Coilovers for the New new new Polo

[Spax]

Hi there everybody,

SPAX Suspension here.

We are currently looking to develop a new coilover kit for the 6R Polo. We want all of your input on what would make your perfect coilover?

Details like:
What height range would you like?
What will you be using the kits for? (road? track?)


Im sure that a lot of you will have heard of SPAX before, you might be interested to know that we have been making suspension for nearly 60 years. Offering everything from a set of lowering springs right up the dampers on the last 2 land speed records!


Once we have determined what everyone is looking for in a kit we will be keeping an eye open for a development car! This means that one lucky owner will get to be a pioneer with our kit!!


The kit we will be developing will fit in with our current RSX range.
You can see full details of our RSX coilovers by clicking this text

Here is a brief run down of the kits:
These kits are pressurised with a gas called Krypton for long life and consistent performance;
Designed, tested AND built in the UK
Stainless adjuster threads, because being UK designed, we understand what conditions your coilovers will have to put up with.
Powder coated body to offer the best possible protection for as long as possible
28 indexed damping settings from a comfortable ride all the way to track day stiff!
2 year warranty for peace of mind

I look forward to hearing from you all

[B1N9S]

I'm sure most people on here will use them on the road. If you want me to test a set I don't mind !!! (I won't charge for my services). I will even let you fit them for free.

[Spax]

I will even let you fit them for free.

Thats very generous of you

Is anyone on here lowered yet?
What heights do you use now?
What would your ideal settings be? higher or lower?

We aim to make all our kits road friendly and we also aim to make them do what people want (within reason) so now is everyone's chance to have some input on the coilover specifications!

Looking forward to hearing from you

[B1N9S]

Yes mine is lowered on H&R 25/40 springs. Looks great and rides very nice.

If you had been around earlier, I would have let you fit those for free too !!!!!! Practice makes perfect and all that !!!

[Spax]

I would have let you fit those for free too !!!!!! Practice makes perfect and all that !!!

80+ views and not much interest???

We want to hear from you all, just tell us what you want from a kit, and we will see if it can be done

[red6n2]

I'm surprised people have bitten your arm off with this...

My friend had the same sorta deal on his lupo GTI but for an exhaust it was a great little deal.

If you ever want to test anything in oh I dunno lets say a 6n2 let me know ha ha

[Edi30]

Personal preference on ride height so the wider the range the better to appeal to all. For me the ride needs to be little lower than STD say 20/35 on a GTI as I use mine for road use and usually have 4 up on school/family runs so need firm ride with comfort too and also good handling for when I am on my own with the ability to soak up bumps as my journeys as are mostly A and B roads with uneven surfaces.

[big_amir]

For me i would like a small drop maybe another 15-20 mm all round. i would love to get mine slammed but i use mine for commuting every day from Leicester to Nottingham and there are speed bumps on my route. Unless you can make it electrically adjustable so i can raise it over the bumps.

[Spax]

Hi again,

This is exacly the kind of information that we need:

For me the ride needs to be little lower than STD say 20/35 on a GTI

For me i would like a small drop maybe another 15-20 mm all round

also on a GTi


Are there any owners on here that have non GTi`s that would like their suspension to "go south"?

Unless you can make it electrically adjustable so i can raise it over the bumps.

Unfortunately the costs for the "gubbins" to make this happen, would probably be pretty crazy so its not an option that we can provide, you could always get a second C-spanner and get your mates to help with the pit stop each time
I remember that on my old 6n2 I used to keep wooden blocks in the boot to 'help' with the speed bumps! What a faff but looked goooood!

<Red 6N2> We do have 6N2 coilovers in the catalogue (p22), and they are part of the £100 off offer that is on at the moment.

[Marc080]

I'm pretty sure everyone would like theirs lowered a bit.. but personally i'm an R plate driver, and my insurance would go sky high... although anyone with the lowered polo have any issues with mud flaps? my mud flaps are about 3 cms off the ground when i have 3 people in the back, and scrape every speed bump through town... think i need to get a shorter set put in

[NMavs]

Im pritty much same as edi30. Want it to go around 30-40mm lower, being a nice responsive drive, but still with the comfort not much less than what it already is now really.

[ChunSel90]

Got a 1.6 TDI here

And a drop of around 40 - 50 mm would be best imo, where the tyre would sit just in the arch a little

Reason being a bigger drop, you can most likely guess, the GTI has a lowered suspension, all the other models are so much more higher, i can currently fit 4 fingers between my rear arch and tyre, so i would say a minimum of 35mm drop would be needed

And if the ride quality could be of reasonable quality is an added bonus!

[BeezerDiesel]

Having had the best part of a dozen cars over the years that I've fitted with various suspension kits to I'd say the secret to success with UK buyers would be to supply a kit that rides well as well as lowering the car.
I've had quite a few high end suspension kits that I've quickly regretted buying (it's not as if you can try before you buy with a suspension kit is it?) because the ride has become intollerably crashy over bumps.
The last five or six cars I've had I have specifically bought them because the suspension on them is about right from the factory thanks to not trusting aftermarket kits to ride comfortably whilst still giving improved looks and handling. I still run an old second car which I've had for years that has a Bilstein/Eibach set up which I find annoying after a few seconds of driving!!!

It's all well and good having multi way adjustable shock absorbers if the springs are non progressive and harsh riding. So, my advice would be to offer a kit for clubsport use (trackday people who's main priority is handling on the limit) with say one colour of springs to identify the kit easily, and another coilover kit for the casual road user which maybe lowers slightly less but gives a far more comfortable ride and sold with different coloured (softer) springs to the clubsport package. To keep manufacturing costs down you could easily use the same shock absorbers for both kits.
The most successful handling mods I've done to my VWs over the years have been by using standard (softish) springs coupled with firmer shocks. This gives an excellent sporty ride and still improves the handling and roll resistance. With a coilover set up this could easily be achieved by having longish comfortable springs that can give the all important lowering effect by winding the spring platforms to the desired height.
Sorry for the essay but you did ask for opinions!!

[Spax]

This is all good info!

So at the moment we are looking at between 15-50mm on a GTI (and corresponding amount on non GTI`s)
Does anyone have a confirmed figure of how much lower the GTi's are?

<BeezerDiesel>

Having had the best part of a dozen cars over the years that I've fitted with various suspension kits to I'd say the secret to success with UK buyers would be to supply a kit that rides well as well as lowering the car.

This seems like such an obvious statement, but one that is often overlooked (thank you for mentioning it).
We are very concious of the parameters that we choose when designing a kit. Ultimately when we design a kit, we want people to use it without getting 'broken'. This is why we go through the following stages on all kits that we design;

Assess vehicle in standard form - This includes road testing on a variety of roads, lots of measuring, weighing and calculating
Design a Mk1 version of a kit - This involves using all the information from the preliminary testing and applying it to the car, we build shortened dampers with a 'ball park' internal valving setting and use an appropriate spring with it.
Testing - This Mk1 version of the kit then gets tested in all sorts of ways, more measuring, more weighing and some test driving.
Ammendments and adjustments - We then take the kit, we just made, off the car and apply any required changes (from the testing data) and then build another kit, which is then tested in the same way.
Final testing - Once we are happy with how a kit performs and how the car looks on it we do some more testing. All the crucial measurements are checked again and then once satisfied we take the car for a road test. We test the performance of the car however the focus of this road test is the practicality of the kit. We want to make sure that the kit can be used daily! By testing these new kits on some of oxfordshire's "finest" tarmac we can be confident that they will be suitable to be used on a real road, rather than just on a smooth track.

The Spring rates and internal settings are something that the engineers look after. Our kits are designed for road use and occasional trackdays, this means that the spring rates are sensible. We can offer different rates on request, however I would strongly suggest trying the supplied springs first as our engineers are geniuses in this field.


If anyone has already lowered their 6R and doesnt think that this thread applies to them, speak up. We want to see pictures of your cars along with the spec.
Lets see your stances!

[kevinctr]

This is all good info!

So at the moment we are looking at between 15-50mm on a GTI (and corresponding amount on non GTI`s)
Does anyone have a confirmed figure of how much lower the GTi's are?

Polo GTi 6R is 15mm lower than normal Polo. I am waiting for delivery in Sept and I looking to lower my GTi another 20mm and progressive springs with upstroke control to improve contact patch betweem tyres and the road. Thank you.