Suspension Upgrade 1G

[Mr Niceguyx88]

I bought my 90 tsi last year for 600$. The reason the previous owner sold it for so cheap, was because the suspension needed work and the shocks were done. I put about 3k into the car so far without doing any suspension work, but now it's time to upgrade. I want to get the koni shocks, and i want the car to sit lower but i don't know which springs to get. Shox.com has combos priced around 850$ which include koni shocks&struts with a choice of b&g springs, pro kits, or h&r. Which would be the best choice for a daily driven street car?(Performance over comfort) I would also like to add that i will be buying 17" wheels after the suspension work. Thanks, PJ

 

[jerseydiver84]

you dont have to go completely one way or the other, i mean you can get a streetable suspension with good performance it all depends on what your going for, whats your goals.

 

[Mr Niceguyx88]

I want the most life out of the shocks while giving me a nice drop and performance handling on the springs also. This car will always be driven in the city/highway.

 

[GalantGreg]

KYB AGX with Eibach Pro Kits.

 

[Mr Niceguyx88]

The kyb prokit combo will run around 700$, yet the koni prokit combo will cost me 850$. With that price difference why should i go with the kyb agx's? Is there a difference in installation between the two?

 

[fwdmaster]

The kyb prokit combo will run around 700$, yet the koni prokit combo will cost me 850$. With that price difference why should i go with the kyb agx's? Is there a difference in installation between the two?

You should go with the KYB/prokit combo because it's a bolt on, while the Koni shock isn't. You have to cut open your stock shock and place the Koni strut cartridge inside of it,look on vfaq, there is a writeup on it

 

[DarkstarTsi]

I had a KYB AGX/Tein S-Tech combo on my car for around 3 years and the result was good enough. Koni's may be a better shock but as stated above they are no a bolt-on proposition so that is already a drawback.
I have a Megan Racing coilover setup now and it is way better than the AGX/Tein combo. You can get the Megan's from 800-900 shipped so maybe you should be looking there.

 

[jking29]

Don't be scared of the Koni installation, it's easy and honestly only takes another 45 minutes max. I love my Koni's, but do run AGX on the back of my car. The reason is that the Koni's for the rear of the car are not externally adjustable like the AGX. You have to pull the rear Koni's off the car, compress and turn the shaft to adjust them. Where as the AGX you just turn the knob on the side of the shock body. If the Koni's would have been externally adjustable, no way would I have chosen the AGX over the Koni's. If it was me, I would go with the Koni's and H&R's out of the choices you gave.

 

[Mr Niceguyx88]

Ok, can someone please clear up the koni installation for me. If i decide to get the koni adjustables do i install them the same way as kyb adjustables or is it done differently by cutting the old strut. Is this modification done to the front only or both front and back.

 

[XLR8]

+1 for KYB AGX and the Pro Kit.

 

[jking29]

Ok, can someone please clear up the koni installation for me. If i decide to get the koni adjustables do i install them the same way as kyb adjustables or is it done differently by cutting the old strut. Is this modification done to the front only or both front and back.

The Koni install on the front you cut the top off your original struts, dump out the guts and drill a hole in the bottom of the the original strut. Then the Koni slides into the original strut and is secured by a bolt that goes through the hole you drill in the bottom. It's not a big deal. You only have to do it for the front struts, not the rears.

 

[bradcapes]

i went with tokyko blue struts with kei office coilovers and front and rear strut bars its an amazing ride and performs in any situation, just with lowering your car make sure you buy strut bars because with lowering your car you will put strain on your struts therefore slowly bending and damaging them.

 

[jking29]

just with lowering your car make sure you buy strut bars because with lowering your car you will put strain on your struts therefore slowly bending and damaging them.

Strut bars have nothing to do with preventing your struts from bending. A strut bar is meant to tie the strut towers together, which effectively stiffens the chassis. And if you are damaging struts with lowering springs, it's usually because the springs have too much drop which causes the struts to bottom out and damage themselves. Koni's are the shortest strut available and will take more drop than other struts.

 

[treckin]

Except a good set of coilovers, where the strut is ringed for perch-adjustment!