A more comfortable ride on GTI

[baka]

If you don't want to change your wheels, check out Koni Special Active shocks, they're designed to work with stock springs.

They have frequency dependent damping, so they act as a sportier shock for long stroke movements, i.e body control, and act as a more comfort orientated shock for short stroke movements, like bumps and ruts.

They were going to be my next mod after the wheels, if that didn't sort the ride out, but I am very happy with a stock GTI on 17's, it's pretty much perfect for enjoying a blast down Bedfordshire's crappy b roads.

You aren't going to get much change out of a grand after you've had them fitted though.

[Exonian]

If the Koni SA dampers are anything like the Koni FSD’s I put on my mk5 to replace worn originals then I wouldn’t bother. The car spent more time bumping off the bump stops on bumpy roads than anything else.

[baka]

If the Koni SA dampers are anything like the Koni FSD’s I put on my mk5 to replace worn originals then I wouldn’t bother. The car spent more time bumping off the bump stops on bumpy roads than anything else.

Same thing, just a new name I think.

I was still vaguely considering them as mine have done 80k, I'm guessing you wouldn't recommend it? 

[Carbon VW]

Not going to be a popular opinion, but maybe a 1.2 Tsi is more in your line than a GTi. Why buy a hot hatch and then complain about the ride ? And the GTi has one of the best hot hatch rides. Just baffles me

[Exonian]

I was still vaguely considering them as mine have done 80k, I'm guessing you wouldn't recommend it? 

Maybe they’ve been honed in the last 13 or so years(?)

Personally I’d go for Bilstein gas dampers but not the full on yellow sports dampers which usually need to be paired up with lower stiffer springs due to their more track focussed valving.
I’ve been out of the modifying game a long time now so wouldn’t know what the best dampers are now but usually Bilstein and Koni can be relied on for consistent build quality.

Not going to be a popular opinion, but maybe a 1.2 Tsi is more in your line than a GTi. Why buy a hot hatch and then complain about the ride ? And the GTi has one of the best hot hatch rides. Just baffles me

That’s the thing with buying cars, you never quite know how you’ll get on with them until you’ve spent a bit of time with them. The GTI is well equipped and looks superb so it’s easy to get swept away with that only to find what others consider a pretty comfortable ride doesn’t quite fit in with your ideal.
I come from decades of modified GTI’s and their ilk so have had a good few suspension kits that ended up making me hate the car due to harshness on certain surfaces. It’s very difficult to spend time in a tuner’s company demo car with modified suspension so it’s easy to make a wrong choice, but even buying a standard production car can throw up some unwanted characteristics that a test drive wouldn’t make evident.

I’m no expert but one thing I do know is that fitting retrograde suspension to a sports hatch is a very bad idea.

[Bradders]

Thanks for the advice. Guess I'll leave it and get adaptive dampers on the next car.

[fredgroves]

Thanks for the advice. Guess I'll leave it and get adaptive dampers on the next car.

Why not change the wheels out?

Seriously that will make a load of difference..

[Guzzle]

I would have a quick check of your tyre pressures just to make sure they're not stupidly high.

Somewhere around 36psi is where they should be.

If they're already around there anyway, then as Fred says, a change of wheels will make a difference.

[willni]

I'd attack it lowest cost first, as below:

1. Check Tyre Pressures -  have it set for what you actually use aka 1-2 people or a full car
2. The Brand of tyres? Change to a more comfort orientate tyre (I found Bridgestones hard, Michelin, Goodyear and Pirelli are much comfier)
3. Reduce Alloy size 19 > 18 > 17
4. Change Suspension

Could your shocks be leaking?

[Talk-torque]

Yes, as Guzzle says, tyre pressures need to be lower than the recommended. They were raised for the 7.5, probably for WLTP consumption reasons. I’ve always run my 19s at 35 psi all round, with no adverse effects. Economy is still pretty good at 35 ish mpg average, the tyres are wearing evenly and the ride on fixed dampers is not what I would call harsh.

I just checked, and the recommended pressures on the door shut label are 41 psi for 2 up and 44 psi fully loaded, so a considerable drop to 35. The drive back from a service always reminds me to reset them!