Softening the ride on a Golf GTi

[993kimbo]

With all the talk on here about potholes, de-stressful cars, relaxing cars and general waftiness, I’m wondering what could be done to soften the ride quality on a Mk5 Golf GTi. I haven’t posted this on a GTi forum because they would burn down my house.

It’s used as a family car and on some of the bad road surfaces it feels quite bumpy and I’m sometimes getting a whine from the passenger seat.

I have 17” wheels with new premium tyres, standard springs and shocks and the mileage is 62,000.

In an ideal world I guess I would sell it and buy a standard comfy Golf but selling or trading a car is such a pain and besides which, I’ve spent quite a lot of money on this one and I like the turn of speed (as well as the handling, which of course equals a firm ride).

So, wheels, springs, shocks, seats - would anything work or would it ruin the car?

Many thanks.

[Equus]

Buy a Skoda Octavia vRS... VAG have already done the work for you.

[993kimbo]

I’d rather not sell it.

[u33db]

Smaller wheels with higher profile tyres would help and can be swapped back easily.

It'll depend on the size of your front/calipers discs though...usually the max disc that'll go under 16s is around 300-310mm

(I don't know what GTIs use).

[u33db]

u33db said:

Smaller wheels with higher profile tyres would help and can be swapped back easily.

It'll depend on the size of your front/calipers discs though...usually the max disc that'll go under 16s is around 300-310mm

(I don't know what GTIs use).

https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=72922.0

"Q: What are the smallest wheels I can get on my GTI?
A: As a rule of thumb the minimum size wheel to fit over GTI brakes (312mm) are 16 inch. Any OEM VW 16 inch wheel for the Mk5, A3 or Leon/Altea platform will work. These are normally used by people as winter wheels"

You might be lucky

[treeroy]

Let some air out of the tyres!

[DaveyBoyWonder]

Don't think you can run smaller than a 17" wheel on a mk5 GTI.

I found my old mk5 GTI pretty good on crap roads - a whole world better than the Mini Clubman that replaced it which is horrific.

Its a GTI - provide the passenger with a cushion.

[993kimbo]

Yes I’ve tried that - no noticeable difference.
I tried 16” wheels with winter tyres last year, but once again no real difference in ride quality, but the car felt a bit wallowy.

[sideshowfred]

16 inch wheels will fit but will look odd. Probably the easiest way to increase comfort.

As has been said, its a GTI at the end of the day and they are actually pretty comfy compared to the competition. To soften the ride up would take away the point of having that model.

[kambites]

DaveyBoyWonder said:

Don't think you can run smaller than a 17" wheel on a mk5 GTI.

We've run 16s on our Octavia VRS, which I believe is the same upright and braking setup?

[993kimbo]

DaveyBoyWonder said:

Its a GTI - provide the passenger with a cushion.

Ah, so maybe softer seats would do the trick?

[Krikkit]

Lightweight 16" wheels and a slightly taller tyre profile will help, but ultimately if it's too uncomfortable there's not much can change that. In my experience the "stiffness" on bumpy surfaces is usually a combination of the damping and unsprung weight, after wheels there's not much that's sensible to change there, you wouldn't want to fiddle with the damping settings too much.

Edited by Krikkit on Friday 6th March 11:49

[MrAverage]

Has your suspension had a refresh at any point?

Standard new parts could make it better as old shocks, springs, bushes etc could not be working 100%.

Have you tried a 'normal' model to feel the difference?

Edited by MrAverage on Friday 6th March 15:14

[Loplop]

I'd suggest even at that mileage, the age of the car means some components may need changing.

No doubt a set of top mounts, new bump stops and shocks/springs would make the ride more 'firm' than 'stiff' and much more compliant.

Failing that, the softest set of high quality (I.e. KW, Bilstein etc...) dampers/springs/coilovers would make a world of difference.

[budgie smuggler]

I haven't tried them myself, but what about better quality coil overs? I asked the same thing about my car and was recommended Koni FSD. Hopefully somebody can chime in with personal experience.

[Hoofy]

993kimbo said:

DaveyBoyWonder said:

Its a GTI - provide the passenger with a cushion.

Ah, so maybe softer seats would do the trick?

You could try putting a cushion on your seat and lowering it. See how things go.

[LeoSayer]

In my experience, smaller wheels makes a marginal difference.

I've never seen an aftermarket suspension kit that actually softens the ride of any car, despite what they may claim.

So you're left with the option of fitting suspension from a non-GTi Golf, which may cause more problems than it solves.

Buying a different car is the only realistic option.

[CousinDupree]

It's time for a suspension refresh. New dampers, bushes etc as above.

You could compare the spring rates for other cars on that platform. Usually the Skoda / Seat fitments are somewhat interchangeable.

[Loplop]

LeoSayer said:

I've never seen an aftermarket suspension kit that actually softens the ride of any car, despite what they may claim.

An Alpina Spec Bilstein B12 kit is often more compliant whilst feeling more plush than the equivalent non-M Sport suspension.

Matched damping and spring rates go a long way.

[NAS]

https://www.mk-fahrwerkstechnik.de/H-R-Cup-Kit-Kom...

H&R offer a "comfort" suspension kit for the Golf V GTI. Don't know how it compares to OEM though.