The springs are progressive (more tightly wound at the last 2 coils at each end). My initial thought was that they might be cut, but no indication of this. They aren't painted/vinyl coated. The apperance is like the "goldish" look of the hood & trunk latches. Are the springs linear rate or progressive? in other words, are all the coils the same distance apart from each other, or do are they more tightly wound near the end? Are they actually anodized gold, or painted/vinyl coated? I'd say they were stock springs that someone just cut, but they wouldn't have stock ride height, they'd actually be very low. Suspension Techniques, perhaps? I don't know of any gold anodized aftermarket springs, but they could be rare somethings from one of the performance giants like dinan or alpina. Worth investigating, anyhow. HTH! -alan 83 320i 79 320i