Now only half of the uppermost coil is properly seated against the plastic ring. The other half is resting against the inner flange of the adjustment collar because the diameter of the coil is too small for it to seat properly. This is the case for both sides of the car.
There is however a difference between the different sides of the car. On the left side of the car it is the end of the coil which is seated against the plastic ring. On the right side of the car the end of the coil is resting against the inner flange of the adjustment collar. It is not until halfway into the first coil that the spring makes contact with the plastic flange. I tried unloading the right spring and turning it, trying to at least get the end of the coil to seat properly, but I was unsuccessful.
Also because of this, when I turn the adjustment collar on the right side of the car the end of the coil digs into the soft aluminium of inner flange of the adjustment collar, scraping it badly (small chips of aluminium are actually falling off as I turn the collar...)
I found this pic on the web of a 6R on B14's:
In the pic it looks like the spring is properly seated and the whole plastic ring is fully pressed against the adjustment collar (on my car the plastic rings are half loose because the spring isn't fully seated). However in the pic the spring is installed upside down compared to mine (mine are installed stiffer end down). So the spring in the pic is incorrectly installed according to Bilstein's mounting instructions, UNLESS my springs for some reason had the text printed upside down causing me to install them the wrong way, but that sounds like a far fetch...
Has anyone else with Bilsteins on their 6R ran into this problem? According to the mounting instructions, the parts for the rear axle are the some for all 6R Polos including the WRC.
I would appreciate input from any fellow B14/B16 users.
