I was initially going to go with a set of StaSIS coilovers, but this never came to fruition. Then these were brought to my attention. Originally meant as standard H&R performance coilovers, it was through a lucky strike that I ended up with an ultra low set. Even though H&R doesn’t officially list them as Jetta part numbers, we all know that Golf/Rabbit/Jettas (including GTIs and GLIs) share the same suspension configuration so I decided to stick to it. While the sedan is certainly about 100lbs heavier in the rear than the hatch, any rake that could result from this can be compensated thanks to the adjustability of the rear perches since these are after all, adjustable coilovers.

I received a large box, which weighed over 55lbs in an incredibly expedite manner thanks to North American Motorsports and their flawless customer service. Upon opening the box, I was treated to an impressive set of performance suspension parts. Product quality is top notch on all accounts. The shock bodies are made by Bilstein and are extremely well constructed. Bilstein makes their gas shocks through extrusion rather than cut tubing so their shocks are legendary for being more durable and resistant than other brands. The front shocks are stainless steel with red anodized adjusting collars. All four springs are powder coated gloss red and the rear shocks are powder coated in yellow. They are also substantially shorter than your average shocks (including the Bilstein Sports) in order to provide the perfect amount of valving while accommodating a very low ride.

I should point out that these coilovers can ride extremely low. So low in fact that setting them at their lowest would not allow the car to turn or even roll off the lift after installation. It is possible to tuck 18″ wheels on these without a problem if one were so inclined, particularly in the front.

Installation is straight forward as far as MkV cars are concerned. For the front struts, I recommend the stock dust cover is left on the strut bearing. While these coilovers come with their own dust covers, the OEM strut bearing uses the dust cover as a seal into the bearing itself so it’s recommended the protection is retained. I also recommend the front fender liner modification is performed to avoid any rubbing issues. Rolling the fenders may also be a good idea if your wheels are wider than 8” and you plan to go low.

For the rear assembly, the perch can be mounted either against the car or on the bottom of the spring seat. Mounting it against the car enables you to adjust them without having to undo the rear control arms and even though the dead coils seat on the bottom end, I did not notice any adverse effects to this method in any way. They can certainly be mounted on the bottom but if adjustments were to be made, the control arm would have to be undone and the spring removed to do so which would not be practical at all, particularly since you are almost guaranteed to need some fine tuning on the days to come after installation.

Once installed and adjusted, the car immediately takes a much lower stance. Upon driving the car after installation was complete, I could notice a much suppler ride than with my previous Bilstein/H&R Race combo. The ride quality is more akin to Bilstein/H&R Sports and it’s not bouncy or harsh at all. This was extremely surprising to see for such a low coilover system. If you have or have ridden in a MkV equipped with H&R Race springs, you know the ride is taut and sporty but H&R doesn’t beat around the bush as far as the stiffness of their Race parts. These are definitely a more “streetable” setup with a friendlier ride quality and feel.

This is not to say that these are soft or “floaty” in any way. The car is planted, firm and taut. There is no nosedive under hard braking and the car corners flat and composed with these on. It’s in no way sacrificing handling, valving or dampening in favor of the ability to ride lower. H&R really did their homework on these and it shows the second you take the car out on the road.

As it stands, I could not be more pleased with this setup. It allows plenty of adjustability (you could ride them at stock height or so low your fenders would be in serious danger) while providing an unparalleled, high quality sporty ride without being bouncy or overly stiff. Anyone considering an extra low set of coilovers should give these some serious consideration. I’m confident they’re the best on the market for this specific application and specific needs. You just can’t beat Bilstein/H&R quality.

And so it happens that my car isn’t going anywhere. As it turns out, I was making abrupt decisions based on nothing and I’m glad I came to my senses on time. Even though my old suspension was already gone before I realized this, I ended up with a setup that I like even better for very little extra over what I received over the sale of my prior parts.

I guess sometimes things happen for a reason.

H&R is not joking around when they state these are Race springs. According to how the suspension handles in comparison to the sports springs I had previously, I’d say the ride stiffened up about 50% more. You can feel everything on the road with these and cornering was greatly improved while nosedive was also reduced over the previous setup. Comfort-wise, there are sacrifices to be made with these, however. The ride itself is stiffer than some people would consider comfortable which could potentially make people tired and fatigued. It’s not a setup for everyone, that’s for sure. That being said, I am enjoying them a lot.

My spring choice was H&R Sport Springs. After researching the multiple aftermarket brands and rates out at this time, I decided on these because they provide a relatively conservative drop, while still retaining good shock travel so carrying a loaded car (passengers + cargo) would not cause rubbing issues, yet they still provide sufficient amount of lowering to be a true sport spring. These are less conservative than other brands such as Eibach but still not as aggressive as their Race counterparts. I went with Bilstein as my shock option because it is well known that they are slightly stiffer than other brands such as Koni and provide excellent valving, comfort and handling. It also has integrated bumpstops, so the whole “cut-reuse-delete” debate was out the window instantly. I consider Bilstein to be the world leader in aftermarket shocks, period, so I may be a bit biased in that regard. The instalation was performed by Fine Tuning Performance in Seattle.

Overall, handling is very much improved over the stock setup. It is much more responsive and sensitive now. The best way I can describe it is as it had been refined ten times over. The car is not bouncy at all but it perfectly stiff and planted, yet comfortable and cushioned just enough. There is barely any nose dive under hard braking conditions and hard cornering really make this setup shine to the fullest. It has put several grins on my face already. If I could define the perfect sport suspension setup, this would have to be it.

As stated earlier, handling and performance were not the only things that were improved from this modification; the car looks 100 times better than before. Once this car is brought to an appropriate height, what was once akward lines and ugly wheel gaps are now agressive features and flush fenders. You can suddenly get a much better idea of the design of the vehicle as a whole and everything starts looking much more proportionate and even.

I also added a 12mm spacer to each of the rear wheels since the wider rear body pannels make the wheels appear a tad sunken into the wheel wells. This also helped quite a bit to bring the whole package together and give the car a much more sporty look and better handling. Overall I am quite pleased with this suspension upgrade. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to retain functionality of the car to carry passengers and cargo without compromising the integrity of the car but want to increase handling dramatically and also get rid of the hideous jacked up look these cars have from factory.