Motor Factor Websites?

[Hendry]

Why are these all so hard to find what youre looking for? even after doing a reg lookup and it finding your exact car engine, spec, year, etc. it still offers you a bewildering array of products, how are you supposed to know what one you need and what one to buy.

 

Developments today have pointed out that I need a new front coil spring and top mount, trying to suss which I need because GSF, Euro, Autoparts and everywhere else offers such a selection all for the same car, sometimes the exact same brand with no noticeable difference for a higher price.

 

My car being a diesel im fairly certain needs the heavy duty spec ones, also being Sport spec it needs the lower 15mm sports suspension ones that it came from the factory with, trying to find these is nigh on impossible, im struggling to find any for sports suspension, and most arent even heavy duty either, typical factors, stock the bog basic and anything a bit different they dont do.

 

Even trying to find the genuine ones on ebay and they are on about identifying them by the coloured dots on the existing ones, wtf?

 

Also why are coil springs so expensive, its between £80-£100 for one, but a decent Eibach lowering spring kit is only £130-150 for all 4, i dont want to lower my car otherwise these would make the best financial sense!!

[DSdriver]

Ah, its bulk discount you see, and the shorter the spring the more they can make out of length of rod.

[3VOM]

Can you go to a spring manufacturer and ask them to wind one (or two) for you of the right spec?

[egg]

For the Jetta? Does indeed look like 10 different springs listed here (OEM numbers)

 

http://catcar.info/audivw/?lang=en&l=c3RzPT17IjEwIjoiQnJhbmQiLCIyMCI6IlZXIiwiNDAiOiJKZXR0YVwvc3luY3JvIEV1cm9wZSIsIjUwIjoiMjAwOSAoSmV0dGEgXCJaQS5cIikiLCI2MCI6IkZyb250IGF4bGUsIHN0ZWVyaW5nIiwiNzAiOiI0MTEwMCJ9fHxzdD09NzB8fGJyYW5kPT12d3x8bWFya2V0PT1SRFd8fG1kbD09SkUgICB8fEVwaXM9PTYwNHx8RWluc2F0ej09MjAwOXx8TWFpbkdyb3VwPT00fHxCaWxkdGFmZWw9PTQxMTAwfHxHcmFmaWs9PTA0MTExMDI1Mw%3D%3D

[Hendry]

For the Jetta? Does indeed look like 10 different springs listed here (OEM numbers)

 

http://catcar.info/audivw/?lang=en&l=c3RzPT17IjEwIjoiQnJhbmQiLCIyMCI6IlZXIiwiNDAiOiJKZXR0YVwvc3luY3JvIEV1cm9wZSIsIjUwIjoiMjAwOSAoSmV0dGEgXCJaQS5cIikiLCI2MCI6IkZyb250IGF4bGUsIHN0ZWVyaW5nIiwiNzAiOiI0MTEwMCJ9fHxzdD09NzB8fGJyYW5kPT12d3x8bWFya2V0PT1SRFd8fG1kbD09SkUgICB8fEVwaXM9PTYwNHx8RWluc2F0ej09MjAwOXx8TWFpbkdyb3VwPT00fHxCaWxkdGFmZWw9PTQxMTAwfHxHcmFmaWs9PTA0MTExMDI1Mw%3D%3D

 

Yes mate for the Jetta.

 

someone in the past has already fitted the wrong spring on the NSR because there more tyre to arch gap there than the other 3 corners, using coloured dots to identify the correct ones is fine when the cars new-ish and on the original factory springs, fuck knows how many my cars had in its life on our rutted, potholed roads, so using the coloured dots on these ones wouldnt be much help I dont think.

 

If I could get a heavy duty one for sports suspension i reckon that would do, im not into lowering but Im actually contemplating them, 30mm springs would only reduce mine another 15mm so it wouldnt be slammed to the deck scraping along the tarmac, tempted!!

[bunglebus]

I'd fit a good-name set of lowering springs, sounds like you didn't have the usual VW arch gap where you can get your head between tyre and wheel arch, so it probably won't be much lower. Just mind the sump on speedbumps, seen a few cracked/holed even on standard Golfs/Jettas after enthusiastic sleeping policeman interfaces.

[Rusty_Rocket]

It seems that most manufacturers list a bewildering amount of springs for every single variant of model... and fitting an odd one on one corner will make little to no difference at all.  I'm surprised you can even notice a difference in ride height tbh.

 

All I would say is take the opportunity to buy a pair for your car/ engine size and fit two new ones to the front at the same time.  

[Hendry]

I'd fit a good-name set of lowering springs, sounds like you didn't have the usual VW arch gap where you can get your head between tyre and wheel arch, so it probably won't be much lower. Just mind the sump on speedbumps, seen a few cracked/holed even on standard Golfs/Jettas after enthusiastic sleeping policeman interfaces.

 

No it definitely doesnt have massive arch gaps, it was even worse with the towbar on the back, it was so heavy it was like a reversed drag racer car LOL 

 

Yeah Ive already experienced that as have previous owners, not with the sump but both front and rear lower bumper black textured bits are scuffed to buggery off speedbumps. Hopefully if I do go down the route of lowering, Ive got an undertray so that should prevent sump damage, only just had a new one fitted after the old one going walkies.

 

It seems that most manufacturers list a bewildering amount of springs for every single variant of model... and fitting an odd one on one corner will make little to no difference at all.  I'm surprised you can even notice a difference in ride height tbh.

 

All I would say is take the opportunity to buy a pair for your car/ engine size and fit two new ones to the front at the same time.  

 

If I dont buy a set of lowering springs ill only be buying the 1 spring to replace the broken one because the other front one was only replaced a couple of months ago, ill just ask my mechanic to order another of the same as that one for the broken one.

 

The ride height is surprisingly obvious, the NSR corner is like the car has been jacked up because of the tyre/arch gap compared with the other 3 corners, it really is that noticeable.

 

Final question, can I drive around on a broken spring for about a week? My mechanic isnt back until a week on Monday from holiday and weirdly unlike never before when ive had a broken spring, its not sitting down at that corner, theres no twangs from the suspension, no weird noises, and it doesnt drive any differently to before, if I hadnt been told I wouldnt know tbh, not like last time when the top of the tyre disappeared inside the arch!! or on any other car when there was a horrible racket when driving or turning the wheels. 

[Rusty_Rocket]

I would check that the broken spring isn't liable to become dislocated and take your tyre out... if it's still secure enough, you'll be fine.

People drive about with busted springs all the time and only know about it when the car fails it's MoT!

[PiperCub]

^^ Personally I wouldn't drive about on a spring I knew to be broken, a mate of mine nearly had a nasty accident a couple of years back when the broken spring decided to make a break for freedom and speared his NSF tyre causing him to nearly clout a traffic island and a set of traffic lights. To be fair to him he didn't know it was busted until that point as it wasn't riding low or making any weird noises that would have otherwise alerted him as he's pretty switched on with cars. 

[Hendry]

This seems solid, the other one was utterly fubar'd and twanged continually, made horrible noises and was that low on that corner it looked like the car had a totally flat tyre. 

[Ghosty]

VAG stuff is always daft for suspension. Old Man's early A4 quattro had factory sport suspension (-20/30mm or something), but when we got it, it had its original springs and shocks on the front (80k miles old and complete with coloured dots), and non-sport springs on the rear factory shocks (so the rear had a 20mm lift on it or something daft). Sport springs aren't available from anyone but Audi who want about £90 a corner so we ended up putting Apex -40mm springs on it.

 

This in turn revealed that the rear shocks had collapsed and that being too long, the standard height springs were the only things keeping it off the bumpstops. Again, shocks were unobtanium at a reasonable price so it got a set of Bilstein shocks not long after, because the rear ride quality was non-existent and it made some alarming banging noises over bumps.