Which shock and springs combo to improve handling while maintaining ride comfort?

naefeart

naefeart

naefeart

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Hi,

I'm looking at replacing the tired shocks and springs on my 2.8 V6 4Mo Passat saloon. It's primarily a winter hack, but gets used for long journeys and occasionally as a DD (the auto is nice in traffic).

The ride is quite wallowy (it looks like it’s on stilts) and doesn't inspire confidence in corners. It's a big heavy barge but I'd like to improve this by firming up and lowering the ride slightly, while not ruining ride comfort or practicality. Also the car is currently running Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 225/45/17

I'm looking at replacing tops mounts, suspension arms/bushes etc. but I can't decide which shocks option would suit best. I've narrowed it down to:

1.New oem shocks

2.Koni FSD Shocks

3.Bilstein B6 Shocks

My spring preference would have been Eibach springs (30mm drop), but they only do these for the 4Mo Estate and don't list a fitment for the saloon. I'm guessing using the Estate's springs would be a bad idea due to the rear springs being rated for a different weight.

H&R springs (35mm drop) are supposedly a little firmer in comparison, but I've used them before on an A4 Quattro and the rider was decent with oem shocks, though if being critical perhaps a little on the firm side.

I'm leaning towards the Koni shocks as I think they would be better suited to lowering springs than the oem ones. Feedback on Bilstein points to them a bit too harsh on poor roads. Perhaps because they use gas rather than oil?

I was looking for any general opinions from anyone who might have experience with either Koni or Bilstein shocks or perhaps can recommend a combination I haven't thought of.

Oh and coilovers are not on the list - I don't want the fuss or the associated costs.

Thanks
 
The ride Height may be high(er) as its a 4motion, maybe due to the style or due to the drive train requiring more room, something to look into before lowering it.

I know my Volvo AWD has higher ride height than it 2WD couterparts.

Maybe just some performance bushes would firm it up nicely?
 
mattyfez said:
Maybe just some performance bushes would firm it up nicely?
Click to expand...

That would just make the ride harsher with no benefit to roll resistance. I wouldn't even consider fitting polyurethane bushes on a car to be used as a comfortable long distance barge.

The Koni FSD shocks seems to get glowing reviews on all sorts of cars for improving handling without sacrificing comfort.
 
the best bet by a mile is to go on a passat forum and ask the question there. they'll have first hand experience of the fitting AND what works best with your car

B@
 
Id say that given the car has no sporting intentions id just rebush everything and put new OE dampers on, then youll get back to the ride/handling it would have had originally
 
Matt82 said:
Id say that given the car has no sporting intentions id just rebush everything and put new OE dampers on, then youll get back to the ride/handling it would have had originally
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I refreshed all the front suspension arms / bushes, fitted a coilover kit which lowered the car 40mm ish, mine was a cheap coilover kit aswell, due to the Passats design the new suspension only made the ride quality a tiny bit harsher, it really is a very forgiving car, plus now it doesn't roll as much in the corners, but yes, it's still poor down country roads.

Perhaps i've just been lucky, but 60k on and my shocks and springs are still fine and it's not like my Estate is a light car either!!!
 
Thanks for the replies.

It was a bit of a long shot, but I figured I'd get some good sensible feedback here rather than personal experience of this type of car.

I have looked on VW and Passat forums, but much of the info is either US based (people using US market suspension products on very different road compounds) or for different Passat variants - the 2.8 4Mo appears to be quite poorly represented on car forums. Its a big heavy family car after all.

I will still go down the route of replacing the arms/bushes etc, but will still consider whether I go oem for the remainder. Happy with the car in general, but would be great if it just handled a little better. Probably doesn't help that my other car handles insanely well :D

Firestar - yours was a 1.8T wasn't it? Which coilovers did you put on in the end?
 
Yea mines the 1.8T, i ended up with a Meyle HD control arm set, which i warn you now, was a total pain in the rear to fit, the front pinch bolts seize solid, which makes life interesting! But it's a solid quality kit, i wouldn't buy cheap control arms.

http://www.allgermanparts.co.uk/ourshop/prod_447624-Meyle-HD-control-arm-set-116-050-0029HD.html

I think my coilover are Jamex, irrc, cost just under £300 about 3 - 4 years ago, they have been given quite a lot of stick without complaint, ride quality didn't really drop too much, but when i rip these out after winter i'm going for a simple damper and lowering spring setup, was thinking H&R or Eibach Pro springs on Koni FSD, mines on 170k now so i'm going to keep running it until i feel it can't do a good enough job anymore (really want to see well past 200k).
 
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Simon said:
No idea on that car, but never had a bad experience of Koni dampers.
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Likewise. Slightly biased but I just fitted a set of Koni coilovers to my MX5 a week or so ago. The ride is great, probably not the best for track but with these irish roads, I couldn't compromise too much with spring rates.
 
naefeart said:
Thanks for the replies.

It was a bit of a long shot, but I figured I'd get some good sensible feedback here rather than personal experience of this type of car.

I have looked on VW and Passat forums, but much of the info is either US based (people using US market suspension products on very different road compounds) or for different Passat variants - the 2.8 4Mo appears to be quite poorly represented on car forums. Its a big heavy family car after all.
Click to expand...

this is probably your best bet:

http://www.ukpassats.co.uk/phpbb/

what it's like for the 2.8 4mo i've no idea, but I can't believe it's not been asked before; people change their suspension all the time.

B@
 
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