# replacing 10 year old struts and springs = wheeeeeeeeeee! (attn Alex re: ST))

Posted by mentat (93se 5spd) on September 17, 2002 at 23:07:58:

Thanks again to everyone for the timely advice, everything ended up going in OK. Dont know if I will stick with this new mechanic, but I suppose it's not a bad thing for the guy to be overly cautious. I guess that beats too little caution.

Anyway, about the Susp. Techniques springs... Alex (and anyone else with ST) did yours eventually settle in? My front is a bit higher than the back, I think you had the same issues... Hopefully they will settle in and even out with some time.

The issue that the mech. had with the springs was that, since they are shorter than stock, the rear assembly essentially lets the spring float free; only the weight of the car holds it in the spring seat (whatever the right term is). So his problem was sort of a what-if, ie what if a bump/pothole/whatever caused the suspension to travel fully down, wouldn't the spring then become unseated? He called up ST and they basically said well thats just the way it is, dont worry, the weight of the car will keep it in place. He said that the other cars he's installed lowering gear in have had shorter strut inserts. I'm not particularly worried, but the only thing that concerns me is what happens when I jack the rear end up? Will the weight of the wheels let the susp drop far enough for the springs to unseat? I'm sure as hell not gonna stick my hand up in there to keep it aligned when lowering the car back down...

But other than those issues, all I can say is wheee! The difference is drastic, like I said the old struts were the originals, 10 years and 125k mi on them... body roll is nearly gone now, brake dive is no longer an issue. I had mentioned once that it even had "acceleration dive", ie the rear end would squat down from an even slightly fast start. That is gone too. Even clutch engagement feels better and more smooth now because the car doesnt get the back n forth lurching that it had before - sometimes it would almost oscillate back and forth, ie clutch out, lurch back, ease clutch in a bit to smooth out the launch, and lurch the other way, repeat.

In summation: WEEEEEEEEEEEE. fell in love all over again, all that stuff. =]

Replys:

- Yea the ones in my Max back in the day settled in...then sank.. Scott (02GTI & 90TTZ) 13:03:57 9/18/2002 (0)
- nope never settled... Alex (90se5spd) 12:57:41 9/18/2002 (0)
- I always say "for our Max" a suspension upgrade will deliver more bang for the buck when compared to other mods n/m MIKE (93VE) 08:44:06 9/18/2002 (0)

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: Thanks again to everyone for the timely advice, everything ended up going in OK. Dont know if I will stick with this new mechanic, but I suppose it's not a bad thing for the guy to be overly cautious. I guess that beats too little caution. : Anyway, about the Susp. Techniques springs... Alex (and anyone else with ST) did yours eventually settle in? My front is a bit higher than the back, I think you had the same issues... Hopefully they will settle in and even out with some time. : The issue that the mech. had with the springs was that, since they are shorter than stock, the rear assembly essentially lets the spring float free; only the weight of the car holds it in the spring seat (whatever the right term is). So his problem was sort of a what-if, ie what if a bump/pothole/whatever caused the suspension to travel fully down, wouldn't the spring then become unseated? He called up ST and they basically said well thats just the way it is, dont worry, the weight of the car will keep it in place. He said that the other cars he's installed lowering gear in have had shorter strut inserts. I'm not particularly worried, but the only thing that concerns me is what happens when I jack the rear end up? Will the weight of the wheels let the susp drop far enough for the springs to unseat? I'm sure as hell not gonna stick my hand up in there to keep it aligned when lowering the car back down... : : But other than those issues, all I can say is wheee! The difference is drastic, like I said the old struts were the originals, 10 years and 125k mi on them... body roll is nearly gone now, brake dive is no longer an issue. I had mentioned once that it even had "acceleration dive", ie the rear end would squat down from an even slightly fast start. That is gone too. Even clutch engagement feels better and more smooth now because the car doesnt get the back n forth lurching that it had before - sometimes it would almost oscillate back and forth, ie clutch out, lurch back, ease clutch in a bit to smooth out the launch, and lurch the other way, repeat. : In summation: WEEEEEEEEEEEE. fell in love all over again, all that stuff. =]