I've just found out the rear springs on my Golf Gti 8v need replacing. The only problem is that some genius decided to actually weld the 30mm dropped shocks to the car when they took out the original suspension back in the 90s. This means they need to be cut off the car. I don't know what the lowered shocks are (no labels or stickers, though they are bright yellow, so maybe Koni?) and I can't just replace the rear and not the front as I don't know if it had new dampers at the same time. Not been dubbing for that long and would appreciate some advice on what might be best solution. Replace the rear with lowered shocks and take it from there? Chuck on standards all round? Cash is, as ever, a bit short so a relatively cheap, relatively simple solution would be best. Thoughts guys? Cheers.
Welded. Whoever done that has something wrong with them. Get them cut out and put a set of lowered springs and uprated shocks. As your on a tight budget, these seem to be good value for money - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Suspension-Lo...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4cf017d70c Try and upload some pictures of the welded suspension if you can to.
Get some OEM type stuff and enjoy. Boge (sp?)/Koni/Spax have all been good on the cars I've driven. Don't think it's too pricey either.
Cheers for the responses guys. I reckon I'll sort of take the middle road - replace them all round and go for a -30mm set-up. The OEM are apparently quite pricey, plus I want to keep some drop. The eBay items suggested by RichardMk2 look a bit 'slam' for me as my 8v is pretty standard other than the sus and exhaust. They're non adjustable aren't they? The Spax are around 350-400. What do you guys think of these? http://tinyurl.com/38zx5by (I know they're budget, but has any one heard any pos or neg feedback?) Cheers again, D
Sounds like they may have welded the springs to the spring seats to stop them being lose on the shocks when the car is jacked up. MOT fail if the springs are not properly located. The best plan is what has been suggested already, ie fit some reasonable shocks and springs and it will be fine. Make sure the bump stop and dirt guards on the shocks are ok, as they will protect the new shock's piston rods from corrosion and premature failure.
