Hi folks, I've done quite a research on here and the intrawebs in general, and didn't come to a definite conclusion. As I understand springs are identified by the colored dots, with certain color combo for each individual model. I have front shocks & struts laying around from my GTI donor (1991, 16v KR, AC, PAS, 3-door, sunroof). The spring has 1 orange and 3 gray (or white?) dots on it. I looked them up in ETKA, and it states that these springs are off a Jetta. What I'm trying to understand is whether these are the correct springs for this GTI. What I found on free online ETKA: 191411105AA Spring 3 paint marks 1 paint mark gray orange "J ..": JETTA I continued reading through all the different springs in ETKA, and found these, that seem to be more appropriate: 191411105P Spring for vehicles with air condit. 2 paint marks 1 paint mark white orange 2 JETTA Manual transmission KR JR, MF, RA, SB After more browsing I found springs listed for "Vehicles with sports suspension", and I got even more confused. Is there a way to find out what colors translate to what spring rate? Ring my VW dealer perhaps? Will these springs be ok for a 3-door, ABF swap, AC, PAS, Sunroof car? I assume the ABF is a tad heavier than the KR, should I look for some G60 springs instead to compensate for the extra weight? I know that lowered aftermarket Eibach or H&R springs are the best option, but for now I want to keep the car on stock GTI suspension, and look into uprated springs & shocks in the future. I hope my gibberish is not too confusing lol Cheers!
VW don't give out their rates. The paint marks are the only identifiers. The spring would have to be tested in a machine to work it out. Bearing in mind the spring is part-compressed with the car on it, that static point would need to be known, from which to compress further. OEM springs tend to be progressive, adding further complication to the mix.
