UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

i used to have a 1.0 and i droped the springs by 60 mm and i felt like the ride was great for about 1 year and then it was noticable that the setup was deterating and things were gettin bouncy again

this i didnt mind as i was sellin the car and i had a years worth of good ride for 65 quid
but now i have 1.4 16v and i know that these are lower anyway even the dampners as i ahev compared the two types of the car there is about 1.5 inched difference (16v shorter)
no im on a real tight budget and have closly examined the springs and cant see any reason y not to simply cut a coil off as there even with one cut off would still be tension in the whole strut and evebn more when the car is on the floor
what i really was wonderin was if anyone has had any bad problems doin this and what other people think i simply thought id get away with it as the dampners(sp) are shorter anyway on my 16v


if its alltogethor a bad idea any sugestions and cheep placet to buy would be a great help cheers

Hi Lawb, and welcome, if I haven't said that already.

You're right on the height difference between the cars, the 16v got different springs and gasfilled shocks straight from the factory. I don't know exactly how much lower it it than the 'normal' versions, but given VW's approach over the years I'd say around 15mm.

To the point, given that the shocks are uprated already (a bit), and you didn't mind the poorer ride last time 'round, simply fitting shorter springs will be an option.

Cutting springs... I'd say why bother. A good set of springs won't break the bank and will probably give a better performance. Plus, you can sell them off again if you sell the Polo, keeping the stock springs for better resale value.

Hope that helps!

hi thanx for the reply
gonna get some 60 mm springs now there not too much ...

it all depends

springs will knacker your dampers, i did it to my 16v and my old dampers are now unusable, and i only had the original dampers on for a couple of weeks, that was on a 50mm drop. just be prepared to replace the shocks come MOT time.