Vogtland/lowered owners...

[sbeckman7]

I want to lower my car on vogtlands but a bad thought crept into my head as I pictured my car with a full tank of gas and five people inside. Have any of you guys had problems with bottoming out? Does rolling fenders solve this? Thanks guys; I'd like to hear Vogtland suspension users in particular. They're special

[paperplane94]

I can ask Vogtland for you!


or just give you a free bump.

[cincyE34]

I just installed mine with Bilstien sports and they bottom out in front, not so bad in the rear. The drop in front is great but I wish I would have done Konis instead of the billies. I do wonder if a stiffer spring like an H&R would help some of that, maybe a owner with those can give you a comparison.

[sbeckman7]

Do you think the Koni's wouldn't have bottomed out in front or is it a ride preference? I want more comfort than go-kart.

[hcash]

HR's are stiffer and aren't as big of a drop. So, that's a leg up on not bottoming out as much. The fenders are not the issue with bottoming out. It's the shock needing to compress more than it is capable of...

[sbeckman7]

My mistake, I was referring to tire rubbing as well. The Koni's are shorter than the Bilsteins?

[535mike]

FWIW...

This is billie sports and vogtlands under wide open throttle during an autocross with 4 people in the car. lol. Never had it rub or bottom out though. Prob half a tank of gas here.

[cincyE34]

Do you think the Koni's wouldn't have bottomed out in front or is it a ride preference? I want more comfort than go-kart.

I cant say if they would bottom out, I would assume they would but unlike the billies where the bump stop is built internally you can cut a standard bump stop down for the konis and also with the adjustable valving you can tune it a little better for the roads you navigate on a daily, thats from what I read. I would say you would get a more comfortable ride from a Koni/Vogtland combo versus many others on the market.

My mistake, I was referring to tire rubbing as well. The Koni's are shorter than the Bilsteins?

I dont think you will have any rubbing issues but that would be depended on what tire size you are running. I hear some guys get a little rub in the rear when using 275/35/18 on maybe 18x9/9.5 M Pars and such but if you aint that wide out back then you should have no worries. And its not that the koni's are shorter than the billies or vice versa its more about the strut housing itself being too long, so when you put a shorter strut in there it is going to bottom out, thats why all the coilovers usually cut out 2 inches of the strut housing to combat that problem.

[douginky]

Sorry guys, I'm a little confused. Exactly what is it that's touching/hitting when bottoming out? Are you saying that the top of the strut housing hits the upper strut mount/bushing or is the insert so compressed it bottoms out internally?
Mine front bottoms out and I haven't really studied it to see why yet.
Thanks

[E34freak]

I just bought Vogtlands and Billie sports. I was not happy with the way the front struts would bottom out on rough roads. It does not take much of a pot hole for the strut to bang and that is not a sweet sound to hear. The rear is not an issue but if I was going to do it over I would buy stiffer front springs or springs that held the ride a little higher. This is a 540 6speed set up and I don't know how much different it would be with six cylinder lighter front ends. I swithced front struts to Sachs and they still bottom out but not as much.

[darrenforeal]

I have vogtlands and billie sports. I have never bottomed out. I have my rear fenders rolled though because I have 265/40/18s and around a 10mm spacer. But I love mine. Rarely will I have more than 2 other people in the car though.


For the guys "bottoming" out, you aren't using the factory bump stop are you? The billie sports has that built in, so that would explain the bottoming out.

[EVOLONE38]

This is a 540 6speed set up and I don't know how much different it would be with six cylinder lighter front ends.

The I6 engine weighs more than the V8...... by about a hundred pounds, maybe.

[marct335i]

I have vogtlands and billie sports. I have never bottomed out. I have my rear fenders rolled though because I have 265/40/18s and around a 10mm spacer. But I love mine. Rarely will I have more than 2 other people in the car though.

For the guys "bottoming" out, you aren't using the factory bump stop are you? The billie sports has that built in, so that would explain the bottoming out.

In my experience, even without the factory bump stop, expansion joints and step ups can feel like a bomb went off. I hear that you can get them revalved to where the dont have that issue. It's a standard billy sport complaint though. That said, with pot holes and uneven pavement aside, they ride great.

[sbeckman7]

FWIW...

This is billie sports and vogtlands under wide open throttle during an autocross with 4 people in the car. lol. Never had it rub or bottom out though. Prob half a tank of gas here.

Good god that car is low

[misswin]

Billy sports and vogts here, as well... Struts were blown when I received them and I bottomed out on EVERYTHING. Dash-rattling, soul-shaking bang. It was intense. Rolled my rear fenders because I had 4 people in the car one night and rubbed rear tire everywhere. It was pretty funny.

With that said, I got essentially brand new fronts recently and am sending off the rears for a revalve soon. Even with the fronts in better shape, the difference is incredible. They're still.... uh... sporty... but I bottom out way less, even with all of the potholes and interstate speedbumps that they call "road patches" around here.

[BeLiQ]

I have Billies Sport and Vogs and I should say I am pretty happy with the stance. I haven't had 4 people or so in the car, but I have had full trunk of 2 big jacks, jack stands, tools and what not.

[Schneider]

My less than 1 year old billie sport and vogs will be for sale soon. I'll post them in the for sale section later today after I clean them up and snap some photos.

[E34freak]

I have vogtlands and billie sports. I have never bottomed out. I have my rear fenders rolled though because I have 265/40/18s and around a 10mm spacer. But I love mine. Rarely will I have more than 2 other people in the car though.


For the guys "bottoming" out, you aren't using the factory bump stop are you? The billie sports has that built in, so that would explain the bottoming out.

So you are saying that putting in different (smaller) bump stops will cure this? I changed from billies to sachs and I still am not happy with result. I would rather change bump stops then springs. Is it possible with sachs struts?

This is a 540 6speed set up and I don't know how much different it would be with six cylinder lighter front ends.

The I6 engine weighs more than the V8...... by about a hundred pounds, maybe.

Yeah your right a straight six is lighter. I guess more aluminum in the v8s make a difference.

My front struts bottom out on manhole covers. This can't be more then an inch and a half in elevation. Is there a fix for it?

[BDR]

I like to have my cars look and perform decent with a full passenger load. I hate that scraping the floor look to be honest. maybe it was cool at 17, but Im waaaaay past that now I prefer a lowered 1-2finger gap stance now that give room for suspension travel. I have learned that buying a new suspension setup and not having the struts do their job because of lack of travel, well was a waste of $$$. But everyone has their opinions.

I had H&R/Bilsteins in the past and even with trimmed bumpstops, the struts would crash into the bumpstops on decent sized bumps. Since then I have always gone with a fully adjustable coilover setup. Just for the simple fact that I could dial in the height, dampening rate, and preload the spring to whatever I felt comfortable with to give a smooth yet performing ride.

I am going to start looking at suspension for my build project soon too. As much as I like the look of Vogtlands... I may opt for the Koni/Eibach setup, or do some further investigation into an affordable but functional coilover setup.

[OneTwo]

I'm on Vogtland's and some very-close-to-worn-out Billie Sports. The stance is great, but the ride is so-so. Potholes are pretty rough, but normal driving is fine. It's definitely more firm than most other cars, but it's not uncomfortable. I hit bumpstops on potholes.

As for rubbing, in the rear I'll rub with 2-3 passengers, a semi-full tank, and aggressive throttle. But I have 9.5" M-Pars with 245/40's and a 15mm spacer. I did have the rear fenders rolled. In the front, I have 8.5" M-Pars with 225/40's and a 5mm spacer, no rubbing issues, but I'm sure if I blasted a speedbump at full lock it would rub. Fenders aren't rolled.

(Pic for reference, I think I may have had 235/40's in the front at this point.)

[darrenforeal]

So you are saying that putting in different (smaller) bump stops will cure this? I changed from billies to sachs and I still am not happy with result. I would rather change bump stops then springs. Is it possible with sachs struts?

I am saying with billie sports I run no external bump stops. You need them with the stock shocks though.

In my experience, even without the factory bump stop, expansion joints and step ups can feel like a bomb went off. I hear that you can get them revalved to where the dont have that issue. It's a standard billy sport complaint though. That said, with pot holes and uneven pavement aside, they ride great.

gotcha. Yeah I haven't had problems with mine. I am pretty good about not hitting pot holes. But when I have hit one or two in the past, yeah it isn't pleasant, but I also have low pro tires and 18inch wheel. So i dunno.

[KnX]

Vogtlands can be had with a 30, 40 or 60mm drop for the front and 20mm rear (at least when i bought mine). Wouldn´t hurt if you´d add which ones you have when posting pics or complaints about bottoming out.
I have 40/20 with Sachs on my M50 car and haven´t bottomed out yet (roads here are rough) The ride is smooth, almost comparable to stock springs.

[jint45]

Front bottoms out like no tomorrow, breaks strut mounts twice a year. Rear is No problem at all

[sbeckman7]

That's a lot of very different experiences... They just look so good on the car! I'll go for it and resell them if I'm not happy with the ride. Schneider, let me know when you post your setup for sale

[Shoomakan]

Just to chime in:

Running Bilstein B8's on my Touring. Stock spring setup and I love the way it tracks. I'll be changing the springs soon, though, so that might change a few things.

And my B8's have NEVER bottomed out.