nikhsub11
Banned
- Location
- United States
Nothing like an install day with an e-Golf, Phaeton and an OG R32 
And the bad boys to be installed - they kind of look like candy.
Let me start by saying the stock suspension on the R is VERY good - as good as any stock suspension that I have ever had. With that said, in my book there is always room for improvement. For me, comfort mode was almost unusable - the car felt like a bouncy house and felt super unstable to me at speed. I do like having this soft mode though so it is a bit of a catch 22. To my eye the car also needs a slight drop. And I mean a slight drop. This is exactly what the VWR springs provide - just about an inch of a drop, maybe a tad bit less than that. As you can see by the comparison picture the springs are actually just about the same height when sitting side by side. The way the VWR attains the drop is by having 2 coils super close together, this reminds me of my old muscle car days when we would 'torch' the springs to get a drop.
The instal is pretty straight forward - my good buddy Chris Mora (aka QBNR32) happens to be an awesome tech and also an awesome services advisor at Galpin VW so if you are in LA there is NO EXCUSE not to go see him. He will seriously take care of you and they are SUPER mod friendly. Anyway, the rears are a bit different than say the MK6 or MK5. On the MK7 the shock and the sway bar end links are attached to the lower control arm so you have to undo 3 bolts to release the arm instead of just 1 on the previous model.
And then installed:
Now once the rears are all buttoned up it is time to move on to the fronts!
Let me preface this with some threads that I have seen in the MK7 forum regarding where to place jack stands under the MK7 Golf. For the rear, you can jack up the car from the FRONT PINCH WELDS high enough to put a jack stand UNDER the rear pinch weld. Done with the rear. For the front, I always take the wheel off before placing the front jack stand, it just makes life easier. The MK7 subframe is a great place to put the stand, I literally had the stand right where the big bolt is with the arrow pointing toward it. I like this spot because the subframe is indented there and it makes a nice spot for the jack stand.
Now that your car is on all 4 jack stands you are good to go - now on to the fronts!
The fronts are a bit of a bitch, no 2 ways about it. Most videos or how to's I have seen on the MK7 and removing the stock front strut assembly involves removing the 6 triple square bolts that hold the axle to the trans - as an FYI this is NOT how the VW mechanic book says to do this. It says to PULL THE AXLE bolt. It is much easier and takes less time than fiddling with those 6 bolts. I have also seen a dude suggest you can use a 2x4 piece of wood and wedge it into the base that holds the spring and jack that up but I feel that is too risky. The red arrow designates the one of the 6 inner axle bolts, the green the outer single axle bolt.
Now that the axle is out you can drop the knuckle from the strut - use a spreader or a 1/4" ratchet. You need to undo and remove the 3 bolts that hold the ball joint to the end of the lower control arm as well. The last thing to do if you have someone helping you is remove the 3 bolts from the strut tower. Your strut assembly will now be out and you can remove the nut from the top of the bearing.
As another FYI with the R YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE SPRING COMPRESSORS AT ALL. Not to remove the stock springs and not to reinstall either VWR or any other springs for that matter.
The top of the strut housing has a notch in it - this notch must FACE INWARD! So the notch on the passenger side will face the driver side and vice versa! This is VERY important as it is sloped and only designed to go this way. Here is is marked in green.
Once you get the new spring on the assembly you are ready to reinstall the struts!
Again the fronts can be a PITA and it is far easier with 2 people, it can be done alone but it is just MUCH more difficult. I let Chris to most of the work on the fronts since he is a master tech I did the rears with his supervision. The car now sits perfectly IMO, not too low but just right. I am going in for an alignment on Saturday, I figure I'll let the car settle for a couple of days then get it done. I've only driven maybe 20 miles so far but the car feels much more sturdy with the VWR springs. I would say that the stiffness is about 50% or so - what I mean is that comfort mode now is definitely more stiff than it was stock - I would say it is half way between comfort and normal. Normal is also more stiff but not in a bad way, the car is still composed and compliant. Race now is VERY stiff... I would only use this when driving on glass or at the track as it is pretty jarring. Now this may settle in a bit and I will get used to the new stiffness for sure. Like I said earlier stock comfort to me felt downright dangerous to me, just way too sloppy. Comfort now has real purpose and can really be used and it isn't a compromise anymore IMO.
I'll comment more as I roll on them more but they really do transform the car - On a side note our $40K Golf R's have MONROE shocks :screwy: :sly: Now, when I think of Monroe I think of Midas, call me crazy but they do work and work well so I guess it is what it is. Ze Germans must know what they are doing!
Lastly here is a quick before and after, keep in mind the after was RIGHT after.
Stock
Dropped
And the bad boys to be installed - they kind of look like candy.
Let me start by saying the stock suspension on the R is VERY good - as good as any stock suspension that I have ever had. With that said, in my book there is always room for improvement. For me, comfort mode was almost unusable - the car felt like a bouncy house and felt super unstable to me at speed. I do like having this soft mode though so it is a bit of a catch 22. To my eye the car also needs a slight drop. And I mean a slight drop. This is exactly what the VWR springs provide - just about an inch of a drop, maybe a tad bit less than that. As you can see by the comparison picture the springs are actually just about the same height when sitting side by side. The way the VWR attains the drop is by having 2 coils super close together, this reminds me of my old muscle car days when we would 'torch' the springs to get a drop.
The instal is pretty straight forward - my good buddy Chris Mora (aka QBNR32) happens to be an awesome tech and also an awesome services advisor at Galpin VW so if you are in LA there is NO EXCUSE not to go see him. He will seriously take care of you and they are SUPER mod friendly. Anyway, the rears are a bit different than say the MK6 or MK5. On the MK7 the shock and the sway bar end links are attached to the lower control arm so you have to undo 3 bolts to release the arm instead of just 1 on the previous model.
And then installed:
Now once the rears are all buttoned up it is time to move on to the fronts!
Let me preface this with some threads that I have seen in the MK7 forum regarding where to place jack stands under the MK7 Golf. For the rear, you can jack up the car from the FRONT PINCH WELDS high enough to put a jack stand UNDER the rear pinch weld. Done with the rear. For the front, I always take the wheel off before placing the front jack stand, it just makes life easier. The MK7 subframe is a great place to put the stand, I literally had the stand right where the big bolt is with the arrow pointing toward it. I like this spot because the subframe is indented there and it makes a nice spot for the jack stand.
Now that your car is on all 4 jack stands you are good to go - now on to the fronts!
The fronts are a bit of a bitch, no 2 ways about it. Most videos or how to's I have seen on the MK7 and removing the stock front strut assembly involves removing the 6 triple square bolts that hold the axle to the trans - as an FYI this is NOT how the VW mechanic book says to do this. It says to PULL THE AXLE bolt. It is much easier and takes less time than fiddling with those 6 bolts. I have also seen a dude suggest you can use a 2x4 piece of wood and wedge it into the base that holds the spring and jack that up but I feel that is too risky. The red arrow designates the one of the 6 inner axle bolts, the green the outer single axle bolt.
Now that the axle is out you can drop the knuckle from the strut - use a spreader or a 1/4" ratchet. You need to undo and remove the 3 bolts that hold the ball joint to the end of the lower control arm as well. The last thing to do if you have someone helping you is remove the 3 bolts from the strut tower. Your strut assembly will now be out and you can remove the nut from the top of the bearing.
As another FYI with the R YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE SPRING COMPRESSORS AT ALL. Not to remove the stock springs and not to reinstall either VWR or any other springs for that matter.
The top of the strut housing has a notch in it - this notch must FACE INWARD! So the notch on the passenger side will face the driver side and vice versa! This is VERY important as it is sloped and only designed to go this way. Here is is marked in green.
Once you get the new spring on the assembly you are ready to reinstall the struts!
Again the fronts can be a PITA and it is far easier with 2 people, it can be done alone but it is just MUCH more difficult. I let Chris to most of the work on the fronts since he is a master tech
I did the rears with his supervision. The car now sits perfectly IMO, not too low but just right. I am going in for an alignment on Saturday, I figure I'll let the car settle for a couple of days then get it done. I've only driven maybe 20 miles so far but the car feels much more sturdy with the VWR springs. I would say that the stiffness is about 50% or so - what I mean is that comfort mode now is definitely more stiff than it was stock - I would say it is half way between comfort and normal. Normal is also more stiff but not in a bad way, the car is still composed and compliant. Race now is VERY stiff... I would only use this when driving on glass or at the track as it is pretty jarring. Now this may settle in a bit and I will get used to the new stiffness for sure. Like I said earlier stock comfort to me felt downright dangerous to me, just way too sloppy. Comfort now has real purpose and can really be used and it isn't a compromise anymore IMO. I'll comment more as I roll on them more but they really do transform the car - On a side note our $40K Golf R's have MONROE shocks :screwy:
:sly: Now, when I think of Monroe I think of Midas, call me crazy but they do work and work well so I guess it is what it is. Ze Germans must know what they are doing!Lastly here is a quick before and after, keep in mind the after was RIGHT after.
Stock
Dropped
