Recently I've gotten a lot of questions about the V-Maxx coils. Due to their price-point, they are very tempting when it comes to lowering your car. That same low price also adds a bit of apprehension, as nobody wants to spend $600 and be unhappy with their end-result suspension. I'll try and cover a few areas and I will come back and edit in some pictures from my phone.
Product Arrival/Contents
The package that I received was pretty beat up. After getting it into the garage and opened up, I took an inventory of what was in the box and it appeared that I had everything I needed. I even had an extra piece that goes nowhere on our suspension, and checking with other V-Maxx owners confirmed that it didn't belong. What I definitely noticed was missing was an install/instruction sheet. Why it is not included is beyond the scope of my understanding, especially when compared to the fact that my Pro-Kit springs had one.
Installation
Relatively straight-forward. Even without an instruction sheet, once you've taken your OEM suspension apart it is pretty easy to see how to piece everything together. The only thing that I didn't initially see was that the upper spring perch for the front coils fits over the bottom of the upper bearing. There are tabs on the bearing (for holding the upper part of the strut boot) that some have removed, though you can force the perch over them as well.
Ride Quality
For the cost, my honest opinion is that the ride is pretty good. I don't know if I had mentally set the bar really low before getting them, but I was pretty surprised when I went for the first few drives. With that being said, you definitely know that you are in a lowered car. There are sections of road (or entire roads) that you are not going to want to go on anymore. I have pretty good roads where I live, but there are some areas that the car gets bouncy that I wouldn't have predicted. I'm pretty curious as to how well the 13+ hour trip is going to be on them.
Adjustment
Here is my problem with these coils. Despite what the specifications sheet says, there is only about .5" worth of adjustment in the rear. I can deal with that as I don't have a winter here, but for someone that wants a set of coils that can take them back to or closer to OEM ride height for winter-it isn't going to happen. Depending on how you assemble the front, you can raise it something fierce. But that brings up another issue in itself. Depending on how you set up the front, you can't even level out your fenders. If you're fine with reverse-rake then cool, but I wanted level fenders and assumed (based on the specifications provided) that I could find a good area that the front and rear matched up.
For comparison (though the differences are subtle), there is this picture-
Here is a picture of how my car sits right now-
In the first picture, both the front and rear are at max-low. The rear upper isolators are installed, along with the locking ring up front. In order to get them within .25" of each other (front is still high), I had to raise the rear to max and take out the locking ring and helpers up front. Not until after I had purchased and installed everything was it recommended to me that I should have purchased aftermarket pillowball mounts. I don't know how much it would affect the overall installation ride-heights, but it definitely is something to consider above-and-beyond the initial cost of the coils.
I honestly don't know why these coils are listed for the Mk3. I have sent a request to V-Maxx to contact me about fitment concerns, so we will see how that goes. I always wondered why no one on the forum would post much about the coils other than to contact them via PM or text, but after installing and adjusting I understood. I can't whole-heartedly recommend them, but on the flip-side I can't fully discount them either. I don't feel, especially with the listed specifications, that I should have had to go to the lengths I did in order to level my fenders. This compromises safety, and I will definitely be upgrading to a more expensive set in the future. I'm simply trying to give my thoughts and opinions. Any other V-Maxx owners can share any tips/tricks install thoughts here as well, as I am really curious to see their install pics/methods along with final front/rear fender measurements. If anyone else has any questions, feel free to ask them so that we can have an open-dialogue and get the information distributed to the community.
Product Arrival/Contents
The package that I received was pretty beat up. After getting it into the garage and opened up, I took an inventory of what was in the box and it appeared that I had everything I needed. I even had an extra piece that goes nowhere on our suspension, and checking with other V-Maxx owners confirmed that it didn't belong. What I definitely noticed was missing was an install/instruction sheet. Why it is not included is beyond the scope of my understanding, especially when compared to the fact that my Pro-Kit springs had one.
Installation
Relatively straight-forward. Even without an instruction sheet, once you've taken your OEM suspension apart it is pretty easy to see how to piece everything together. The only thing that I didn't initially see was that the upper spring perch for the front coils fits over the bottom of the upper bearing. There are tabs on the bearing (for holding the upper part of the strut boot) that some have removed, though you can force the perch over them as well.
Ride Quality
For the cost, my honest opinion is that the ride is pretty good. I don't know if I had mentally set the bar really low before getting them, but I was pretty surprised when I went for the first few drives. With that being said, you definitely know that you are in a lowered car. There are sections of road (or entire roads) that you are not going to want to go on anymore. I have pretty good roads where I live, but there are some areas that the car gets bouncy that I wouldn't have predicted. I'm pretty curious as to how well the 13+ hour trip is going to be on them.
Adjustment
Here is my problem with these coils. Despite what the specifications sheet says, there is only about .5" worth of adjustment in the rear. I can deal with that as I don't have a winter here, but for someone that wants a set of coils that can take them back to or closer to OEM ride height for winter-it isn't going to happen. Depending on how you assemble the front, you can raise it something fierce. But that brings up another issue in itself. Depending on how you set up the front, you can't even level out your fenders. If you're fine with reverse-rake then cool, but I wanted level fenders and assumed (based on the specifications provided) that I could find a good area that the front and rear matched up.
For comparison (though the differences are subtle), there is this picture-
Here is a picture of how my car sits right now-
In the first picture, both the front and rear are at max-low. The rear upper isolators are installed, along with the locking ring up front. In order to get them within .25" of each other (front is still high), I had to raise the rear to max and take out the locking ring and helpers up front. Not until after I had purchased and installed everything was it recommended to me that I should have purchased aftermarket pillowball mounts. I don't know how much it would affect the overall installation ride-heights, but it definitely is something to consider above-and-beyond the initial cost of the coils.
I honestly don't know why these coils are listed for the Mk3. I have sent a request to V-Maxx to contact me about fitment concerns, so we will see how that goes. I always wondered why no one on the forum would post much about the coils other than to contact them via PM or text, but after installing and adjusting I understood. I can't whole-heartedly recommend them, but on the flip-side I can't fully discount them either. I don't feel, especially with the listed specifications, that I should have had to go to the lengths I did in order to level my fenders. This compromises safety, and I will definitely be upgrading to a more expensive set in the future. I'm simply trying to give my thoughts and opinions. Any other V-Maxx owners can share any tips/tricks install thoughts here as well, as I am really curious to see their install pics/methods along with final front/rear fender measurements. If anyone else has any questions, feel free to ask them so that we can have an open-dialogue and get the information distributed to the community.