I've got the back springs to do on my o8 alhambra how can you tell if the car has factory sports suspension or just standard suspension

I think the sports suspension sits a little lower... if the back of the car looks higher (big gap between wheel and the arch) then possibly it's the comfy suspension?

However I am not an expert and don't really know to be honest. Although I do know that the springs sit on a rubber mount and it's usually a good idea to replace that at the same time too so that they sit properly and you don't get a rattling and pinging sort of noise.

I stand to be corrected, as usual - but if you still have the original service handbook issued with your vehicle when new, there should be large label gummed on the front page with all the technical detail of the vehicle in code. You should be able to find a long string of three character alphanumeric codes, one of which I believe details suspension. I think that my vehicle's code for rear suspension is 1BE which I think is 'sports'. I will check that as soon as I can get to the service handbook. I also remember that my springs had white and yellow paint marks, which I believe are also spring identifiers, but that was before they were coated with Rustbuster sealing compound.
As stated, I stand to be corrected on all of that.... 

Mine says this sort of thing, does anybody know how you decode the meaning of these cryptic codes?

7V9 STO
ALHAMBRA
SPORTL4
85 RW TDI A05
BVK
BON CX1 GOF H2C JOR M3L G1D
1AC 192 1MR
ERV ESJ
352 3U4 QG2
SAN 8GU
3FA
1 BE OGG
4X3 423 4K1 N2C SMA
BRX 2JG EOA
1D0 A8F BBF U3Q
313 443 8N2

Original springs do have paint mark identification, whether that's still visible on an old car and what marks identify which spring I don't know

B-b-85 - I have checked my service manual and the factory build codes, and my Alhambra definitely has 1BE suspension. If you check out PlanetVAG.com, you will find a decoder which confirms that 1BE is sports. There is also a discussion somewhere on this forum about rear springs, and the importance of getting the correct spring profile with the appropriate wire taper and coil diameters which match the coil seats and rubber mountings. I believe the recommended spring manufacturer is Suplex(tbc). 

Thank you for the decoder, I managed to find it through that handy little search engine website and it is very useful. I have very much enjoyed looking at all the different settings that my motor car has.

Thank you very much everyone used the decoder it does have sports suspension after all least be able to find springs now

Yes, thank you... I've really enjoyed looking up all the codes and finding out more about the spec of my Alhamb!

B-b-85 - I seem to recall that the post about spring technicalities is in the 'Common Faults' section, but I have just tried to open it, to check, and the website returns an error message. I wonder whether the site administrator could help us out...   

Mirez is aware there is a problem with the index to the knowledge base.

The info is still there but you need to use the search button and type in a description of what your looking for.

I'm flat out at work at the moment so just don't have the time to fix it right now. You can open the link, and then when on the 404 page just replace "fordmpv.com" with "bigcarclub.com" in the address bar.

Very sorry, Mirez, did not mean to burden you. Hopefully, Bb85 has been able to hack in and found the spring article.

Just been checking over the rear of the Alhambra in preparation for changing discs and pads, and      I discovered that the rear O/S coil spring had broken. The top coil had broken off and dropped down inside the body of the spring and was sitting on the bottom rubber seat mounting. I also noticed that I had taped over the paint code, so I removed the tape and there were the yellow and white paint marks for sports suspension.

I have just ordered two Suplex 39292 springs which are advertised as having yellow and white paint codes, and which also match the VW 7M0511115AE part number.

Can anybody advise - do both trailing arms have to be relaxed ( and fully lowered) at the same time, or can one side/trailing arm be done with the opposite wheel remaining on the ground? And can the job be done without disconnecting the ARB?

I took the family up to Reading about four weeks ago, and used the A32 to avoid the jams on the southern end of the M3. The road surface got progressively worse as we went north, and I reckon the spring broke during that trip.