Hey Guys, sorry I haven't responded yet, but I just got back home two hours ago. This weekend was the first VW events of the season down south. I got to meet some of the VKG guys at both events. From who I talked to, they are easy going and helpful guys.
As for the trailing arm weight difference, I'm not sure, as my old stuff was removed with CVs axles and drum brakes still together. If I had to guess, the ali arms might be a little lighter.
LOAF, if you have the spring plate tool, its pretty safe IMO. The hardest part is getting the spring plate far enough over to let the tension off it. You only need to get the spring plate up enough with the tool to allow the spring plate to move outward. I used two pry bars, one on top, and one on the bottom up next to the torsion housing. Only work the spring plate over enough to drop past the stop it was resting on! If you go too far, it might get ugly fast!
If you are using the 944 torsion bars like I did, then you won't have too much trouble putting them on. The stock type I torsion bars use more preload, so they are harder to deal with setting up. There's more to setting the preload and ride height, but you only asked about removing them
. It sounds like you may need that help as well. If you can find the HOT VWs Totally Tech special issue from 2002, get it. There is alot of helpful info for your whole ride in there.
Later,