Lowering spring advice please.

PetethePirate

Full member
Points
6
Location
Wales , Dolgellau
Car
2001Passat 1.8t B5
Hi folks,
My Passat had been lowered on Bilstein adjustable coilovers before I bought it ..... its much too low for me and a bit too stiff , catches on humps and shakes yer fillings out etc , I tried winding it up but the springs are too short.
Has anyone got experience of the best make of spring to use , I want a decent ride with a sensible amount of lowering. 30/40 mm ?
Also, what are worthwhile susp/chassis mods .
2001 Passat b5 1.8t.
Thanks, Pete.
Cheers
 
What do you mean by too short? Are you saying that the adjustable spring seat is at the top of its adjustment?

The springs won't rattle your fillings, it's the dampers that do that. Try a softer setting :)

Get your posts up to 10 so you can upload some photos of the suspension setup.
 
Well Steve, any adjustment from what it is now leaves the springs loose in their seats , I left it with a chap and his ramp as I haven't got anywhere flat to do it, but that was the problem .
Cheers, Pete.
 
I've had a look myself and the only adjustment is the spring seat, I don't know what hes done, theres adjustment left both ways , I'll have to go and see him tomorrow, I think hes been trying to adjust it the wrong way !!
Cheers.
 
I would take it to a suspension specialist preferably a reputable one with motorsport background/experience to get spring and damper rates sorted.
 
Photos would be very useful :)

Post some and I will get them through moderation even if you haven't reached 10 posts :)
 
The best way, that I have found, is to open a photobucket account, upload to there, then copy and paste here.

You can upload to this site by opening a gallery, but someone else wil have to explain how to do that :)
 
I think I may have sussed it !

The weather has persisted here today so I haven't wanted to go out in it and take pics of the actual car ...... however , I have found a pic online that shows a setup with the same adjustment as on my car, no more and no less.
Just the spring platform adjustment .

Am I missing anything , no ride height adjustment ??

Cheers, Pete.
 

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On the silver dampers, is there a thread for the spring seat to move up and down on? (the spring seats have cut outs for the adjusting spanner) Any chance of a photo of the ones on the car?
 
Last edited:
How to post photos using Photobucket andTorqueCars



It would be a good idea to have both TorqueCars& Photobucket opened at this point.

Once you have made 10 posts here on TorqueCarsyou can proceed with the following.

1) Go into Photobucket and select the picturethat you want to copy.

2) Hold your mouse in the top right hand side ofthe photo then click on the star, then scroll down to and click on Get Links.

3) Right at the bottom of the dialogue box youwill see IMG codes (For forumsboards) then left click inthe bar underneath that title which will then turn yellow and will briefly showthe word Copied.

4) You go back to your openPost Reply page on TorqueCars then right click onthe page and then scroll down to the word Paste.

5) Left click on the word Paste and the photo will then be addedto your page as a URL which means you won't actually see the photo but just thecode.

6) You finish writing what it is you want to saythen click on the tab marked PreviewPost this will show you how your post and photo will look before you postit.

7) When you’re happy with how it all looks thenclick on the tab Submit Reply which then posts your reply liveinto the thread!

Easy and simples



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On the silver dampers, is there a thread for the spring seat to move up and down on? (the spring seats have cut outs for the adjusting spanner) Any chance of a photo of the ones on the car?

Yes the spring seats are adjustable with the 2 rings (one to adjust and one to lock ) and the threaded portion of the shocker body . That's the only adjustment there is.
The adjustment on mine is about halfway with just a tad of preload on the spring.
Can't get to mine yet its raining Datsun Cogs here !
Cheers , Pete.
 
In that case, there is approx 50mm of thread above the adjuster? You should be able to lift the car by that amount assuming the damper doesn't reach its maximum extension.

What do you mean by preload?
 
In that case, there is approx 50mm of thread above the adjuster? You should be able to lift the car by that amount assuming the damper doesn't reach its maximum extension.

What do you mean by preload?

Ok, so by screwing the adjuster up into the spring (compressing it) I should lift the car by whatever amount ?
I tried that by about 15mm and couldn't notice a difference, I'll try again.
What I meant by preload was that I compressed the spring by a fraction so that it wasn't loose on its seats , taking up any slack so to speak.
Right I'll wind the springs up tomorrow and see what happens.
I'll keep you posted .... Thankyou :)
 
Hi ,
OK, I've adjusted the coilovers as advised, Thankyou , and all is ok , Its raised the front nicely and I got both sides equal.....ish . I've cleaned and greased all the threads and everything's looking good apart from ........as the springs are progressive, the coil frequency changes top to bottom.
On the drivers side the coil is fitted with the closest coils downwards and the passenger side the total opposite ! I cant think of a technical reason for this but you may tell me different ? this will have to be changed at a later date.

When I got to the rear I find that in an effort to get the car as low as poss they chucked the adjustment rings, so I have to find some, or make some shims ...... happy days,
I have some pics but my phone wont give them up at the mo, I'll sort it asap.
Its still a bit clunky, I'll get it on a ramp soon and have a better look.
Back soon with pics .
Cheers.


 
Whoever fitted the springs was a tad slapdash, But I doubt that it makes any difference on a road car, correct me I am wrong please.
 
Ay up, I'm back, sorry for the delay but I've been ill.
My phone has eaten the pics I took so that's buggered that I'm afraid.
Got a nasty clunk from the offside front now and then but will have a look at that soon
Now for a daft question that may need to be posted elsewhere.
A friend of mine has an APU engine the same as mine, it has a few mods , all the wiring, ecu etc and a bigger intercooler.
Now ..... I am thinking of building a car for night rallying and was wondering, what small car would this engine fit, if any ? I realise that its not going to go straight in to anything without work, but as the engine is coming for very little and I'm impressed with strengths of this little lump, I'm thinking about it.
Any thoughts ?? try not to be rude ... ha ha
 
Quite clunky and clicky as well when turning or going slowly over humps etc
Not very nice at all !! :sad2: and I've got man flu !!!!!:???:
Hi,
I didn't read the whole topic yet but I'm responding as I go on reading :)
I have the same issue with my Passat B7 and this crackling noise is from the upper strut mounts.
They need to be replaced (strut mounts+bearings) with something tougher.
For me there is a ECS Tuning kit but it's in the US. I'm trying to find a dealer over here in EU.

Hope this helped.
 
Agreed @RaresC - the threads on here are never old, and stay relevent, as you can see from the number of reads and rereads they rack up each month.
 

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