I've just been looking through the PW Official lowered thread :bowdown: and the following have caught my eye a bit...

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1692008&postcount=24

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1882658&postcount=120

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1888219&postcount=143

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1891257&postcount=145

The top one in particular, since they are the same wheels as what I have and its difficult to judge what a certain set-up/drop would look like when I see Passat's running on different wheels!

I think they're my wheels anyway - I have the standard B5.5 sport's wheels, 16 inch I think?

 

According to Neuspeed, the 1.8T springs are the same as the TDI springs. I ran some 1.8T springs for about 6 months and they were way too soft for me. The TDI engine is a little heavier than the 1.8T so I switched my front springs out for some V6 springs. Much better ride!

 

Ok cool, cheers for the reply. So am I right in assuming that the 1.8T springs and V6 springs are a little lower than my Tdi Sport springs? By how much, roughly?

Also, is it just the springs that are needed for the lowering to take affect? On my Mini's, things are a little different you see - such as they don't have springs!!

 

Yes, the springs are what lowers your car. Every manufacturer claims different drops for their springs so get what suits the roads you drive on and the look you want. My Neuspeed 1.8T Sport springs had the same drop as the Neuspeed V6 Sport springs. The V6 springs were just stiffer.

 

First off, welcome! Noob forums posts can contain anything...so this is a fine place to post...

I'd like it to be lowered a bit, and a little stiffer. My question also is how would this effect towing? Would a 30 or 40mm drop begin to touch the wheels at all? Would the handling be improved at all? Or worse!?...

Also, is it just the springs that are needed for the lowering to take affect? On my Mini's, things are a little different you see - such as they don't have springs!!

Okay....you're in a wagon/variant/estate, so I can't quote DIRECTLY as much as how things affect the sedans..

If you only want to lower it, you can do it w/springs only. BUT! I know for sure with the sedans, so it's probably the same with wagons, aftermarket lowering springs are often SOFTER than stock; they are only shorter to drop the ride....and usually, they make the ride and handling worse.

as a side note, a 30mm drop would be all you really wanted (~1.18 in for us american folks), thats about where the passat suspension is at it's best.

the key thing you said was "lowered and stiffer", which is what we needed to know to properly answer your question. The first thing to know is that the stock shocks do not work right if you lower the car at all; though a few people have done this successfully....so if you want to lower it, you're going to want aftermarket shocks as well, unfortunately.
As far as springs......if you get different shocks, you can easily get aftermarket lowering springs and still end up with a stiffer ride. If you look around, there are a LOT of people running various shock/spring setups, and each have their different feel, but most end up with some sort of lowering and an overall "stiffer" handling feel.

This is a short answer to a large subject, but hopefully a few more will chime in...Also look in the Motorspots section for the lowering sticky, and in the garage section for lots of various suspension posts...
using the search feature up top can get you to all this in just a few seconds.

Feel free to browse the showroom for pics of people showing of their rides, and the member directory areas at the very bottom for more specifics on the cars.

Welcome once again, and I hope this helps!

~Epyon

 

Nice, thanks for the reply. That clears up quite a lot, I am totally prepared to go for springs AND shocks since I certainly don't want the handling to be compromised!

So, I've been looking on eBay (might be a bad move?), and found this kit - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-Passat-sus...QitemZ280210484540QQihZ018QQcategoryZ40192QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Its a spring and shock kit, so I presume this would fit straight on, and from looking at the table on the auction page, it would fit my car with a 30mm drop and be about 25% uprated.

I understand this kit is probably the cheapest of chips as suspension set-ups go like, but I don't intend racing my Passat and I don't often drive it that hard, just on occasion! So long as its a tad lower than what it is now, plus a little stiffer, I'll be happy.

I'll post up a photo of my car soon, come to think of it, just so you can see what I'm talking about!

One little question again, I presume I would have to get my car's tracking re-done after fitting a suspension set-up like the one above? From what I understand with the primative Mini suspension, lowering the car means more negative camber, meaning tracking gets pushed out, right?...

Thanks again. Keep the replies coming! :thumbup:

 

One little question again, I presume I would have to get my car's tracking re-done after fitting a suspension set-up like the one above? From what I understand with the primative Mini suspension, lowering the car means more negative camber, meaning tracking gets pushed out, right?...

Unfortunately, I don't know enough specifics about the passat suspension to see how the camber changes during its movement to be able to answer what I think you're trying to ask there...

I DO know, that the only thing that needs to be adjusted once you get the new parts installed is your front wheel alignment for steering. Other than that, the lengths and materials for the control arms and such don't have to be changed at all......of course, I could be assuming what you were trying to ask was much more detailed than it was.

[of course, i'm currently at work and can't go to ebay to check that link...but I'm assuming it's just shocks and springs ]

Oh, and just a bit of info: On a B5...you have to use a spring compressor to install the front springs, unlike the back where you can just drop them in after raising the car.

Hope this helps

~Epyon

 

Here's a link to Passat owner reviews and photos of various aftermarket suspension setups:
http://www.b5one.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4788

 

I am running the V6 springs on my B5.5 2.0 TDI wagon with Bilstein struts. I wouldn't recommend the 1.8t springs, my brother had those on his 2.0 TDI sedan and had problems with tires wearing out on the inside because the 2.0 is heavier than the 1.8t. He also switched to V6 springs and it made a huge difference with no problems.

 

That's what I said!

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Over this weekend I got my car up to top-notch working order, with its knackered nearside CV joint being replaced, plus new discs & shoes all round and an air-con recondition. Its working really well now and its great to drive.

I had a word with the chap who did the work on my car about lowering it and he said that since I've got a sport already, the shocks are quite stiff to start with. In which case, he said, if you want to go ahead then just buy some after market springs with about a 30mm drop.

He quoted it would be about a 4 hour job to change the shocks front & back, not bad. I'm on the hunt now for maybe some Gmax or PI springs with a 30 or 40mm drop! Any thoughts?

 

Was going to say as well, here's a couple of photos! :thumbup:

Its not this clean at the moment, just had a crazy weekend up at Santa Pod for the Easter Thunderball drag racing - got a bit stuck in the muddy field!!

 

<cough>www.ukpassats.co.uk</cough> for a UK slant