Front springs. OEM or Eibach Pro? S3 8P 3door

[Daveyonthemove]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for advice on the Eibach pro springs vs stock springs for the front of my S3.
I am replacing the rear springs and shocks (parts sat waiting to be fitted) with OEM parts as some 3rd party parts made the car feel awful, and I decided that the fronts might as well be changed at the same time to ensure even wear all around.

I live in an area with some pretty poor road surfaces and oversize speed bumps, so slamming the car and making it stiff as possible is not what I am looking to achieve. It's got to be comfortable and still give a sense of security when cornering.
I'll be using new stock OEM shocks so it's only the springs that I'm undecided on at the moment.

Can anyone give me some honest feedback on the differences between the two?

Thanks in advance.

 

[paddy]

I fitted Eibach pro a couple of years ago, when they need replacing i would go back to stock. I dont like the fact they are at least 25mm shorter and the car sits nose down, they make no noticeable difference to the handling or ride. Like a lot of these tuning parts they are really a part of a much bigger set and with matching front and rear eibach shocks, roll bars and bushes + rear springs they may be an improvement but on their own with stock everything else they are odd bits out of place.

 

[nluk100]

As above, I had the Eibachs fitted to sort the front gap out - felt no difference at all but improved the stance without going too low.

 

[prt57]

In my view, you were unhappy with the aftermarket rear parts and so you would be disappointed If the non standard springs were harsh or made the stance strange.
So for peace of mind, go for OE.

 

[Daveyonthemove]

Thanks guys, kind of where i was at with the thought process, but as the prices were similar and so many people rave about them I thought i'd ask for opinions from people that know.
I'll be ordering OEM Top mounts, shocks and springs in the next few days (when TPS answer the phone!).

 

[NHN]

Give Damian @ dpm a shout, put your thoughts go him & see what he says, he's quite honest & knowledgeable

 

[nluk100]

In my view, you were unhappy with the aftermarket rear parts and so you would be disappointed If the non standard springs were harsh or made the stance strange.
So for peace of mind, go for OE.

On the facelift cars, the front is higher than the rear for some reason from the factory, so may as well put the Eibach front springs on if the struts are coming back out anyway? You won't be able to tell the difference and there are no issues with ride / comfort. I had them on my car for 6+ years.

 

[Daveyonthemove]

On the facelift cars, the front is higher than the rear for some reason from the factory, so may as well put the Eibach front springs on if the struts are coming back out anyway? You won't be able to tell the difference and there are no issues with ride / comfort. I had them on my car for 6+ years.

Mine is one of the first, Nov 2006.
The fronts are slightly higher and it would look better being slightly lower, but as mentioned above i have to navigate over some oversize speed humps (some are above kerb height in places).
Looks are less important to me than ride comfort and the ability to use my car without scraping the car on these speed humps. Sadly, I have no way of avoiding them if I wish to park my car securely within 2 miles of where i live.

 

[Daveyonthemove]

We fitted the OEM rear shocks and springs yesterday, and while one of the 3rd party shocks was removed I compared it to the genuine part.
To look at, they are near identical in size but the OEM shock has a plastic collar and the aftermarket part has a metal one.
That is where the similarities end. Pressing both down to full compression was more difficult on the OEM part, and when allowing them to return to full extension the OEM shock was much much quicker, I would say approx 2 times faster.

The springs were the same story. Identical to look at, but when pressing them down (by hand so not easy) the OEM spring seemed to be harder to push down, although neither moved very much.

The test drive backed up what I witnessed when compressing them, the car responded much better to dips in the road and rough surfaces and held it's weight far better in the corners. I knew the car wasn't right on the aftermarket parts, but changing them highlighted just how bad they were. I was even getting ESP/Traction control interference prior to fitting OEM suspension.

Front suspension should be ordered this week and fitted when free time is available.

I will upload a video tonight showing the differences between the shocks in case anyone searches this forum in the future and isn't sure why OEM is worth buying over cheaper 3rd party equipment.

 

[prt57]

That is good news Davey. Thank you for being the guinea pig and so this will be very useful for anyone in the future.
I bet you are looking forward to getting the fronts done now.

 

[Daveyonthemove]

Here is a quick comparison video as mentioned above:


You can probably see why I was having issues with these parts, the car felt awful on any surface that wasn't straight or perfectly flat.
If you need to replace suspension on your car, buy OEM or seek advice from a suspension specialist and avoid 'OEM Quality' parts. It will save you money in the long run.

 

[samisnake]

did you get the part numbers from the oem and aftermarket?

glad you got it sorted in the end. cant have been cheap id imagine

 

[Daveyonthemove]

did you get the part numbers from the oem and aftermarket?

glad you got it sorted in the end. cant have been cheap id imagine

I got the genuine part numbers, but i wasn't able to track down the invoice for 3rd party springs.
The shocks are here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-VW-P...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
I know they are listed as Passat shocks, but they do come up as a part number match and my car is listed as compatible, and the seller also confirmed it.

Total cost has been around £600. Not ideal, but if sharing this saves someone else the hassle and expense, then something good might have come of it.

 

[samisnake]

the passat thing aint an issue, parts are shared throughout.

the seller says they are meyle (not a company id use personally but not terrible), gives no part numbers, but lists some oem part numbers in the listing.
if you check on https://www.autodoc.co.uk/meyle/8928321
thats the meyle part that cross references with the oem part numbers provided.
it lists the s3, as well as every other engine, body style and drivetrain!

i think thats what the issue is rather than them being faulty or whatever, its just that they arent specifically designed for your car. theyre meant to go on anything and everything.
compare that with https://www.autodoc.co.uk/sachs/1224181
which only lists heavy quattro cars as compatible. does your oem one say sachs on it?

 

[Daveyonthemove]

the passat thing aint an issue, parts are shared throughout.

the seller says they are meyle (not a company id use personally but not terrible), gives no part numbers, but lists some oem part numbers in the listing.
if you check on https://www.autodoc.co.uk/meyle/8928321
thats the meyle part that cross references with the oem part numbers provided.
it lists the s3, as well as every other engine, body style and drivetrain!

i think thats what the issue is rather than them being faulty or whatever, its just that they arent specifically designed for your car. theyre meant to go on anything and everything.
compare that with https://www.autodoc.co.uk/sachs/1224181
which only lists heavy quattro cars as compatible. does your oem one say sachs on it?

I agree, I'm not saying they are faulty.
They claim they fit my car, and they do. But there is more to it than that as you rightly point out. Unfortunately I didn't know this at the time and found out the hard way.
There is no indication of the manufacturer on the new OEM kit, I did look for it so I could share the info.