Question for Driver Gear spring owners

[VancouverGTI]

On Monday I'm dropping the GTI off at my dealer to have the Driver Gear springs installed... hooray! They have part number 1K0071678 for me, which the usual searching verifies is correct for my 2 door DSG.

What a thorough search hasn't cleared up for me is the question of bumpstops. Do the Driver Gear springs come with new bumpstops, or no?

The parts guy didn't think they did, but I'm sure I've read other posts indicating the opposite. I want to know what to expect when I drop off the car, so that I can avoid a second trip!

These springs will be blue, too, right?

Any DG spring owners care to share their experience? Especially other Canadians, in case there's a local parts difference?

Thanks guys! :thumbsup:

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

I in fact just had the DriverGear springs installed just two weeks ago. I've got a few pics in my photo gallery of the day I got the car back (the day after I dropped it off), and it's since settled a bit more. The stance is, in my opinion, great. It's low enough to look serious, but not so low it looks like some kind of show car. Functional, really, and I like it that way. It'll likely be a bit less noticable on your car since you've got an 09, and the 08+'s sit slightly lower from the factory, so you'll see a bit less than the full 1.5-2.0 inch drop I saw. I somehow managed to pick up an early 07 with the headlight washers and whatnot at the very end of 2007, when I bought my car, and those things generally look kind of ridiculous stock.


To answer your question, they do come with bumpstops. I know this not because I asked, but because in the box that contains my old springs are a set of my car's old bumpstops.

And, yes, they're blue. Though they're not exactly easy to see, to be honest, once installed.

 

[VancouverGTI]

Thanks for the quick response, CP!

As it happens, Canadian cars are STILL setup like 4x4's from the factory, so I should see the same dramatic improvement you did. Our safety standards are more rigid, which is why our cars weren't lowered eventually like yours. It also cost us the R32, because they don't meet our bumper standards, but I digress...

Glad to hear that you're as happy as you are with the results, and that answers both of my questions. I don't mind not being able to see the springs at all... the blue would be out of place. It'll just be nice to know what to expect when I look up into the wheel wells. :thumbsup:

Cheers!

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

I didn't mention this in my first post, but I also thought you might want to know that as far as ride quality goes, it's still just about as supple as stock was, with very little, if any, additional harshness.

What you will notice is that the car feels a lot... "tighter." Not in the understeer sense that the silly folks in NASCAR use that word for, but in that the car feels more responsive and alive on the road, and that its movements are better controlled but just as well damped. It kind of takes advantage of the very rigid unibody far better and filters out more of the uneccessary body movements you sometimes encounter with the stock setup.

It's by no means a racing setup or anything--it's all very civil--but it fits the car's character as a back road carver, which I do with mine quite a bit. These springs seem fairly ideal for traversing the occasional uneven pavement one encounters out there, as opposed to some coilover-type setup that's best employed on nice, smooth track.

In any case, I'm glad to be of help to you. When I was thinking of having mine fitted, and weighing my various options (these or a more aftermarket setup), I didn't really have much information when it came to the DriverGear ones regardless of my searches, so it's nice to help someone who's also having it done. I knew what I wanted, and these springs fit my needs perfectly, and I hope they do the same with you.

 

[VancouverGTI]

It sounds like we're very much of the same mind where our intentions are concerned, man. The car feels just a little bit top-heavy at the moment, which I prefer in my women but not my cars. :biggrin:

Hopefully these springs are exactly the compromise I'm looking for; tighter body control and road-handing, without the sacrifice in ride quality. Thanks again for your help!

 

[Daishi]

clockwork do you have any pics of your car with the springs installed?

 

[krayzie]

The Driver Gear Springs do come with new bumpstops I thought you would want a 2nd confirmation. :biggrin:

The drop will look like how it should have came out from the factory. The wheel gap is about the same as an Audi TTS after everything settles down. :thumbsup:

The ride shouldn't be any much stiffer than the stock springs, but with much improved acceleration, braking, and cornering. OP is in Vancouver with much nicer roads than Toronto so I wouldn't worry about the shocks for a long while unless you want a little sharper handling. :wink:

 

[VancouverGTI]

Heh... thanks Krayzie! Yeah, a 2nd confirmation is definitely good. And yes, I'm looking forward to having the car the VW engineers and designers originally intended me to have!

As for Vancouver roads, they were pretty good until this last winter. Our unusual run of freezing/ thawing/ snowing/ freezing has wrecked our roads, and all the construction running up to the Olympics hasn't helped any. Needless to say, maintaining my current ride quality will be a huge bonus! :biggrin:

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, these were taken the day I got the car back. It's settled a little since then; very subtly in the front, but a bit more markedly in the rear. Nothing extreme; just more noticable. I guess the backs take a little more to settle because there's less weight back there to compress them. The wheel-to-fender gap is just about identical for all four wheels now.

Right now I'm planning some subtle exterior mods for my car like open fogs, bobbing the "radio controlled car" style antenna, figuring out a way to safely remove the dealership badge (even though I quite like the dealership I got her from), and perhaps clear side indicators, since I think clear ones would look quite good on Reflex Silver--they'd kind of blend in. But all that's beside the point; you guys are here to see the springs, haha.

 

[VancouverGTI]

That is the seks! Thanks man, I'm really looking forward to getting the car back tomorrow so I can see the same look on my UG ride. And yes, I called the dealer's parts department, and they said there were no bumpstops with DG kits, at which point I mentioned several people have shared otherwise. Lo and behold, he opened the box up, and there were bumpstops included! So, I'm not expecting any problems.

Thanks for the help, guys!

 

[Jersey UG MKV]

I was told the driver gear springs will not give 09's much of a drop.

 

[nmcp1]

I was told the driver gear springs will not give 09's much of a drop.

Correct for US cars, but I believe the OP is from Canada where they continue to get the 4x4 ride height.

 

[VancouverGTI]

Sadly, you are correct, sir. I guess they think the snow piles up so high up here that we need the extra ride height or something. :biggrin:

Car's still in the shop, because they needed a little more time to yank my Denvers and put on the Hufeisens I broken down and bought. I'll post some pics when everything's settled a bit!

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

That's excellent; I love the look of Hufeisens. They really set the car off, I think, and seem kind of..."signature" to the vehicle in a way, in the same manner that, say, Subaru Impreza WRX STI's look weird if they're not blue with gold wheels. I'm looking forward to pictures when you get her back.

 

[ddmak]

On Monday I'm dropping the GTI off at my dealer to have the Driver Gear springs installed... hooray! They have part number 1K0071678 for me, which the usual searching verifies is correct for my 2 door DSG.

What a thorough search hasn't cleared up for me is the question of bumpstops. Do the Driver Gear springs come with new bumpstops, or no?

The parts guy didn't think they did, but I'm sure I've read other posts indicating the opposite. I want to know what to expect when I drop off the car, so that I can avoid a second trip!

These springs will be blue, too, right?

Any DG spring owners care to share their experience? Especially other Canadians, in case there's a local parts difference?

Thanks guys! :thumbsup:

Hi VancouverGTI,

I am also interested in installing the Driver Gear springs to my 2009 GTi. I am from Vancouver just like you, can you tell me which dealership is doing the work for you?

Btw, when will you get your car back with the new springs, would love to see a picture of the new lowered look.

Cheers,
Dixon