# Advice me...want to go lower on my rears...



## JJJinez (Jul 13, 2009)

Hey guys my name is Juan and i'm from Mexico, 6 months ago i bought a brand new 2013 VW Polo 6R, and my goal was to bag it with nice struts and bags so i got a pair of Airlift Slam XL for the MK6 2.0 (the top mounts fits perfectly as well as the bottom mounts but i have to make custom brake line hangers, but i got no problems at all) and since my rear suspension is basically like the MK4 and cheap MK6's i got Firestone Sleeves and OEM struts, manual management and this is the result...








i love how the front sits but i'm not quite please with the rears because they don't go as low as i wanted to be...
















And look at this guy from EU he's sitting on smaller tires than me and he has airrex suspension and he's tucking like a boss and that's what i want...








I really want to tuck tire, but as you can see my car has the same problem as the MK4 the rear wheels move forward and my bag stops right at that height at 20 psi (it doesn't go any lower than that when aired out)...

Can someone help me to find out why does this happen, does my OEM Struts are fully compressed and thats why i can't go any lower? or my firestone sleeves are to big? should i change to double bellow bags or find some aftermarket struts? I have seen the IDF plates but i don't know if they will work on my car...

BTW i don't have any rubbing issues, i can roll at that height even with the oem wheels/tires and the rear beam is not touching the chassis also i cut my bump stops and cut the top mounts of my bag...

Thanks in advance!!!


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## 59eurobug (Apr 27, 2009)

Your stock shocks might be bottoming out. Or maybe the brackets used with the firestone rears are too tall. My D cups were too tall and when aired out sat about where yours sit. I cut an inch off of the top and bottom and now I tuck


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## JJJinez (Jul 13, 2009)

59eurobug said:


> Your stock shocks might be bottoming out. Or maybe the brackets used with the firestone rears are too tall. My D cups were too tall and when aired out sat about where yours sit. I cut an inch off of the top and bottom and now I tuck


i don't know if the brackets are the problem man, i cut them off, just to clear the fitting, so i can't cut them more...

And do you know if aftermarket struts are shorter than the OEMs, does the MK4's have the same problem when aired out with oem struts?

A friend of mine suggested to modify the pockets where the bag sits but i don't want to messed with those parts for safety reasons :S


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## 59eurobug (Apr 27, 2009)

In order to go as low as possible on my B5 (has mk4 style rear beam) I cut the bottom nipple off of the beam and didn't use the bottom plate on my bags


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## 59eurobug (Apr 27, 2009)

Tu Polo Está a toda madre.


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## Culver (Jun 1, 2009)

Airlift Performance Series rear struts, they're threaded bodies so you can drop them. 

IDF makes rear control arms for the mk5/6 that allows for a lot more drop as well.


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## JJJinez (Jul 13, 2009)

59eurobug said:


> In order to go as low as possible on my B5 (has mk4 style rear beam) I cut the bottom nipple off of the beam and didn't use the bottom plate on my bags





59eurobug said:


> Tu Polo Está a toda madre.


So shaving the nipple can bring me down? i think i can try that, also cutting the top bracket, maybe just tapping a hole to secure the bag...

Muchas gracias amigo!!! 



CULVER said:


> Airlift Performance Series rear struts, they're threaded bodies so you can drop them.
> 
> IDF makes rear control arms for the mk5/6 that allows for a lot more drop as well.


The thing is , i don't have independent suspension like de MK5+, mine is like an Mk4 rigid axle so i can't use control arms or those struts


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## Carbon13GTI (Oct 17, 2012)

CULVER said:


> Airlift Performance Series rear struts, they're threaded bodies so you can drop them.
> 
> IDF makes rear control arms for the mk5/6 that allows for a lot more drop as well.


Besides, they're pretty much a waste of money. Almost $700 for threaded shocks. When I air out, I want to be all the way down. The threaded option is useless IMO. But if yours would be a track car then it might be necessary. 

OP just get XL shocks. Should be shorter than OEM shocks. I haven't gotten my shocks yet so I can't say for sure, but I'm almost certain they are.


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## Culver (Jun 1, 2009)

JJJinez said:


> The thing is , i don't have independent suspension like de MK5+, mine is like an Mk4 rigid axle so i can't use control arms or those struts


Sorry, miss that part of the post. 

I have a mk4, I was able to drop 3/4 of a inch with IDF rear brackets, and Koni Yellow struts. I dont know if the IDF brackets will work with mk6 twist beam, but it's worth sending an email over to them to ask.


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## Twilliams83 (Jan 25, 2011)

are the bump stops taken off your oem struts?


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## JJJinez (Jul 13, 2009)

Carbon13GTI said:


> Besides, they're pretty much a waste of money. Almost $700 for threaded shocks. When I air out, I want to be all the way down. The threaded option is useless IMO. But if yours would be a track car then it might be necessary.
> 
> OP just get XL shocks. Should be shorter than OEM shocks. I haven't gotten my shocks yet so I can't say for sure, but I'm almost certain they are.


nop i don't have a racekor so i guess i won't need that kind of stuff....

I'm looking for measures just to be sure that they fit, since there's no direct application shocks, but they are pretty much the same as the mk4's



CULVER said:


> Sorry, miss that part of the post.
> 
> I have a mk4, I was able to drop 3/4 of a inch with IDF rear brackets, and Koni Yellow struts. I dont know if the IDF brackets will work with mk6 twist beam, but it's worth sending an email over to them to ask.


no prob buddy!

and i guess i have to check all my options before buying that kit, thanks for the comment!



Twilliams83 said:


> are the bump stops taken off your oem struts?


i cut them in half but i haven't removed them completely...do you think this is going to get me a little bit lower?


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## Culver (Jun 1, 2009)

JJJinez said:


> do you think this is going to get me a little bit lower?


Yes.


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## mihneagabriel (Aug 7, 2009)

JJJinez said:


> i cut them in half but i haven't removed them completely...do you think this is going to get me a little bit lower?


Definitely remove the bump stops.. I can almost guarantee that it's your stock shocks. Get a set of xl rear shocks or koni yellows and it will drop.


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## 59eurobug (Apr 27, 2009)

mihneagabriel said:


> Definitely remove the bump stops.. I can almost guarantee that it's your stock shocks. Get a set of xl rear shocks or koni yellows and it will drop.


X2. I actually used BMW E30 Bilstein shocks in my B5 to get lower also.


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## JJJinez (Jul 13, 2009)

CULVER said:


> Yes.





mihneagabriel said:


> Definitely remove the bump stops.. I can almost guarantee that it's your stock shocks. Get a set of xl rear shocks or koni yellows and it will drop.





59eurobug said:


> X2. I actually used BMW E30 Bilstein shocks in my B5 to get lower also.


well i completely removed the bumpstops and i got .5"-.7" lower than before (23 FTG) and now i'm at 22.3" aprox....








​
Sorry for the "winter mode" wheels :laugh::laugh::laugh:

The next step is to look for aftermarket shocks, just to see if that is my problem


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## mihneagabriel (Aug 7, 2009)

JJJinez said:


> well i completely removed the bumpstops and i got .5"-.7" lower than before (23 FTG) and now i'm at 22.3"
> 
> Sorry for the "winter mode" wheels :laugh::laugh::laugh:
> 
> The next step is to look for aftermarket shocks, just to see if that is my problem


Well since you got good results from just bump stops, I think shorter shocks will give you the rest of the drop you want. Good luck


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## 59eurobug (Apr 27, 2009)

Koni yellows are usually like 1.5 inches shorter than stocks


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## c0r3y.af (Oct 8, 2009)

59eurobug said:


> Koni yellows are usually like 1.5 inches shorter than stocks


x2 and they're on sale at ECS right now. Sounds like it's a shock issue so I'd swap them out. :thumbup:


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