Hi, 

 

On my 2004 estate, the rear has always been bouncy and any weight gets the rear end sinking. Towing can be fun on any uneven tracks as it can catch the underneath of the car and even driving off my drive, it can sometimes catch the pavement on the lower part of the town hitch.

 

I've always thought that springs controlled the ride height and shocks took the bumps in the road, but I'm wondering if I have that wrong. I changed the springs (just some cheap ones off Ebay) but the bounce was exactly the same. So would that point to worn shocks or should I look at better springs?

 

Cheers

 

Vijay

@Vijay2018 - You're basically correct, but the dampers control the movement on bumps as well.

 

That said, it you're towing regularly I would suggest:-

1. Make sure the trailer nose weight is correct.
2. Heavy duty springs,
3. Heavy duty dampers.
4. Watch the rear end when running light; you will make the car a little more tail happy by doing these mods.

I only tow a handful of times a year and it's just my trailer. I'd prefer to keep things standard as I mostly do normal motorway driving.

 

Any idea how much impact shocks have on normal sitting height of the car?

On 19/08/2019 at 13:50, Vijay2018 said:

how much impact shocks have on normal sitting height of the car

None.

 

They will control how much the suspension moves though, so if we're talking a baggage trailer or a motorbike trailer type thing, I'd say new dampers, but buy a name make such as Koni or Monroe, not some no brand Fleabay specials.

forgetting the trailer, the car is still so bouncy at he rear. It sinks even if you sit on the boot edge and I'm 12st.  I would more than likely go with Monroe as they've always been fine on other cars I've had

Were the springs the correctly rated ones for a mk1 estate, or possibly (like a lot of ebay ones) actually for a mk4 golf platform "compatible" model...

They were listed for the estate https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123392404348

That came through OK, but my regular supplier uses registration and, if needed, VIN.