So do i before i fit mine hahaha
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AMAX (APEX?) 40mm springs £30 from ECP
- Thread starter JB21
- Start date
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Come on pics and reviews
Right, looks like I'm the Guniea Pig!
All fitted and......not impressed lol
Not as low as I'd hoped, fairly sure Apex gives more of a drop from photos I've seen? Guess they may settle a bit
Disappointingly I think my Cooksports give the same drop, but then they have had plenty of time to settle
(Don't have an actual side on photo with Cooksports to compare which is a tad annoying)
Also more importantly (and worryingly) they does seem to be a knocking noise/twang coming from them at certain times (seems to be bumps or rises in the road) - Should also point out I've got a half stripped out rear (no seats), so I've got less weight than normal
So had a look underneath and...
I'm fairly sure a couple of the coils are hitting each other...not good at all! Would explain the noise I'm getting
I actually went to the effort of taking them back off and fitting them the other way around (text upside down) and went for another quick little drive (couple of miles) and it does seem a lot better (although it did do it once)
Compared to my Cooksports, the read springs are massive!
I've got my normal 40 mile round trip tomorrow, which over 30 miles is county roads or B roads, so I should have a fair idea of what they're like fairly shortly
So my opinion and advice - If you haven't bought any yet, don't bother! If you have and you haven't got around to fitting them, give me another 24 hours and I'll probably be telling you not to bother wasting an hour of your life fitting them...
All fitted and......not impressed lol
Not as low as I'd hoped, fairly sure Apex gives more of a drop from photos I've seen? Guess they may settle a bit
Disappointingly I think my Cooksports give the same drop, but then they have had plenty of time to settle
(Don't have an actual side on photo with Cooksports to compare which is a tad annoying)
Also more importantly (and worryingly) they does seem to be a knocking noise/twang coming from them at certain times (seems to be bumps or rises in the road) - Should also point out I've got a half stripped out rear (no seats), so I've got less weight than normal
So had a look underneath and...
I'm fairly sure a couple of the coils are hitting each other...not good at all! Would explain the noise I'm getting
I actually went to the effort of taking them back off and fitting them the other way around (text upside down) and went for another quick little drive (couple of miles) and it does seem a lot better (although it did do it once)
Compared to my Cooksports, the read springs are massive!
I've got my normal 40 mile round trip tomorrow, which over 30 miles is county roads or B roads, so I should have a fair idea of what they're like fairly shortly
So my opinion and advice - If you haven't bought any yet, don't bother! If you have and you haven't got around to fitting them, give me another 24 hours and I'll probably be telling you not to bother wasting an hour of your life fitting them...
And in comparison, these are all on Apex Springs I grabbed off Google :
Virtually no arch gap at all! If you look at mine on the rear in comparison there's a huge difference....and I can't see it settling that much (especially as I can see me taking them off in 24 hours)
Virtually no arch gap at all! If you look at mine on the rear in comparison there's a huge difference....and I can't see it settling that much (especially as I can see me taking them off in 24 hours)
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Great update mate. That's me out lol
Don't blame you haha
If they still knock tomorrow, I'll ask ECP for a refund and state they're faulty
I am quite tempted to try some Apex springs though, the height of them looks absolutely spot on! Or I go for the full works and get some Bilstein B14's...but my only concern is that they don't go low enough on the back (for my liking)
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
I liked the apex on the cup but they weren't megs low. I think apex do 40/60mm?
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Pretty sure they do both drops, apex.
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
I'm sure the 60mm drop isn't for the RS range...
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Not sure
So 20 miles done and the verdict is...Don't fit them!
Country Roads - harsh (although bearable admiditely) and banging/knocking on the back over certain bumps and rises
Main Road - feel horribly unstable, at 60mph I was almost getting some sort of spring resonance (from the rear it seems), which I was feeling through my pedals. There's also a nice corner I can take at 60mph quite comfortable with my Cooksport springs, with these I didn't even feel happy at 55
Town - the squeaky noise is unbearable! No matter the speed, I didn't realise until I had my window down but jesus it's bad
On the other hand I think if you ran them for a couple of weeks and put a few hundred miles on them these problems may settle/resolve themselves but I'm not going to give mine the chance. I've got a 160mile round trip tomorrow, and there's no way I fancy using these (or trust them)...I'm not looking forward to the 20 mile trip home
On the plus side, they do seem to have of settled a little bit and do look lower than my Cooksports - stance/height does look good actually!
Half tempted to drop ECP an email saying how rubbish they are and that they're unsafe, but hardly think it's worth it for £30
Country Roads - harsh (although bearable admiditely) and banging/knocking on the back over certain bumps and rises
Main Road - feel horribly unstable, at 60mph I was almost getting some sort of spring resonance (from the rear it seems), which I was feeling through my pedals. There's also a nice corner I can take at 60mph quite comfortable with my Cooksport springs, with these I didn't even feel happy at 55
Town - the squeaky noise is unbearable! No matter the speed, I didn't realise until I had my window down but jesus it's bad
On the other hand I think if you ran them for a couple of weeks and put a few hundred miles on them these problems may settle/resolve themselves but I'm not going to give mine the chance. I've got a 160mile round trip tomorrow, and there's no way I fancy using these (or trust them)...I'm not looking forward to the 20 mile trip home
On the plus side, they do seem to have of settled a little bit and do look lower than my Cooksports - stance/height does look good actually!
Half tempted to drop ECP an email saying how rubbish they are and that they're unsafe, but hardly think it's worth it for £30
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imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Good for letting others know mate
Daz...
ClioSport Club Member
Inferno 182 Cup
I'd much rather have boost!
I'm undecided on whether to replace them with either cooksports or eibach sport lines tbh.
@Jimbob 2705 If you're looking for lows then I would recommend Apex, they let you push it with no worries. Oh, no squeaks either!
No worries, I'd hate for someone to have to pay a garage to fit them and then pay again to have to change them
I'm lucky enough to be able to do it myself, and just a case of wasting a few hours
Have you bought some?
I genuinely think that they would improve with bedding in, but how long that would take I don't know
And the instability is a bit strange, almost like its bouncing ever so slightly on the rear springs and I can feel it through my pedals and steering wheel - not even like its on a rough or uneven road
How much for your APEX springs once you've replaced them?:wink:
Daz...
ClioSport Club Member
Inferno 182 Cup
It won't be for a couple of months yet mate, and I don't want to commit to selling until I know I'm happy with the replacements.
Yeah got some on Monday, was gonna be fitting them with new cup dampers as well. Might just fit them and see then bang them on eBay for £20 if crap. Is fitting 3 bolts either side on the fronts and 2 bolts either side on the rears and no spring compressor required?
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Apex springs albeit second hand are cheap. Probably 40/50. Shame three didn't pan out but hey ho.
I have h@r on mine and rate them.
I have h@r on mine and rate them.
I seriously rate Cooksports, just a shame they don't give that much lows - but they're a decent height actually, practical and looks half alright
Can't compare them to Apex (only these rubbish things), but I can see me just going the Coilover route
Tbh I bought these hoping they were Apex, but looks like they aren't
If you can change it all easy enough, I'd say give them a try - I'd be interested to see how someone else finds them, maybe I just got a dodgy set
Changing is easy enough - front strut, nut at the top, 2 bolts on the shock, abs line out the way. No spring compressor needed. Rear put on axle stands, jack under rear beam, shock bolt out and slowly let jack down. Bit more of a faff if you've got a rear ARB, as you've just got to get angle right on the angled brackets when reassembly
The only reasons I went for these was that I wanted something a bit lower, and I thought if I could put up with the extra harshness/stiffness that they have apparently, I'd run them for a couple of weeks and see what I thought
Nothing wrong with my Cooksports at all, infact they are fantastic and I rate them well, just wanted to see how it looked being lower
Might keep an eye out for some secondhand Apex, but unless they're a bargain I think I'll either stick to my Cooksports or get some B14's...
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
I bought some apex for £25 a while back. Obviously this thread will probably put the prices up lol. B14 are ace
Stefan.
ClioSport Club Member
£30 kinda says that they are going to be crap lol
Otherwise cooksport/eibach would be selling for the same price..
Otherwise cooksport/eibach would be selling for the same price..
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Agreed. Fair play for trying them
@Jimbob 2705 how much for thr cooksports lol
Can't see why not Dave, worst will be the postage cost (which you'll have to cover I'd of thought)
I'd be interested to know how others finding, so if it's not too much effort chuck them on!
Haha, I'm afraid the Cooksports are staying, even if I do get B14's - probably end up selling the B14's and selling the Cooksports with the car (when the time finally comes)
On the plus side, can't fault EuroCarParts!
Sent them an email this morning saying how I thought they were unsafe, with the faults and a couple of images
Had a reply half an hour later saying they'll either send a courier to pick them up, or if I drop them at my local branch, they'll give me a full refund
So hats off to ECP for their service, just a shame the springs are rubbish lol
Sent them an email this morning saying how I thought they were unsafe, with the faults and a couple of images
Had a reply half an hour later saying they'll either send a courier to pick them up, or if I drop them at my local branch, they'll give me a full refund
So hats off to ECP for their service, just a shame the springs are rubbish lol
Attachments
Its not really a issue putting them on but i dont wanna hit boost then into a tree lol
Put it this way I was genuinely concerned taking them over 60mph, although I'll have another go on the way home and see
Just felt so strange, almost like an unbalanced wheel from the rear but instead of shaking/vibration more of a sort of springing/rocking sensation, I could feel it through the steering wheel and pedals
Difficult to describe but didn't fill me with confidence!
Just going to double check my wheel nuts again before I leave work, just to rule them out, but I definitely torqued them up (and infact didn't even have the rear wheels off!)
How you finding yours mate? Driven yours in anger?
