In need of Wheel / Tire advice

[obsidian6]

Hey guys,

Like so many of us, I was repulsed by the stock height of my GTI when I purchased it, I had the car lowered not too long into my ownership with an H&R Sport Cup-Kit and at the time I had the 17" Classix w/ stock Contis, I eventually traded wheels with someone and picked up the Hufs w/ stock Dunlops. I was reasonably happy with how the car rode, handled, and looked with this setup. As fate would have it, I hit one monstrous pothole while driving back from Las Vegas and it basically ruined the tires on my Hufs.

I wound up purchasing a set of Flik FTDs and selling off the hufs, which obviously put me back to a 17" wheel again. However, these are wider than either the Classix or the Hufs, and I definitely liked the way the car handled.

Unfortunately, for me, the car is just too low for me now. It actually prevents me from getting to some places lol!


So after all that, I want to ask for some advice / help. I don't necessarily want to put my suspension back to stock, but if I have to then so-be-it. I really like the FTDs on my car, but if youve looked in the classifieds any time recently you will have noticed I have them listed for trade. I figured that was my best option to just put hufs back onto the car.

My issue is simple (I think) with the H&R cup kit, and flik FTDs I do not have enough ground clearance and my car bottoms out on basically anything/everything. I don't know enough about Wheels/Tires/Suspension to really know exactly what is causing this, but it's either causing my front end to scrape or the tires are rubbing the inside of the wheel-well which is probably not good.

Can any of you gurus offer advice? What can I do to get a bit more clearance?

(Sorry for my long-winded post!)

 

[obsidian6]

No opinions or advice? Pretty please? If you're local I'll buy you a beer!

 

[RSMark5]

honestly, its probably the way you drive, not the ground clerance.

 

[nate122]

what tires are you running? aren't cup kits only lowering your car about 2 inches max? just like the previous post you gotta learn to side over everything. I mean EVERYTHING.. and basically stare at the ground looking for potholes and bumps.... natural habit you'll learn eventually.

 

[Janio]

its wrong obsidian6, to want to lower your vehicle and still you post tha you know little if at all about it. I would ask how deep the pool is before I dive in. How did you end up jackin your ride low and failing to pick up the drawbacks that comes with it.? its irresponsible imo. knowing you spent a lot on your ride, let alone the kit bag.

The basics of lowering suspension and what have you has a lot of bearing on your ride. Yes, you get the coolest look and more importantly, lower your CG's to produce cutting edge speeds when you need it. the other crucial thing about kits (particularly aftermarket installations) is that your ride posture is totally restructured and what this means is, the new suspension applies more pressure on your 4 wheel links than it would have (in central load distribution with regular factory suspension) where the whole vehicle weight is evenly distributed between the tires and vehicle body.

You mentioned demage on your tires/wheels, imo things could be a lot worse and I would advise for a thorough scan of the underbody and complete inspection of the kit on your vehicle for potential reverberation effects. You need to carry this check out at once, inorder to avoid hefty multiple repair bills. like you pointed out about returning to your stock suspension, this would depend on the severity of demage evaluated and whether or not you are willing to foot the bill for it. I would suggest you fix up whatever you need and trade your ride in for a regular vehicle.

Personally, I'm not in favor of aftermarket suspension on a regular day-to-day driving. Yes, If I own a truck as an additional vehicle, that should not be a problem.
The thing is, lowered vehicles have annoying restrictions on load and sensitive maintenance of the under carriage. There is a lot of technical drawbacks than benefits as far as aftermarket suspension modification is concerned.
Good Luck.

 

[mlowmk5]

Wow Janio, that was a passionate response...

Obsidian6, I would suggest some coil overs. The cup kits are not height adjustable but it seems like you enjoy the performance for a lowered car. Most coils have a minimum lowering of 1 inch or so and can be adjusted down to the height you are happy with.

Also, if you hit a monstrous pot hole there is a good chance even with a stock suspension your tire would have been damaged.

 

[kidthunder]

just take ramps and speed bumbs on angles dont go nose first into a ramp