[JRC1]

Looking at getting some coilovers for my MK5

I am new to modifying these cars and have a few questions... (a lot have been answered already by searching on here but I have a few more)

I've been recommended the BC racing coilovers (BR series) from a member on here. I am after performance coilovers, I want to reduce the body roll in corners and generally improve the handling. The car sitting a bit lower will be nice but this is not the sole purpose of buying them.

So...

1) Do others recommend these, look to be about £700.. are there others that I should be considering/comparing around this price bracket?
2) As I said I don't wish to slam the car to the floor so what height should I be lowering to for best results performance wise and to ensure I have no issues with being too low? I don't want any issues with rubbing, having to avoid speed bumps etc....!!
3) Do I need to modify/replace any other OEM suspension parts when fitting aftermarket coilivers to benefit them further? Or is this not essential.

Thanks in advance

James

 

[Redemption]

Having already had BC Racing Coilovers I would suggest changing the ARB's to H&R's first of all. This will reduce the body roll and not bugger up the ride comfort at all. If you're after performance handling you don't want to drop it too much either. Mine's currently on VWR Springs with OEM Dampers along with the H&R ARB's and I think it handles better than when it was on the BC's. Comfort is better as they're more forgiving than the BC's on my local crappy roads. The BC's are good coilovers but sadly weren't liveable for me on a daily basis.

I'd also consider throwing something like Bilstein B8 Dampers with H&R or VWR Springs into the mix.

 

[JRC1]

Having already had BC Racing Coilovers I would suggest changing the ARB's to H&R's first of all. This will reduce the body roll and not bugger up the ride comfort at all. If you're after performance handling you don't want to drop it too much either. Mine's currently on VWR Springs with OEM Dampers along with the H&R ARB's and I think it handles better than when it was on the BC's. Comfort is better as they're more forgiving than the BC's on my local crappy roads. The BC's are good coilovers but sadly weren't liveable for me on a daily basis.

I'd also consider throwing something like Bilstein B8 Dampers with H&R or VWR Springs into the mix.

From an initial look the H&R ARB's seem to be £350-400, which combined with the coilovers will be ~£1100, quite a lot of money - didn't really want to spend that much.

Fitting the BC's on their own still an option? Or as a daily driver are they way too harsh?

Haven't heard of the VWR springs before, are they well rated and how much do they lower by? I was always under the impression that springs alone will never give as good results as aftermarket coilovers, but could just be my ignorance.

Cheers

 

[Redemption]

From an initial look the H&R ARB's seem to be £350-400, which combined with the coilovers will be ~£1100, quite a lot of money - didn't really want to spend that much.

Fitting the BC's on their own still an option? Or as a daily driver are they way too harsh?

Haven't heard of the VWR springs before, are they well rated and how much do they lower by? I was always under the impression that springs alone will never give as good results as aftermarket coilovers, but could just be my ignorance.

Cheers

No problem at all just fitting the BC's but if you're looking at eliminating body roll the ARB's will be more beneficial. To reduce the roll with just the BC's you'll need to set the damping to a fairly hard setting. I found that way too hard to deal with personally.

The VWR Springs drop the car about 20-25mm but they were designed to work with the OEM Dampers so you retain a decent amount of comfort.

It might be worth trying to find somebody local who has already fitted BC's etc and see if they'll take you out in their car so you can see what it's like.

If I was starting from scratch again and wasn't fussed about lowering/looks I would fit only the ARB's and nothing else.

 

[JRC1]

No problem at all just fitting the BC's but if you're looking at eliminating body roll the ARB's will be more beneficial. To reduce the roll with just the BC's you'll need to set the damping to a fairly hard setting. I found that way too hard to deal with personally.

The VWR Springs drop the car about 20-25mm but they were designed to work with the OEM Dampers so you retain a decent amount of comfort.

It might be worth trying to find somebody local who has already fitted BC's etc and see if they'll take you out in their car so you can see what it's like.

If I was starting from scratch again and wasn't fussed about lowering/looks I would fit only the ARB's and nothing else.

Is there a reputable company people on here use for parts like the H&R ARB's/BC Coilovers for example? Any to avoid etc?

Do you have any pics of your car with just the VWR springs fitted - interested to see how it sits.

Where on the south coast are you out of interest? I'm on the south coast too... Don't really see many R32's around so doubt anyone local has the BC's..

Appreciate your input, I probably wouldn't have considered upgrading the ARB's before. I would like to go slightly lower than standard height if I'm honest, personally think the R32 sits a bit high as standard.

 

[Redemption]

Is there a reputable company people on here use for parts like the H&R ARB's/BC Coilovers for example? Any to avoid etc?

Do you have any pics of your car with just the VWR springs fitted - interested to see how it sits.

Where on the south coast are you out of interest? I'm on the south coast too... Don't really see many R32's around so doubt anyone local has the BC's..

Appreciate your input, I probably wouldn't have considered upgrading the ARB's before. I would like to go slightly lower than standard height if I'm honest, personally think the R32 sits a bit high as standard.

I bought my H&R's from a german seller on Ebay and the BC's from a local dealer who does work on my car. You can also buy them direct from BC themselves.

The one downside to the ARB's is that the front one is a ball-ache to fit as you have to drop the lower subframe and also re-use the OEM brackets (which need to be drilled/cut off).

I'm based in the New Forest pretty much halfway between Bournemouth and Southampton. I'll attach a couple of pics of my car on the VWR's.

 

[JRC1]

I bought my H&R's from a german seller on Ebay and the BC's from a local dealer who does work on my car. You can also buy them direct from BC themselves.

The one downside to the ARB's is that the front one is a ball-ache to fit as you have to drop the lower subframe and also re-use the OEM brackets (which need to be drilled/cut off).

I'm based in the New Forest pretty much halfway between Bournemouth and Southampton. I'll attach a couple of pics of my car on the VWR's.

View attachment 190314

View attachment 190322

Sits well on those springs. Are you running spacers too? Stance looks good

Does sound like a ball-ache with the ARB's... Did you do it yourself or have a garage do it?

Cool you're pretty local to me then, I'm based in Southampton.

 

[Redemption]

Sits well on those springs. Are you running spacers too? Stance looks good

Does sound like a ball-ache with the ARB's... Did you do it yourself or have a garage do it?

Cool you're pretty local to me then, I'm based in Southampton.

Ta. Sits how I want it to now. No spacers but the wheels are 18x8 ET45 which are pretty much the perfect fitment for a MK5.

ARB's were fitted by a local garage when I was having some other work done so I combined it all to save labour costs.

Southampton's not far. A quick blast up the A35...

 

[JRC1]

Ta. Sits how I want it to now. No spacers but the wheels are 18x8 ET45 which are pretty much the perfect fitment for a MK5.

ARB's were fitted by a local garage when I was having some other work done so I combined it all to save labour costs.

Southampton's not far. A quick blast up the A35...

Do you know what sort of size spacers would I need to run in order to get the standard wheels stanced similar to that? I fear that when dropping it however many mm, the standard wheels will be a bit lost in the arches, and I don't plan on changing the wheels for a while.

Ah I see. Yeah I've heard there's a fair few members down this way but I never see any R32's about! Will be good to get a local meet arranged in the summer

 

[cuprabob]

Do you know what sort of size spacers would I need to run in order to get the standard wheels stanced similar to that?

12mm spacers

 

[Addiction]

We have 12mm spacers in stock so check my sposor section.

 

[Redemption]

Do you know what sort of size spacers would I need to run in order to get the standard wheels stanced similar to that? I fear that when dropping it however many mm, the standard wheels will be a bit lost in the arches, and I don't plan on changing the wheels for a while.

Ah I see. Yeah I've heard there's a fair few members down this way but I never see any R32's about! Will be good to get a local meet arranged in the summer

As Bob has posted, 12mm spacers would give the equivalent offset. You could easily put 15mm spacers on the rear if you wanted a bit more flushness.

Oddly enough, when lowering, the standard wheels don't get lost and actually end up looking like they're sitting flusher in the arches.

Best to sort out how low you want to go before you tackle the wheels/spacers as that will determine what sizes/offsets you can get away with.

Jaffa on here sometimes organises local meets but not everyone shows up (me included!).

 

[JRC1]

As Bob has posted, 12mm spacers would give the equivalent offset. You could easily put 15mm spacers on the rear if you wanted a bit more flushness.

Oddly enough, when lowering, the standard wheels don't get lost and actually end up looking like they're sitting flusher in the arches.

Best to sort out how low you want to go before you tackle the wheels/spacers as that will determine what sizes/offsets you can get away with.

Jaffa on here sometimes organises local meets but not everyone shows up (me included!).

Yeah I've kinda digressed a bit from the main point of this thread but it's all useful stuff. I've ran H&R hubcentric spacers before on a different car and they are the only ones I'd probably use again... Far safer when the spacer bolts to the hub and then the wheel to the spacer, rather than having to use longer bolts. After a quick look it seems the smallest H&R do in this format for the R32 is 20mm... which isn't too large I guess.

But yeah like you say, spacers will definitely be an afterthought.

Guess I've got some thinking to do with which coilover or spring setup to go for - cheers for your help

 

[JRC1]

Rather than starting a new thread I thought I would revive this one...

What are people's views on the KW coilovers compared with the above setups discussed?

Noticed that Awesomegti have got some offers on all 3 variants so something to consider...?

 

[lee_shep]

If you're after comfort then go with KW V3, everyone raves about them.

I have BC BR on my mk4, I think they are great. Adjustable dampening is quality and you get hardly any body roll in mine.

 

[daveleeuk]

Was going to make a new thread asking loads of questions about this sorta topic but thought id revive this one instead...

I've had my car a while now and think I'm ready to start getting some new bits on it, but I'm completely new to doing this stuff so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I want my car to be a bit lower than stock, maybe 25mm ish, nothing drastic. And i'd also be looking to chuck on 12mm rear spacers. The appearence is my main aim as opposed to better handling, though any handling improvement is a bonus.

What's the best way of achieving this? Through my limited research on here the options seem to be springs on the standard shocks, or coilovers.

Coilovers seem a tad overkill, could I put say VWR Springs on my standard shocks? Is that all I would need to do? It seems too easy lol, I've seen people mentioning top mounts, drop links, etc, do I need anything else or just springs? Or is it good practice to replace the mounts when changing springs?

Thanks!