Suspension questions

[cbouch1]

Ok so I have a 99 2.0l that I just put a set of Jetta Wolfsburg 16 inch bbs rxIIs with 205 55 16 tires. My question is what is the next step to upgrade the suspension or handleing on the car. Would I want to lower it and if so how much or is there other things to do? Thanks for the help.

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by cbouch1

Ok so I have a 99 2.0l that I just put a set of Jetta Wolfsburg 16 inch bbs rxIIs with 205 55 16 tires. My question is what is the next step to upgrade the suspension or handleing on the car. Would I want to lower it and if so how much or is there other things to do? Thanks for the help.

If you want to go low, just get some coilovers or a shock & spring combo, also known as a Cup Kit. You could always get a thicker front and rear swaybar


My strut has blown, and I'm going to get some of these this friday. They're Rokkor,but they're stiffer Raceland's Coilovers and they get pretty good reviews and seem to be a great deal for the price.

[cbouch1]

so to go with a cup kit what kind of lowering would i want to go with? I mean ive been reading some of these forums and people talk about bottoming out and also would 2" be too mush to run that size tire. I want to get better handling not looking to slam it but is 2 inches too much

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by cbouch1

so to go with a cup kit what kind of lowering would i want to go with? I mean ive been reading some of these forums and people talk about bottoming out and also would 2" be too mush to run that size tire. I want to get better handling not looking to slam it but is 2 inches too much

That depends on your personal preferences... I'm going low. I personally prefer coils because you can adjust them up/down as you please. So if you live in a winter area, you can spin them to their highest settings to help with snow clearance.


Search around here in the suspension area to get you started

[Fl_bug]

Oh and here is my personal favorite reference picture.



Left car is lowered on a cupkit. The right one is lowered on coils (and can go a couple more threads lower too)

[ECS Tuning]

Lowering the car can certainly help make the car feel a bit more "planted", however dramatic lowering is not considered a handling upgrade. Most prefer to lower the car for looks, which will also give the car a tighter feeling through the turns due to the higher spring rates.

If lowering is not your main concern, a good shock / spring combo will certainly enhance the handling, as would a set of coilovers. It really comes down to budget and your personal goals with the car.

We have a large selection of suspension components that can be found here on the website:

Volkswagen New Beetle 2.0 > Suspension

Feel free to send over a PM or email with any questions or if you would like help matching a setup to your driving habits and goals with the car.

[MichelleRoze]

Mine is the silver car in the picture referenced. If you do go low. It is HIGHLY recommended to get a panzer/diesel geek/defender tech skid plate. Whichever one you prefer. I personally have the Defender Tech skid plate. It's stainless steel. It will protect the important bits under the car that need protecting, especially the oil pan.

I run on 18" tires. So you're 16's will be perfect for a lowered car. But lowering it isn't the only thing to do. If you've got high mileage, or atleast creeping up on 100K, you should look into updating some suspension parts as well. Most important if you want better handling...rear control arm bushings. Go for the Audi TT bushings. They are a solid design and will last MUCH longer than the ones that come stock on the car. I'm telling you THAT alone will make a great improvement. Also look into ball joints, tie rod ends, and other parts as well. You'll be taking the whole front suspension apart to replace the struts, so you might as well do as much as you can while you're there.

I don't have experience with coils, but I will say if you go with lowering springs, mine being Eibach Pro Lowering Kit, you WILL need new struts/shocks. You will need a stiffer strut/shock to support the lowering springs. If you keep it stock, those won't be strong enough to support the lowering springs and will fail a lot quicker than they should. I run Koni STR.T struts and shocks. They are inbetween a Koni Yellow (stock replacement) and Koni Red (performance). Hence why they are sometimes called Koni Orange They give you just enough stiffness to be "performance" but not too stiff to hinder the ride quality so they can just be slightly better than "stock".

It's really up to you. I like my setup. I don't have snowy conditions. Though the roads here aren't always the greatest, I have my steel skid plate to protect the important stuff. And just make sure to watch the roads.