• I've been reading a lot of messages from other Passat owners at ClubB5 and VWvortex about upgrading their suspension and there are many choices out there. Lots of happy people and some not so happy. Generally, people with H&R Springs and/or Bilsteins were very pleased with the results.
• I don't have any clearance concerns with snow or anything like that and I really dislike the wheel gap so I chose the H&R Sport Springs (vs. the OE Sport with a minimal drop).
• I chose Bilsteins because I've heard nothing but good things about them. The Bilstein SP shocks are the ones for vehicles with shorter springs. 
• The difference between regular Bilsteins and Neuspeed Bilsteins is that the Neuspeed ones have 5 adjustable perches in the front so that you can customize the height.
• Apparently, there are some fitment issues with newer Passat models because VW changed some of the suspension specs. Luckily, with an early 1999, I'm not affected.

• I do not have the mechanical skill nor the proper equipment to install the suspension myself, however, HermanH from ClubB5 has some excellent instructions on his website. 
• With the new suspension, I knew the HID headlamps would be misaimed, so the night before I marked the center point and beam cutoff on my garage door.

Yeee haaw! The change is at once dramatic and subtle. Dramatic because the improvements are immediately noticeable. Subtle because the original confident feel of the car is not lost. It's sorta like looking through a fuzzy viewfinder and suddenly having everything come into sharp focus. 

Pro

• My first impression was that the car felt very light. The steering response is now much quicker. 
• Right away the car feels more comfortable because there is no more squat and dive or body roll. Accelerating and braking feels smoother and less abrupt. It's very stable in the corners.
• The ride is not that much harsher than before (no complaints from the kids and wife-approved ). It definitely feels firmer. It feels more like having the tire pressure pumped up--like driving on harder tires--but not harsh at all.
• The car looks "right." It has a nice stance and there's no ugly wheel gap.
• UPDATE: I just had a chance to take the car out on the freeway and it feels great:
  • The car feels hunkered down and very stable at high speeds.
  • Steering is quick and precise.
  • The car stays very flat at all times. Accelerating to pass seems quicker because instead of stepping on the gas and feeling the car jerk forward, you're just all of a sudden going faster! 

Con

• Because the car handles so flat around the corners, right away I noticed  the poor lateral support in the driver's seat. Hmmm, there might be a Sparco seat and a harness in the future .
• The 16" Ronal wheels look small to me. I've been planning on getting a new set of wheels and have wanted a different set for a long time, but having the car lowered makes it that much more "necessary." At least, that's what I'll tell my wife .
• The right front tire scrapes the wheel more frequently. It happened with the stock suspension when going through fast dips in the road and I knew that it stiffer springs wouldn't help. It has to do with the 225/50 tire size. UPDATE: The tire does not scrape when when I drive strictly at the posted speed limits.
• UPDATE 2: 
  • The scraping at the front right tire doesn't seem to be along the wheel well because I still can't see any physical damage so I'm not sure where it is.
  • I made a left turn into Milestones one day and went over a driveway bump quite quickly and the left front tire caught on the rim of the fender and pulled it down. The damage is minor but I'll definitely need to roll the fenders.

Other

• The fronts are set on the middle perch (of five) so the front is level with the rear.
• I'll provide more precise measurements later, but I had to raise the HID headlamps about 1.5" to bring it up to the same level as before.
• Getting in and out of the car feels different now that the car is lower to the ground and I can't use the tire stop I have in my garage anymore because it gets dragged on the ground every time I back out. I'll guess I'll have to setup a dangling tennis ball.

H&R Special Springs - Specifications

Bilstein Shock Absorber Specifications

Below are my own measurements taken before and after. The difference is slightly more than the advertised drop. (I wonder if half a tank of gas makes that much difference?) I'll also take some more measurements after a few weeks to see if the springs have settled much.

Spring Length Comparison

Front
Stock V6 GLX	H&R Sports
13.5 inches	12 inches
Rear
Stock V6 GLX	H&R Sports
11 inches	8.5 inches