Shocks failed sitting

[Wallythacker]

My 2014 doesn't see a lot of miles. Maybe 10 a week? Sometimes nothing for 2-3 months.

I didn't really notice the sag. I did have perhaps 150 lb. in the hatch (20 jugs of 5-20 Mobil 5L) but I can't see them forcing the shocks down. It was when I parked my 2014 beside the 2017 I noticed how far the 2014 had sunk.

I'm guessing the 2014 is sitting 2-3" lower. I know when it came home the Mirages were equal height and considering I've been toting 200 lb. snowblowers on my carry rack and very heavy 300 lb. + items in the hatch of the 2017 without it sagging, well something is off.

I suspect both springs and shocks are needed. Does anyone have any recommendations for either? The 2014 is getting a hitch and will be used to tote 300 lb. + weights in the hatch and have 75-100 lb. tongue weight trailer as well.

[foama]

The rear sagging has to do either with a lot of weight inside, or the springs sagging. Sagging springs are most unusual in these cars.
It might make a lot of sense to get a set of Eibach rear springs. They are a little lower than stock unladen, but firmer than stock and reduce body roll and sag when loaded. There are also famous-brand aftermarket shocks on the market.

[Dirk Diggler]

The rear sagging has to do either with a lot of weight inside, or the springs sagging. Sagging springs are most unusual in these cars.
It might make a lot of sense to get a set of Eibach rear springs. They are a little lower than stock unladen, but firmer than stock and reduce body roll and sag when loaded. There are also famous-brand aftermarket shocks on the market.

Foama! Good to hear from you again! What's your opinion on the Renault Captur? I know Mitsu will be rebadging them next year and calling it the "ASX".

[foama]

Foama! Good to hear from you again! What's your opinion on the Renault Captur? I know Mitsu will be rebadging them next year and calling it the "ASX".

The Captur is a much larger car than the Mirage, and therefore of zero interest to me. I had two Renaults myself, and they were both terrible, unreliable, rusty, and had massive electrical problems (plural). Never had anything worse.If Renault hasn't vastly improved lately, I would certainly stay away.

[Ares]

Good job on derailing the thread Dirk...

@OP - I'm not entirely sure how the G4 suspension is setup, but if it's no different from the hatch, I stand behind the VW Bug lowering springs. The post below talks about my experience with them. In the past, it's worth the "upgrade" because those no-name springs are just 46$. The springs are so good that my rear shocks have been blown for (probably for a while now) but the springs are keeping the rear (reasonably) in-check. Obviously, compression and rebound are not "optimum," but for a non-racer and only 1-2 people in the car, the springs are doing great picking up the blown shock's slack.

Since the springs are stiffer, they could potentially also help with the life of the shocks. Though one can argue that the increased stiffness can cause the shocks to wear quicker. I would say that my shock may have lasted a good 80k miles. It's been degrading since then and I'm now at 120k.

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...ll=1#post30113

Edit: unfortunately, you will no-longer be able to purchase that $50 vw lowering springs. If I were to purchase a new mirage today, I would not hesitate dropping what seems to be about $270 on whatever vw lowering springs I can find.

[Fummins]

My 2014 doesn't see a lot of miles. Maybe 10 a week? Sometimes nothing for 2-3 months.

I didn't really notice the sag. I did have perhaps 150 lb. in the hatch (20 jugs of 5-20 Mobil 5L) but I can't see them forcing the shocks down. It was when I parked my 2014 beside the 2017 I noticed how far the 2014 had sunk.

I'm guessing the 2014 is sitting 2-3" lower. I know when it came home the Mirages were equal height and considering I've been toting 200 lb. snowblowers on my carry rack and very heavy 300 lb. + items in the hatch of the 2017 without it sagging, well something is off.

I suspect both springs and shocks are needed. Does anyone have any recommendations for either? The 2014 is getting a hitch and will be used to tote 300 lb. + weights in the hatch and have 75-100 lb. tongue weight trailer as well.

I looked in your garage entry and it shows you have beetle springs and airlift bags in the rear of your 2017.

[7milesout]

My engineering mind says that, the cause of the rear end sagging would be in the springs. But my engineering mind also says that for the actual springs to fail is very unlikely. Could the problem be elsewhere? Maybe in the spring mount(s)? I don't know, just spit-balling here. Can you slide up under it and stare in that direction and see what you see?

I do such things from time to time. I just crawl under, stare, wonder and think (I'm sure I might look like a big dumbass doing so). I've been known to fall asleep though (even under the car), but sometimes an ingenious idea happens, or I notice something that I did not think I would notice. I would have a hard time replacing a component that I didn't determine was the actual cause of the problem.

One last thought. Are you absolutely certain that the 14 and 17 sat at the same exact height before? As I understand, the 17's got a stiffer rear suspension. Perhaps the 14 always sat that low and you didn't actually notice the difference until recently...

[Basic]

The suspensions on the '14-5s (especially the 14s imo) are just plain junk... dangerous even.

If you can find a newer car in the junkyard, upgrade to the newer stuff. If not, as a VW guy I can promise you you can find a used set of springs dirt cheap on a forum or FB group or marketplace. Tons of that stuff out there.

[Wallythacker]

I more or less park them side by side and I see the tires on the 14 are further into the wells than they were a couple years ago. That, or I'm losing my mind. When it warms more I'm going to measure the distance from the ground to where the hitch would stick out. That's after I mount the hitch.

My garage photos tell me my 14 is sagging at least 2-3" from when it came home in late 2019.