so you feel the bumps and road surface more. It's what I'd describe as a firm ride now. Any firmer and it'd be tiring to drive for long periods. Overall pretty happy with the set up I guess. Ideally I wanted 19''/20'' rims and -45mm on the suspension but I need to use my car day in, day out so lowering that much would be impractical for my daily use. This was a happy medium. Like I say I'm happy enough and to me it looks like what Skoda should have done straight from the factory instead of having it look like a tractor.

Long reply but you did kinda ask a few questions there. Baker21 has experience on this too but haven't seen Bluefox around for 6 months or so. Click on my sig below if you want to see my own personal results.

Thanks for the good detailed response allclownsareevi

Like the look of your car btw. Spotted the little spoiler under your front bumper too, nice touch

I don't want to detract too much from the identity of the car, after all it is a bit of a "sleeper" car, but it does need a few modest touches for a tasty look and feel.

Thanks man.

Yeah the front splitter does help combat the chinless wonder look of the front. A lot of cars use that same splitter, a Seat Cupra part. Cheap, easy mod and works well on the Superb. Check out Baker21's car. Very different to mine. Remember to get some pictures of yours posted sometime.

Little bit late to the party on this one but allclownsareevi has answered all your questions I think and his set up will be more relavant to what your looking to achieve.

Previosuly owning a Bora I upgraded to 18's and lowered the car on an Eibach Pro Damper and Spring Kit, this made the ride pretty good but the height was negligable so when I switched to the Superb I was only ever going to run coilovers.......... :yes:

If you choose to fit the Cupra R Splitter then don't get caught out buying one from eBay, they are over priced, visit your local Seat Dealer and it's job done............

Little bit late to the party on this one but allclownsareevi has answered all your questions I think and his set up will be more relavant to what your looking to achieve.

Previosuly owning a Bora I upgraded to 18's and lowered the car on an Eibach Pro Damper and Spring Kit, this made the ride pretty good but the height was negligable so when I switched to the Superb I was only ever going to run coilovers.......... :yes:

If you choose to fit the Cupra R Splitter then don't get caught out buying one from eBay, they are over priced, visit your local Seat Dealer and it's job done............

thanks BAKER21.

Out of interest how much have you lowered your superb? And what have you done with self-levelling? Do you have xenons in your car?

thanks BAKER21.

Out of interest how much have you lowered your superb? And what have you done with self-levelling? Do you have xenons in your car?

The honest answer to that is I don't know, I have completely removed the adjuster block on the rear so it's as low as it will go, the front is wound as far as it will go to the extent that it's still OK to drive, any lower and it's undertray loosing time..................... :yes:

I have retro-fitted OEM Xenon's to mine so no worries there, the suspension is that hard it doesn't move anywhere, the lamps however will self adjust no matter what height your running at so you have nothing to worry about there...............