Just to complete this thread - i'm having some weitec coilovers fitted @ jkm next week. I'll post after these are on with my feedback and before/after comparions with the koni /eibach combo.

I'm taking advantage of JKM's July suspension special offer promo- half price fitting (129 incl vat for fitting and setup).

So.. if anyone's interested my koni's and eibachs are in the classifieds, available from next week.. link below:

Just in case anyone comes across this old thread whilst googling, a quick update:

Quoting a pm from Wardy (Steve) regarding the "softness" issue on the FSD's I had: ".. they've released the 4090 model now, which Dave 'The Skud' has. They've addressed the softness concerns and aimed them more at GTI/vRS use."

So hopefully anyone buying FSD's new now won't see the same issues I had.

n.b. my feedback on the Weitecs I now have is here:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/170090-weitec-gt-coilovers-first-500-miles/

Been looking at coilovers over the last week or so and few sets about the same money. Seen the good reviews on AP's here, but wondering if anyone has V-Maxx or APEX RDX as similar specs.

Also recently seen D2 coilovers appearing about the £630 mark and look top quality (purple in colour). Be interested to see a review on these.

Would the Eibach springs + the Koni 4090 FSD's only result in a 20mm drop though?

@ dainott:

Sorry, no experience of either of those brands you mention, but if it helps, my reasons for buying weitecs are as follows:

- made by KW who have a very good reputation

- they're cheaper than KW's V1/2/3 products which is primarily because those are stainless (and in some cases also adjustable damping) where the weitecs are "only" galvanised. I would not buy coilovers that were not either galvanised or stainless.

- they're stocked and recommended by some suppliers who's opinions I rate (dpm, jkm etc)

- APs (also a KW brand) have had good feedback by several on here for the octavia, and the Weitec is positioned as a brand "between" the AP and KW offerings (Kw at the top, Ap at the bottom in terms of quality and pricing) so my logic was that these would be a good compromise..

I've said it before - with suspension you really do get what you pay for. You've forked out say £20k for a car, so why cut corners on the suspension - go for the best you can even if it means stretching a few hundred quid over the cheapest options.

Would I buy Weitecs again? Probably. Although I'd give serious consideration to the KW street comfort kit however this is almost double the price of the Weitecs..

@ oobster:

Yes, when I had eibachs it dropped the car about 20mm or thereabouts. I'd expect with the updated FSD's the effect would be the same.

HTH.

Would the Eibach springs + the Koni 4090 FSD's only result in a 20mm drop though?

Doubt you'd want to go too much lower-the vRS is lower than other models already. I have Eibachs & it was a disadvantage in the recent snow. Having said that it was so deep most cars were scraping away! Steep driveways & multi storey car parks can be a PITA too.

@rob_e

Hi fella thanks for the excellent reply and sorry i totally forgot about the Weitecs. Totally agree with you on the get what you pay for and will stretch my budget as far as i possible can when it comes to suspension as with tyres the 2 most important things on the car really.

I will keep the Weitecs on my list and just for ref how much are we talking for them? £550ish?

Can't see it being worth the expense for only a 20mm drop.

Can't see it being worth the expense for only a 20mm drop.

You don't need to change the dampers to lower the car-just the springs will do. As posted, a set of Eibachs are about £135 inc. vat, & fitting around £185.

£320 all in is not bad at all.

I will keep the Weitecs on my list and just for ref how much are we talking for them? £550ish?

Yep, that's about right for the kit I think - Damian can probably give you an accurate price (dpm).

From memory I paid £700 all in incl the vat @ JKM last year - that's supply, fit, geo.

Can't see it being worth the expense for only a 20mm drop.

I have some before and after pics with the eibachs on my PH blog - it isn't a massive difference. Whether its "worth it"?! Hey, each to their own. I took mine off..

Doubt you'd want to go too much lower-the vRS is lower than other models already. I have Eibachs & it was a disadvantage in the recent snow. Having said that it was so deep most cars were scraping away! Steep driveways & multi storey car parks can be a PITA too.

I don't have any problems with carparks or driveways at -36mm so I'm surprised at that comment?

Yes it did catch some more of the snow that other cars when driving in the snow /slush "ruts" but that's only happened once in 30k miles and did no damage. If you're really bothered just wind the collars up in the winter and you'd probably have MORE ground clearance than stock.

:p

I have the new 4090 FSD's with the Eibach Prokit, they are a vast improvement over the standard setup, I have had two oct vrs mk1's fitted with several sets of coilovers, whichever brand you go for, GAZ, AP's KW 1 & 2's FK and Weitecs, its a charachteristic of the design in Coilovers that they are harder than the strut and spring design, yes the better coilovers, as Harry VRS put it 'P*SS all over FSD's' but they are not really suitable for everyday use on the road, this might seem as a pretty bold statement but I will qualify it.

The biggest problem with a roadcar setup that is very hard, running coilovers falls into this category, the appaling state of the roads across the uk, including motorways ( anyone been along the A1M through Newcastle / Gateshead lately I would not like to hit those potholes at 70 in a car with Coilovers) I do more miles than average, between 25-30K a year so after a while the harshness of coilovers does really grind you down plus in corner stability is compromised by potholes with a hard setup.

Coilovers, in the main are NOT designed for longevity and the general conditions that are found on the roads......look at how many are made of Zinc Plated carbon steel with lightly anodised spring platforms, they just disintegrate when they go through one of our winters, the spring platforms crack ( FACT) through the process of galvanic corrosion which will leave your car in a dangerous state, particularly if the platform actually falls off, which FK's have been well documented as having done so, I had some FK's I found them too bouncy for my liking but prior to fitting them I had them stripped and ENP Plated with a finish that is rated for salt spray testing of 10000 hours.......i.e north sea offshore spec....the platers I use could not believe that the absolute minimal thickness of zinc that had been applied to the strut bodies was supposed to be to protect from salt......in short it wouldn't!

3.The failures of the FSD units were down to the firmer spring setup on the GOLF GTI and Octy VRS, originally it was one kit fits all from Koni, they have recognised that this was an issue due to said failures and have re-valved and modified the damping characteristics of the New 4090 Kit to suit these vehicles.......

I am not critical of anyone running coilovers, the new FSD's should have been what were offered for the VRS / GTI models from the outset, which is why people, like the OP are now having issues, I have done 10K miles in the last 4 months on the FSD's and so far so good, the car handles brilliantly, is smooth and controlled and a vast improvement over stock and feels as good as my previous experiences with the KW2's but without the bone jarring ride.....I'm betting that the next run out I have with my Brother with his Scirocco TSI with the Active supension will be quite entertaining ........anyway hope the above helps

w

^

reading between the lines there skud I'd say you don't like coilovers?

:p

My weitecs are german, tuv approved and they get some nasty winters over there too.. they also have a 3 year warranty which will cover the whole time i'll have the car. I had the wheels off recently (with about 12k miles on the coilovers) and they looked just like new.

As witih anything in life you get what you pay for and I agree there are some cheap and nasty coilovers out there, but its a bit of a leap to say that because the FK's you had were crap then all coilovers are rubbish?

I also do about 30k miles a year and I think they're great - and remember I only ended up getting coilovers because the (gen-1) FSD's I had before turned out to be a big pile of crap

Nice right up skudmunki and it kind of throws a spanner in the works for me with my decision now.

I have the FSD's/Eibach on my mk1 Leon Cupra and very happy with the setup (if coming to the end of their life now), but dont do anywhere near the mileage you do and always fancied a set of good coilovers for the car.

One big question i do have is that i will be putting a towbar on the octy and will be pulling a trailer (car on it) and possibly even a caravan (dont laugh it aint mine its the old mans but might wanna pinch it for a holiday down gower). Anyone know if the coilovers can handle that sort of weight?

^

reading between the lines there skud I'd say you don't like coilovers?

:p

My weitecs are german, tuv approved and they get some nasty winters over there too.. they also have a 3 year warranty which will cover the whole time i'll have the car. I had the wheels off recently (with about 12k miles on the coilovers) and they looked just like new.

As witih anything in life you get what you pay for and I agree there are some cheap and nasty coilovers out there, but its a bit of a leap to say that because the FK's you had were crap then all coilovers are rubbish?

I also do about 30k miles a year and I think they're great - and remember I only ended up getting coilovers because the (gen-1) FSD's I had before turned out to be a big pile of crap

Quite the opposite, I loved the KW's and because they were great quality I also had b & G coilovers with Lesjofors springs, they were awesome but corroded, its the roads that are crap and getting worse, FK's are not cheap, its the quality of the materials that a lot of the Coilovers including FK's are made from, Zinc plated carbon steel is not resistant to corrosion, I work in engineering dealing heavily with corrosion resistant materials and Zinc plating is not even close, minimum of ENP should be considered by manufacturers of Coilovers....but it adds to the cost ...so they dont!

With all the cuts that are being forced on local government the roads are set to get a whole lot worse.......FSD's all the way for me now, if the roads were smooth like they are on the continent....coilovers would be my preference without a doubt!!

The previous FSD's were not suitable for The vrs / GTI, Koni made a bad call in listing them as being suitable, but they have sorted that out now......hopefully