Are lowering springs NCT legal?

colm1010 · 11-08-2014 1:29pm #1

I have a 00 VW Golf which I have put 55mm lowering springs into. A friend of mine has the same car with lowering springs, the only difference between the two is that his is a van and mine is a car. He put his van through the test and had it fail on the fact it has lowering springs installed. I've asked around and I get a few different answers when it comes to lowering springs and the NCT so I might aswel ask here.

Can you have lowering springs in a car and put it through the NCT and pass without an engineer's report or will I need to stick the standard springs back in for it?

Chimaera · 11-08-2014 1:40pm

Did your friend's van go through the NCT or CVRT? There may be differences in standards between the two.

They are not explicitly banned in the NCT from my reading of the manual. But there are a few ways in which a lowering job could cause you to fail.

The manual is here: www.ncts.ie/NCT%20Manual%20Revise%20May%202012.pdf Front springs and suspension are on pg. 74, rear on pg. 85. Lowering springs are not explicitly banned in the NCT from my reading of the manual.

If the springs are too short for the vehicle, they could hang loose at one end when the vehicle is raised and this would be a fail since they can end up out of position during operation of the vehicle.

They could affect the suspension geometry to the extent that the other tests can not be passed e.g. side-slip. 55 mm is a huge amount to lower by, and is probably at the design limit of the suspension geometry.

tossy · 11-08-2014 1:43pm

I've put cars through the NCT with both lowering springs and coilovers and both passed. I can't comment on the DOE though. I'd say if the car failed it's probably down to an imbalance or defect in the springs rather than the actual springs.

55 mm on standard shocks is too low IMO.

pudzey101 · 11-08-2014 1:54pm

They'll fail a van with them for a doe because they deem the van to be used for buisness purposes , nct springs are fine . As said above 55 mm is abit low for standerd shocks .

theShire · 11-08-2014 1:57pm

were his springs cut or were they aftermarket items? I'd say aftermarket lowering springs may not fail an NCT explicitly but as others have said it depends on how it affects other parts of the suspension geometry

challengemaster · 11-08-2014 2:20pm

Also if the car is too low to get into the rollers and perform the brake test without touching the floor / damaging the bumper it will fail.

Cleveland Hot Pocket · 11-08-2014 2:34pm

CVRT seem to be failing for lowered cars alright.
Mate of mine's lowered caddy failed on the lowered suspension. Reckoned if he'd just cut the springs it would have passed as well.

Paddy@CIRL · 11-08-2014 3:35pm

challengemaster wrote: »

Also if the car is too low to get into the rollers and perform the brake test without touching the floor / damaging the bumper it will fail.

Sorry, but you're incorrect on that. Mine passed as it currently sits, and it's low. They bypassed the roller tests and performed the brake test in the car park.

I've had my car pass twice (out of two tests) lowered and my old van passed its annual DOE on coilovers and continues to do so.

CiniO · 11-08-2014 3:44pm

I have a set of -30mm Eibach progressive springs on my car, and it passes NCT with them every year for the last 4 years.

Cleveland Hot Pocket · 11-08-2014 4:39pm

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

Sorry, but you're incorrect on that. Mine passed as it currently sits, and it's low. They bypassed the roller tests and performed the brake test in the car park.

I've had my car pass twice (out of two tests) lowered and my old van passed its annual DOE on coilovers and continues to do so.

The old DOE is very different from the new CVRT though.

challengemaster · 11-08-2014 6:05pm

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

Sorry, but you're incorrect on that. Mine passed as it currently sits, and it's low. They bypassed the roller tests and performed the brake test in the car park.

Seems you're right, it's not in the manual. Have seen it mentioned on here before though.

There's also this:

9. Where a vehicle cannot be tested on a roller brake tester because of additional spoilers fitted, they must
be removed by the owner/presenter before the test. A decelerometer test will not suffice in this situation.

I reckon the tester liked your car, paddy

Are lowering springs NCT legal?

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