H&R Springs - A Quick Review

[NotSoSimple]

Hey,

 

I had a set of H&R Springs installed on my Mk3 vRS TSI last week. These ones - '28833-2'

 

Ordered from www.dm-cartuning.de for 179.90 Euros with shipping to the UK. (chuffed with that price) They were delivered within 4 days.

 

The car now sits at a perfect height - probably what i would consider the 'correct' height as it should have come out of the factory (unrealistic i know). It is quite low but not 'chavvy' (IMHO)

 

With the stock springs, I really hated the weight transfer front to rear under hard acceleration or braking and it did wallow slightly from side to side (think hard accel for quick overtake and pull out), which was frustrating for the 'sport' model of the car. You really notice the rearward weight transfer when the car is loaded with lots of baggage etc and having just done a 1800 mile round trip to Sweden via Germanys autobahns it did bother me. (Reached 142mph GPS indicated speed, fully loaded before having to slow for traffic - there was a bit more left in the rev range but not much)

 

The H&R springs have really firmed up the suspension and there is very little front rear weight transfer under hard acceleration or braking, which is really pleasing. It certainly feels more responsive and corners much flatter. I could describe the ride as being more 'settled' though certainly harder.

 

Downsides:

 

- Parking, high curbs can now easily clip the lower front bumper.

- Speed Bumps, must be taken very slowly for passenger comfort and to prevent the mudflaps from scraping

- Camping, gonna be slightly scary trying to drive into camping fields in the future!

 

Anyway, just wanted to share my experience for those interested in some lowered springs...

 

[Moley RUFC]

Good to hear. Have you fitted or will you be fitting spacers?

Edit : And pictures!!!

Edited 8 September, 2014 by Moley RUFC

[NotSoSimple]

No spacers - I'm not sure on these at the moment.

 

Pics to follow - though i don't have any 'before' shots!

 

 

Edited 8 September, 2014 by NotSoSimple

[Moley RUFC]

Wow, looks fantastic. They seem to drop the vRS a bit lower than Eibachs?

[Genoa1893]

From your description and images it really seems a very worthwhile addon!

 

Thanks for sharing,

Edited 8 September, 2014 by Genoa1893

[GavtheGat]

They look great, car sits very nicely with no unsightly oversized gap between the wheels and arch.

[kitset]

Thanks for your thoughts, it's something I'm considering. It looks much better than stock (IMO obviously). Have you had a full load in the car with the new springs? I'm a little worried about loading the car up for a long holiday road trip with shorter springs. I have visions of fully compressed springs (and vertebrae...) for hours on end and the car bouncing off the bump stops!

[airscool]

I have had a very similar experience puting H&R lowering springs on my Elegance. I was very unhappy with the ride height visually and the general handling performance, even with a 1.6 TDi up front.

The downsides pretty much match up with NotSoSimple but that would go for any car running 'sports suspension'. We recently completed a 2500 mile road trip to Denmark and back from Leeds, loaded up with two bikes, luggage and camping equipment and didn't have any problems with the ride height sinking any lower.

I find I can now drive the car pretty hard into corners with no understeer or drift. This is obviously helped along by upgrading the 17" Teron to the 18" Turini. I also bought my springs from a German company on eBay for a similar price. Please note non VRS models use the part number 28833-1.

 

Just to add. The car has not bottomed out once and doesn't feel like it ever will. The ride is stiffer, but using the same depth of suspension if that makes sense? I also haven't used any spacers, as the Turini alloy is specifically designed for the Octavia with the correct offset in the wheel. You could, if you wanted a wider stance, easily use some.

Here's a few before and afters:
 

 

[samuir1974]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and a decent review on the H&R springs.

 

Very much appreciated and will be useful for many on here... 

[stefano1]

v useful - thanks...I've just got some of these H&R springs and have been faffing...this has helped remotivate me :clap:

[kopparberg]

I carnt read german but that's a great price for them springs, is there a way of making it english?

[airscool]

I carnt read german but that's a great price for them springs, is there a way of making it english?

 

https://translate.google.com/#de/en/

 

Copy and paste the website address into the above link.

[kopparberg]

Thx airscool.

[Genoa1893]

Just asked www.dm-cartuning.de to list 28833-3 for 4x4... let's see their offer...

[stefano1]

Finally fitted my H&R springs today. Pleased with the look and Initial impression is def stiffer as you'd expect but as above flatter and felt more 'sporty'...not unpleasant imo. Not fully tested yet but deliberately aimed for some pot holes and the judder felt ok. Real test will the lovely wife who will use for the rest of the week so will see if they stay!

Before

After...standard wheels, no spacers.....

[kitset]

Excellent Stefano, it looks great. Much much better. Looking forward to the write up of the "wife test".

I had to sell an STi forester I had (partly) due to the harsh ride the coilovers gave the car, so I'm a little gun shy on new springs for the Octy!

[ChrisRs]

The cars look great guys

I did the same with a 30mm drop on standard Sachs shocks

You will find that after a while, (it took around 12 months on mine) that the stock shock absorbers will not cope with the shorter spring

The way to solve this will be to fit a slightly shorter and sportier damper (Bilstein B8 is a perfect partner)..... ..the ride will improve further and the bounciness under load will disappear

[Widzia]

Guys, your's lowered Octavias look perfect, but what is your dealer position about manufacturer's warranty? Cause my dealer said big NO...

Thanks.

Edited 28 October, 2014 by Widzia

[stefano1]

The cars look great guys

I did the same with a 30mm drop on standard Sachs shocks

You will find that after a while, (it took around 12 months on mine) that the stock shock absorbers will not cope with the shorter spring

The way to solve this will be to fit a slightly shorter and sportier damper (Bilstein B8 is a perfect partner)..... ..the ride will improve further and the bounciness under load will disappear

Wow that's fast for the shocks to go! I thought I had a good few years but it will be a good excuse to upgrade again!

[ChrisRs]

They havent 'gone' as such

The ride is just not as good as it was

[stefano1]

Guys, your's lowered Octavias look perfect, but what is your dealer position about manufacturer's warranty? Cause my dealer said big NO...

Thanks.

Related parts warranty is voided usually...shocks and strut arms as far as I understand from other threads eg Nookiebear. Not ideal but hopefully manageable and as above, an excuse to upgrade more....

[stefano1]

They havent 'gone' as such

The ride is just not as good as it was

Interesting I will bear that in mind thanks

[Genoa1893]

The cars look great guys

I did the same with a 30mm drop on standard Sachs shocks

You will find that after a while, (it took around 12 months on mine) that the stock shock absorbers will not cope with the shorter spring

The way to solve this will be to fit a slightly shorter and sportier damper (Bilstein B8 is a perfect partner)..... ..the ride will improve further and the bounciness under load will disappear

 

Hi Chris,

sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but it seems I couldn't find the B8 model for 5e5.

 

Can you help?

 

TIA

[farokinha]

We want more pictures  :clap:

[Nookiebear]

Edited 3 February, 2015 by Nookiebear