I'm simply sharing some information that I've gathered on my journey to having a proper compliant dual purpose coilover suspension. I think the best way to kick this off is to list some of the things that I found to be unexpected.
1. The TTRS and RS3 do not have the same length front magride shocks from the factory. The TTRS shocks are about .65" shorter than the RS3. This won't matter when it comes to simply replacing springs with the magride shocks, but once you move to a coilover you need to be aware that the advertised drop for a TTRS will be .65" less than that of an RS3. The lower you go the more bump travel you consume.
2. Most available coilovers have not been tested on our platform. They are basically Golf R (MQB) coilovers that have been repurposed. Some provide different spring rates some do not.
3. Working on this platform requires uncommon sized metric sockets and tools you may not have like a triple square.
For example:
a. I had to go buy a 24mm 12-point, and 13, 18, and 20 tools.
b. Removing the front suspension on the TTRS is a real pain unless you take the plunge and remove axle bolt to remove the axle from the spindle. Then it is fairly simple the catch is that is a use once bolt it really needs to be torqued to spec when done.
c. Something simple, like removing the wiper blades, requires extra tools such as a wiper puller. You can't just loosen a nut and lift it off by hand.
4. Not all camber plates are the same. I have had 034, Vorshlag and GC. Each offers its own unique pros and cons. I will spell some of them out thru pictures along the way.
5. If you plan to purchase some coilovers ask for the drawings and review measurements. If the manufacturer won't provide you with drawings at a minimum ask for the shock lengths. If you can't get those you may want to pass on them. I say this because you are going to want to know how their length compares to the OEM none lowered length. This will give you a good idea of how much travel you have to give up to achieve the ride height you want.
6. I am currently running the Ultimate Performance JRI coilovers which are spendy but provide the best of both worlds. With a 450lb front and rear spring it can be as soft as stock or it can be ramped up for the track. I'm running 550lb x4 and they are more track orientated but still very tolerable. Knowing now what I didn't know then I would have gone with 450lb x4 and then used spring rubbers to get more spring rate on the track.
7. If you don't NEED coilovers it might be best to just stick with springs and magride suspension. I do miss having on the fly adjustment of soft/hard settings and I dislike having to purchase expensive magride eliminator devices. Also unless you are buying something that has already been proven to work there is risk it won't provide the results you are looking for. My example would be the Ohlins and Vorshlag plate combo. That was a train wreck. By now most springs have been fully vetted yet not many coilover have been. In fact I still see people buying KW and within a year migrating to JRI.
Some history...... What generated the lessons learned post
I purchased the Ohlins DFV coilovers when they were first released. At that time we didn't know that the TTRS had different suspension lengths only different geometry. Before purchasing I called Ohlins and asked if these were generic MQB coilovers with different valving and springs. The answer was yes but that they would work fine. I stepped it up a notch further and asked for customer revalve of the shocks and stiffer springs. The final configuration was 10k front and 8k rear. I paired these to Vorshalg camber plates.
Ohlins wasn't wrong ... everything bolted in perfectly but ride height was an issue. I was able to achieve the ride height I wanted but it required absolutely slamming the shocks to the lowest setting. This ended up eating most of my suspension bump travel causing the occasional bottoming out of the shock or "crashing" which is basically an abrupt stop and loud thump. If you lower your car to far on the stock shocks the same thump, bang, crash will happen. Many people blame this on the camber plates but it is in fact a lack of available bump travel due to lowering the car too much. Further research uncovered some actionable approaches to resolving the travel issue with the Ohlins.
My Vorshlag plates are extremely well made and fairly bullet proof but they come standard with a double row bearing which eats up some travel. It would still be lower profile than using the OEM top hats but there is some travel consumed for the sake of being very heavy duty. Not an optimal solution for us.
The Ohlins shocks rest on a hollow tube that surrounds the adjuster. This tubing also takes up usable travel. I assume its there to protect the adjuster or maintain a reasonable distance from the CV boot but there about 3/4" of travel that can be recovered there by cutting the end of the shock off. Again not optimal but some have done it.
Vorshlag vs GC stack height
If you want max travel at all cost the GC will provide that BUT the shock shaft will mount much higher in the strut tower. So high in fact that you will need to open up the strut tower opening to make it fit.
Here you can see an unmodded tower and a modded one:
If i were to use a spacer to lower the shaft then I'm again giving up the advantage of the GC plates and might as well go with something flat like 034 or Vorshlag with the single row bearing.
Here is how the Vorshlag mounted up inside the shock tower. Plenty of room to get full negative camber. No cutting or contact of any kind.
Also mentioned was the shortening of the shock via angle grinder. Here you'll see a typical shock bottom vs the Ohlins:
The other thing about the TTRS is the distance between the cover and the shock tower ... and the shock tower to the hood is much tighter on the TTRS. All of these camber plates use reverse mounted bolts meaning they are pointed up and most will make contact with the cowl cover. There are also concerns about how much poke you can have from a top adjusting shock like the one pictured above. The RS3 has much more room between the hood and the tower... We do not. I would hate to go through all that trouble only to find out you may also need to modify the hood to ensure the stub doesn't come in contact with it.
On the back things are much simpler but if the coilover comes with an 8" primary spring its probably too long for the loaded weight of the car meaning it will be hard to lower the car enough. A single primary spring will also be too short when in full droop which happens quite a bit. The best approach would be a 6-7" primary and a very light helper that fully compresses. When I tripod my rears unload and get somewhat unseated.
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Originally Posted by rmb73
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