Chronicles of Rabfan DTS coil over suspension review Courtesy of The Suspension Source by rabfan

10 minute read

Chronicles of Rabfan DTS coil over suspension review Courtesy of The Suspension Source

Compliments of rabfan @ vwvortex.com

8-16-2010

First of all big thanks to Glen at the Suspension Source for giving me the opportunity to review these DTS coil overs for the MK1 chassis.
For those of you who are interested in a set of these coils they can be had here; http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...1#post66305018
and Glen is currently running a Special discounted introductory price.

Sorry fo the delay thus far but I was in the Yukon working hard so I can take time off for H20! I just got home 5 hours ago so after some family time I thought I'd get a start on this.
This will be an ongoing thread starting from initial impression to preparation, install and finally practical driving.

The coils arrived packaged well from Germany with adequate packing and strapping to prevent any damage(unlike both my V-Maxx coil sets which arrived with all the tangs bent from two different suppliers).

In the package you will find 2 front coils, 2 rear coils, a coil wrench, and instructions mostly outlining this product's TUV approval. Of course coils should be installed by professionals only.....stay tuned for my install post



First we'll take a look at the front coil assembly;
They are nicely plated to prevent corrosion. Right away you can see the quality in these coils.
Notice they have incorporated the tang for the eccentric camber bolt. Sorry for the rusty bolt but it's the last one I had in the parts bin. Here you can see it turned for max and min camber. Nice welds on these bad boys!





Also incorporated are the brake line holders

Only one lower perch on these units secured by a set screw which is a nice feature requiring only the one wrench. The lower perch in anodized aluminum.

Nicely cut Acme thread should minimize thread galling.

Overall length;

Fully collapsed the top of the shock body lines up with the relief cut for the threads on the shaft.



Components;

Lower spring perch anodized Aluminum;

Main spring;

Mid perch made of plastic

Helper spring;

Upper perch also made of plastic which I'm not keen on but the quality of the rest of parts helps make up for this.

Lower contact washer plastic;

Bump stop(high density foam) with dust shield attached (a nice piece). The foam on this part seems equal to OEM.

And the Rear;



Same perch and acme thread;

Exploded view;

Overall length, I know the tape doesn't look lined up but it's sitting high(perspective). The measurement is accurate;

This is a nice feature, the rear bump stop is adjustable by cutting out sections;

That's it for now. Stay tuned for install preparation.

8-18-2010

Yeah totally Pat. The V-Maxx are not valved properly for the spring rates they use. I've been driving the Gulf around a bit to get some comparison feel for the first drive on the DTS.

Well Bil I think the Gulf will be the experimentation platform.

Some more comparison shots.
V-Maxx vs DTS vs Stock




Some more dimensions for you;

Time for install...I'm not going to get into how to install these coil overs. Suffice to say that changing the suspension on a Rabbit is dead simple. If you don't know how to do it or do it safely have a professional install your suspension. There is nothing special about how these coils go in. They install in the same manner as outlined in the Bentley.

I did the rears first;

Out with the old;

I like to use Copper coat to cover the rear strut bolts. That way they never seize on me.

Make sure to put some anti seize on the set screw;

15 minutes later rear in;

Prior to height adjustment....I have the low....

Keep in mind that the strut towers on all 4 corners of the Gulf have been raised 2"

One thing I will say about the rears, and the same issue was present with other coil over kits I've had, was that there is only one top nut included. I had two extra top nuts in my lucky bucket. As per the Bentley the bottom top nut allows the spring assembly to be assembled prior to installation. The second top nut secures the top retaining washer and holds the assembly in the car at full droop. I find it strange that manufacturers overlook this second nut. Without it the top nut is required to perform double duty.

On to the front;


Also prior to height adjustment;

I like to remove the vehicle weight from the suspension before attempting to adjust the height. I use a tape measure to set basic ride height. I don't have corner weights to set up Coils properly but that's not really important to me anyway.

When ever you change the suspension on your car you'll need an alignment.
I do my own alignments using a machinists inclinometer and plumb bobs with marks on my garage floor. Works pretty well for me.

Tomorrow; first ride impressions!

Just got the call, I'm going back to work tomorrow.
Huge rush to get everything done before I go again.
Finally got the Gulf aligned this morning. Been driving it around all day getting some initial impressions.
The valving on the DTS are waaay better than the V-Maxx. Of course being this low the ride is still stiff. I have some pre-load dialed in for the rear due to the long range tank. I wanted to make sure there was no sag when full. Because of that I find the rear a bit harsh but that may change over time and with 80 liters of diesel on board!
The response is crisp and solid in the turns. No drama mid corner or anything unexpected occurred. Over some bigger humps in the road at moderate speed the car stayed rock solid and recovered crisply from compression without any bouncing. Again the valving seems right on here.
Over all I would say these are a very solid suspension choice.
So far after a full day of screwing around town, the springs have settled about 1/4". I'll keep an eye on the total drop and of course I'll have to raise the up again to get my alignment back....and my clearance.
Just a preliminary drive thus far until the springs settle in fully.
Stay tuned for more updates during my cross country trek!

8-19-2010

Also for those of you wondering, the spring rates as posted by DTS are as follows;

Front 340
Rear 285