AUTODOC currently offers 2 spring options and I’ve seen a lot of people talk about the Eibachs but nothing on the H&R. So I was wondering if there was anybody in the community that have the H&R springs fitted? And which ones are better?

2 hours ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

AUTODOC currently offers 2 spring options and I’ve seen a lot of people talk about the Eibachs but nothing on the H&R. So I was wondering if there was anybody in the community that have the H&R springs fitted? And which ones are better?

 

Eibachs are progressive, so they're more comfortable for normal street driving, but sacrifice a little of the inital turn-in.

H&R are linear, so they give better initial turn-in and a very consistent feel, but they do sacrifice on comfort for daily driving.

 

Both will work with stock shocks but may feel under-dampened at higher speeds. Best when paired with uprated shocks such as the Bilstein B8's.

12 hours ago, FabiaGonzales said:

 

Eibachs are progressive, so they're more comfortable for normal street driving, but sacrifice a little of the inital turn-in.

H&R are linear, so they give better initial turn-in and a very consistent feel, but they do sacrifice on comfort for daily driving.

 

Both will work with stock shocks but may feel under-dampened at higher speeds. Best when paired with uprated shocks such as the Bilstein B8's.

Are the Eibachs lower or are they roughly the same? And does initial turn-in matter a lot for normal daily driving?

4 minutes ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

Are the Eibachs lower or are they roughly the same? And does initial turn-in matter a lot for normal daily driving?

For normal driving no, turn in isn't too important. And they're roughly the same in terms of lowering, eibachs appear to be lower, but we'd need a side by side comparison to confirm.

 

Powerflex large wishbone bushes really help the turn in though. Steering is way more accurate and the response is so much better. Also improved tyre wear characteristics. Before i polybushed i was getting through tyres roughly every 20k miles (even with an alignment), after the bushes were installed i did 20k miles and my tyres still had 4-5mm tread left before i swapped to 17 inch rims.

 

When you lower it, get powerflex large wishbone bushes installed at the same time, you won't regret it, it's a huge difference.

17 minutes ago, FabiaGonzales said:

For normal driving no, turn in isn't too important. And they're roughly the same in terms of lowering, eibachs appear to be lower, but we'd need a side by side comparison to confirm.

 

Powerflex large wishbone bushes really help the turn in though. Steering is way more accurate and the response is so much better. Also improved tyre wear characteristics. Before i polybushed i was getting through tyres roughly every 20k miles (even with an alignment), after the bushes were installed i did 20k miles and my tyres still had 4-5mm tread left before i swapped to 17 inch rims.

 

When you lower it, get powerflex large wishbone bushes installed at the same time, you won't regret it, it's a huge difference.

Just ordered the Eibachs  can you link the bushes please? 

26 minutes ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

Just ordered the Eibachs  can you link the bushes please? 

 

Here's the part number, i'll let you find where's cheapest/best to order from;

 

PFF85-1202

3 hours ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

Just ordered the Eibachs  can you link the bushes please? 

 

Something arrived today!

 

2 minutes ago, FabiaGonzales said:

 

Something arrived today!

 

That’s great! Looking forward to hearing your first impressions

Got the eibach fitted on mine, the ones for dsg version. 

 

I'm loving it, a lot, became safer on corner.

 

Its became  a lot more stiffer, but thats normal.

 

 

17 minutes ago, RitxPT said:

Got the eibach fitted on mine, the ones for dsg version. 

 

I'm loving it, a lot, became safer on corner.

 

Its became  a lot more stiffer, but thats normal.

 

 

I’ve gone with the Eibachs cause even though the H&R looks nicer with the whole purple thing they’ve got going on, the Eibachs do seem to be lower for some reason 

14 minutes ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

I’ve gone with the Eibachs cause even though the H&R looks nicer with the whole purple thing they’ve got going on, the Eibachs do seem to be lower for some reason 

 

The Eibachs settle a little after initial installation, the H&R don't, presumably because of difference in spring types and spring rates.

 

I was expecting to receive red eibach springs, but as it turns out, they're black. More stealthy, then again, bright yellow Bilstein B8 shocks will ruin that look...  

2 minutes ago, FabiaGonzales said:

 

The Eibachs settle a little after initial installation, the H&R don't, presumably because of difference in spring types and spring rates.

 

I was expecting to receive red eibach springs, but as it turns out, they're black. More stealthy, then again, bright yellow Bilstein B8 shocks will ruin that look...  

Red Eibachs are the Sportline versions, the higher end PRO-KIT is subtle plain black for some strange reason. Did you install them already?

Its very easy to install, i take 3 hours install them but need to stop a few Times for a beer with my helper.

 

On bumpy roads i started to ear some metal noises coming from the back, does anyone feel the same?

3 minutes ago, RitxPT said:

Its very easy to install, i take 3 hours install them but need to stop a few Times for a beer with my helper.

 

On bumpy roads i started to ear some metal noises coming from the back, does anyone feel the same?

Poooossibly the springs becoming unloaded, shorter shocks fix that, like the Bilstein B8's.

3 minutes ago, RitxPT said:

Its very easy to install, i take 3 hours install them but need to stop a few Times for a beer with my helper.

 

On bumpy roads i started to ear some metal noises coming from the back, does anyone feel the same?

Do you need any special tools or bits or are they just normal bolts and nuts everywhere?

11 minutes ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

Red Eibachs are the Sportline versions, the higher end PRO-KIT is subtle plain black for some strange reason. Did you install them already?

Not got them installed yet, i don't have any tools with me in sheffield. I'm not aware of any garages open (though i do classify as a key worker, i hardly imagine lowering springs being important enough).

5 minutes ago, FabiaGonzales said:

Not got them installed yet, i don't have any tools with me in sheffield. I'm not aware of any garages open (though i do classify as a key worker, i hardly imagine lowering springs being important enough).

I’m just hoping I can get it done with an impact gun, wrenches and a torque wrench

1 hour ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

Do you need any special tools or bits or are they just normal bolts and nuts everywhere?

Nop, the only special tool needed is a spring compressor. 

 

The only that gave a hard work was the front suspension, it was so tigh on bottom bracket.

 

 

1 hour ago, FabiaGonzales said:

Poooossibly the springs becoming unloaded, shorter shocks fix that, like the Bilstein B8's.

 

Do you have it? Are they good?

 

I know its a very good brand, but never used it 

24 minutes ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

I’m just hoping I can get it done with an impact gun, wrenches and a torque wrench

You'll want some spring compressors too. For the fronts at least.

 

For the rears, take the bottom bolt out of both shocks at the same time and let the whole axle pivot down, might need an extra push down to get the clearance to swap the springs out, but they're quite easy.

 

13 minutes ago, RitxPT said:

Nop, the only special tool needed is a spring compressor. 

 

The only that gave a hard work was the front suspension, it was so tigh on bottom bracket.

 

 

A pry bar or a large flathead screwdriver to pry the thing open a little helps a long way.

Yes, thats how they got out, but the bitches were difficult 

1 hour ago, RitxPT said:

 

Do you have it? Are they good?

 

I know its a very good brand, but never used it 

Bilstein does a B12 kit for other models, which contains their B8 shocks and Eibach Pro-Kit / Sportline springs, they're meant to go together.

Been in a friends Fabia mk2 with eibach pro kit and b8's, it feels nice and firm and planted but not crashy and not floaty even at high speeds, cornered very nice too. Didn't have the opportunity to drive it myself though, but it felt nice to be a passenger in. The MK3 isn't much different.

 

I'm not sure if i've just had crap tyres on previously or what but going from a set of 16's with Avon ZV7's (which i was very impressed with coming from Davanti DX390's), to a set of 17's with Dunlop Sport Maxx's it corners like a beast at low speeds, when i last escaped my flat to go shopping i might have gone for a rather spirited city drive, drifting, or at least attempting to drift, round every corner possible, but damn these tyres are sticky! I'd not hesistate to say it's probably just as sticky at high speeds.

 

My next tyres will be Michelin Pilot Sport 4 though. This car's getting really fun to drive! Corners what were hairy at 60mph in the dry are now doable at 75 in the wet. Slowly trying to improve the car whilst also rebuilding stuff that needs work anyway (my shocks are about gone)

I work with tyres.

 

I dont link Avon or Davanti, Dunlop Sport Maxx have a very nice grip, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 i guess it have too, but never tested it.

 

I like a lot of Continental, but maybe Dunlop has more grip on corner

I still have the original Dunlop Sport Maxx’s that came with the car off the showroom 2 years ago and with 45k+ km, probably not a good idea to have them for so long but they still have a lot of tread and still very grippy. 

Just now, RitxPT said:

I work with tyres.

 

I dont link Avon or Davanti, Dunlop Sport Maxx have a very nice grip, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 i guess it have too, but never tested it.

 

I like a lot of Continental, but maybe Dunlop has more grip on corner

 

The Davanti's were pretty awful in terms of cornering, but straight line grip was great until it came to braking, you could brake hard but one wheel would suddenly just break traction and that was it, hold the pedal and pray it stops in time, or back off the brakes and hope it grips again?

The Avons cornered much better but did seem to be down on straight line grip when accelerating but were far better when braking, you could feel when they were about to lock up and could back off a little.

Seems the Avons need a bit of load to grip properly, they were very comfortable to drive on though. Slamming on the brakes with these would shove you into the dash/windscreen initially, but as the load shifted back from the initial lunge, you'd have to back off else they'd lock.

 

The Dunlop Sport Maxx though I can barely get it to understeer even when trying really hard to, and the steering response is very sharp. They stick well under acceleration and they brake damn well, it's possible to balance the brakes on the edge of traction, where with the Davanti's, as soon as they broke traction, you were in a squirmy ABS-y mess.

The main downside is they're noisy, especially at low speeds, and you definitely feel the road surfaces if they're poor!

The Pilot Sport 4 should be a little quieter and even stickier. I'll update in a year or so when i get through the remaining 6mm tread that's on these tyres (got them 2nd hand with the wheels).

 

5 minutes ago, Jeremy_Peeters said:

I still have the original Dunlop Sport Maxx’s that came with the car off the showroom 2 years ago and with 45k+ km, probably not a good idea to have them for so long but they still have a lot of tread and still very grippy. 

 

I believe the Sport Maxx's on my wheels are the original from factory, the date on them is 3014, so they're getting on towards 6 years old, no signs of cracking, and still gripping incredibly well, 6mm front 7mm rear.

 

Side note, anyone want my old 16 inch wheels with 5mm+ Avons? Damn things are cluttering up my kitchen! They need a touch-up or refurb though. Not looking for much. Potholes really did a number on them 😞