vRS Estate lowered and ARB fitted

[VRsCation]

Well here are some photos of my car with the before and after look of it having the coilover suspension fitted.

Also I will update soon with a little report of how it is driving.

Before:

During:

After:

Initial sensations from driving the car are that it feels a lot lighter and more nimble, the turn in is so much faster that it almost feels nervous!

The car is pretty much rock steady when braking and accelerating and only a sharp fast turn takes it from been dead flat and pushes the body over.

I have only really had a short blast in the wet the other night and the roads were way to slippery to push it through any corners, the extra stiffness make the car feel a bit twitchy in fact!

I need to do a few more miles as well as have the wheel alignment checked once I have let the springs settle in a bit... then I can give a proper test of the new set up.

Has anyone else had such an upgrade done to their car yet? It would be good to know their experiences.

Edited 7 October, 2011 by VRsCation

[H17YD_L]

Spot on mate! Looks fantastic! What sort of drop have u decided on is that about 40mm?

I've had a price on fitting some springs and he said £100 because he has to use his computer afterwards to tell the car it's been lowered or it will f*** it up?? I've never heard of anything like it, I take it the coilovers were just fitted an no computer adjustment made?

[VRsCation]

Spot on mate! Looks fantastic! What sort of drop have u decided on is that about 40mm?

It is about 40mm there abouts, I think I am going to lift it a touch at the rear and drop it a bit more at the front though!

I've had a price on fitting some springs and he said £100 because he has to use his computer afterwards to tell the car it's been lowered or it will f*** it up?? I've never heard of anything like it, I take it the coilovers were just fitted an no computer adjustment made?

Your right, the new parts have gone on and no computers have been plugged in to tell the car anything, I was half expecting a flash of some warning lights such as the ESP as it calibrated to the new balance but that didnt even happen!

[nockmeister]

BRILLIANT!! That's one sexy looking vRS, well done!! Can't wait to hear your review of a dry drive, RARB set to medium? Personally I'd just drop the front a bit more

[Wibb]

looks fantastic, wouldnt mind looking into doing this to mine too- but fear the insurance will be prohibitive :(

[fabianoh5n1]

a bit to low in the rear imho

[VRsCation]

The car is dropped equal front and rear! It highlights how much more gap there is on the front arches.

I think I will get the jack under the car this weekend and alter the rear height back up by 10mm, it may help reduce the slight twitchiness too.

The ARB is set in medium for now, I thought that was the best place to start.

Wibb, if you got your car done too then we will continue to look like twins!

[Reavenger]

Very nice mate Think you're right about the rear. Up by 10mm and maybe drop the front by 5mm.

How much did they charge for fitting? You're the first person I know who's lowered their estate so you're part of an exclusive club for now :yes:

Bet cornering is improved hugely, especially as it's an estate.

[Sonner]

I can't see why the estate would handle any worse than the hatch, it's got better corner weights and is 5kg lighter is if anything it should be better

Edited 7 October, 2011 by Sonner

[VRsCation]

£90 fitting which was about 5 hours work all in too, I have a very good relationship with the garage mind!

I imagine the estate is more aerodynamic compared to the hatch but handling should be fairly equal what with wheelbase and suspension having identical setups.

I can't wait for the power mods now as I like to have something new to look forward to.

[32KOFDATA]

I imagine the estate is more aerodynamic compared to the hatch

A test I saw on vid shows that the estate is faster than the hatch due to aerodynamics.

[nockmeister]

Could the twichyness be more the firmness of the RARB than the ride height, albeit lower at the back..Could you do a test of a softer RARB?

I imagine the estate is more aerodynamic compared to the hatch but handling should be fairly equal what with wheelbase and suspension having identical setups.

Wheelbase is the same, but we have a 200mm overhang, that must have an effect on handling.

[Furbytom]

Any impression yet on how much firmer the ride is?

[newbie69]

Damn, I can't make up my mind on this and other modifications generally speaking. One day I'm all over technical sites and threads about coilovers, remaps, brakes etc. and the next one, having just completed a nice, quick trip I ask myself, isn't the car excellent the way it is already?

I know what you'll say, everybody has different needs etc. but when and how often will somebody that uses the car on a daily basis (most of us I guess) and does not do track days have the chance to trully exploit the benefits of an improved suspension, handling, performance and at what point does he have to push the car in order to achieve this?

Maybe there is not an answer to this, and maybe it takes a few years to get bored with the vehicle's behaviour and start changing things as a way to re-fall in love with it as the first period you got it, or maybe it's just that it is Friday and I am being sceptic...

[Tom_vRS]

Looks great, although I do think I'd personally have the back a touch higher.

It only needs "plugging in to a computer" if the car has xenons.

[the mad monk]

the rarb looks the biz, im very tempted with one of those

made a big diff to the mkI

[P1TT8ULL]

I'd remove that pic and cover up your number plate dude!! Looks good though.

[Leon-y-k]

That's lush mate! As others have said needs a little higher at the back to give it a moving stance :-)

[VRsCation]

I'd remove that pic and cover up your number plate dude!! Looks good though.

Hi Pitbull, which pic to remove?

And yea I need to edit the photos.

[duffman502]

Hi looking good +1 for raising the back though.

Ive done the same mods to mine only there weitec not kw.

I would get the car corner weighted as well as tracked as i let the springs settle first and the got it corner weighted and its so much more comfortable and grips even harder.

Enjoy the car man

[VRsCation]

Hi looking good +1 for raising the back though.

Ive done the same mods to mine only there weitec not kw.

I would get the car corner weighted as well as tracked as i let the springs settle first and the got it corner weighted and its so much more comfortable and grips even harder.

Enjoy the car man

Where did you get the weighting done? was it expensive and what was involved?

[Didescharlie]

Hats off to you mate, but i'm not keen. I like an estate to look a little higher at the back too, this looks a bit saggy.

[duffman502]

Where did you get the weighting done? was it expensive and what was involved?

Hi a mate of mine works at vw racing and does corner weighting on the side it cost me £60.

basically we put a scale under each wheel and made sure everything was flat and level, then adjusted the heights till the weights matched within reason. then had it aligned and checked the weights again.

It didnt take long and the gaps in the arches are all nice and equal as mine was sitting a bit low at the back as well

[VRsCation]

I think I shall be looking into that, I very much doubt a standard car comes out the factory perfectly balanced!

[P1TT8ULL]

Its gone now but was a head on with the number plate showing.