GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Bradders on 04 June 2021, 20:36
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Can anyone suggest a spring replacement to make my standard ride more comfortable on GTI 7.5 ?
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What is your current setup?
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sorry, should of added - Standard 7.5 GTI PP
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Have you considered swapping to lightweight 17's and some higher profile tyres?
In Germany the mk7 gti comes as standard on 17's. I'd not buy oem wheels though, definitely look for something nice and light.
That should be a fair bit more comfortable and not actually effect performance, quite the reverse actually. Also your tyres will be cheaper too!
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Can confirm, I found the stock ride a bit much too and imported a set of those OEM 17's from Germany. :whistle:
Seriously considered some Team Dynamics Pro Race wheels, as they are very light, but wanted to keep everything as stock looking as possible.
It certainly improves the ride over potholes, speedbumps and broken pavement a lot, quieter too.
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I'd rather not have to buy a set of new wheels and tyres. I'd prefer to change the spring / dampers if possible
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I'd rather not have to buy a set of new wheels and tyres. I'd prefer to change the spring / dampers if possible
The only real option then is put standard Golf suspension in the car where the car will sit higher.
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A set of second hand 17” wheels with 4 new balloon tyres would be a lot cheaper than a new set of decent gas pressurised dampers and Golf TDI springs plus associated fitting costs and alignment etc.
Seriously, if going to all that trouble to fit wobbly suspension to a sports hatch I think I’d rather just chop the car in for something French and be done with it.
Firstly the springs would have to be correctly load rated for the weight and output of the engine/gearbox combo and then declared as a modification to the vehicle. Then you’d have to make sure the dampers matched the springs and other ancillaries likewise, plus you’d have to fully set up the suspension for the changed ride height which will likely affect much of the geometry settings...
In the past I’ve found on previous generation Golfs that just adding uprated gas dampers from the likes of Bilstein or Koni (not their very hardcore sports dampers) but retaining the standard factory springs did improve ride and handling, with the higher quality dampers controlling the spring oscillations better. But on the MQB cars that balance is already pretty good even on 19” wheels.
I think you bought the wrong car for you.
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Totally agree, like buying a set of gym weights and then try to make them lighter.
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Springs and dampers (and I think you'd need both) are a pretty serious upgrade and it's the kind of thing that puts you into really specialist insurance territory.
Wheel downgrade they might even accept as a zero cost change...particularly with oem.
What were you driving before that makes you think the gti is hard? I know it's all relative... Are you sure your car hasn't been modified already with some performance parts?
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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.
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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.
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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? :grin:
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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
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I was still vaguely considering them as mine have done 80k, I'm guessing you wouldn't recommend it? :grin:
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.
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Thanks for the advice. Guess I'll leave it and get adaptive dampers on the next car.
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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..
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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.
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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?
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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!
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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.
Apparently, the renaming and relaunching was due to the fact they had a LOT of failures when they first came out, so I think you're right. :grin:
Good call, Bilstein B4's were the other option I was considering other than the sh%^&y Monroe shocks you get as standard and always a safe bet. I think I'll go that route, it's hard to go wrong with Bilstein's.
Also +1 for checking your pressures, the garage pumped my tyres up to the recommended pressures and I thought they'd broken something, much better around 36.
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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!
My 2015 PP was recommended 41psi on 19s so there was no change with the 7.5. Unless they dropped pressures and brought them up again which seems unlikely.
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Definitely was the case of my Mk7 GTD vs the Mk7.5 GTD.... on 18's.
Pressure sticker went north by a fair bit.
Like running along cobbles with hobnail boots is what it felt like at the recommended pressures....
I dropped them to what I was running before.
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I’ve always run 35psi in my 19s with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s’s, not sure what’s recommended for my particular model but I wouldn’t run them any higher than that anyway. If your looking more comfort you’d be best reducing the rim size as that’ll definitely improve the comfort and reduce noise, hurt the look for sure but each to their own :smiley:
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Mk7s started off being 36psi and then when all the emissions stuff and wltp kicked off new 7s and then 7.5s came through showing 41psi. It's now gone back to 36psi. All of the mk7s I've had and now my 7.5 TCR have been 36psi on the sticker.
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Right, 36PSI it is for me then! I'll give it a go