Suspension sucks. Time to get bilsteins?

volksjaeger

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2000
Location
San Rafael, CA
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon, '15 Golf Sportwagen, '16 Touareg Lux
I've come to the conclusion that my MK7 suspension in day to day driving is awful. The way it handles small or big bumps is one of the worst I have experienced in a long time- its very jarring. I understand the rear is a torsion bar so maybe that's the cause of the crappy ride.

So my question is-- will a set of bilstein shocks help and if so which ones? I know it helped my '02 wagon. Do I need springs also? I don't mind if the car gets a little firmer.
 

Mike in Anchorage

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Jan 4, 2009
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Anchorage, AK
TDI
2016 Touareg Lux, 2015 Golf Sportwagen SE, new 4 Sept 2017;2009 VW Jetta TDI Sportwagen (Ruby) sold to VW on 22 SEP 2017
Check to see if there is even room for Bilsteins. The AdBlue container takes up part of the space. Hence the torsion bar.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I like the A7's standard suspension OK, although the IRS cars (GTI) do have a better feel to them.

Billy does show rear shock part numbers for that car, OE style replacement, B6, and B8 performance options.

Fronts should not be anything TDI specific.
 

Ol'Rattler

Top Post Dawg
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Jul 3, 2007
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PNA
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2006 BRM Jetta
The rear suspension being a beam axle doesn't have much to do with it. The IRS on my A5 is fine, but so were the beam axles on my Roco, A2, A3 and A4.

Most people probably couldn't tell the difference in handling or ride between the two types of rear suspension.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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South of Boston
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'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
The word "jarring" implies the ride is harsh. I do find a little bit of harshness on some surfaces, but overall I'm happy with the ride/handling compromise in the MKVII cars. It's certainly better than the mushy ride and handling that came stock in MKIV cars.

I haven't seen Bilstein HDs for the MKVII with the twist beam rear axle, but they may be available. We have Koni Yellows for that application. Bilstein TCs would be very similar to stock.

If you think the ride is jarring with the stock dampers, it'll be much more so in with the HDs. I couldn't wait to get them out of my MKIV wagon. But perceptions of ride and handling are subjective: What I found unacceptably harsh you might like.
 

vwdsmguy

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Jul 5, 2004
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Syracuse, NY
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2002 Golf black 5-spd
Koni struts

Don't get Koni STR T front struts = They're junk. I have them and they are super stiff on sharp bumps, even after a year of use. What a waste of money.
 

volksjaeger

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2000
Location
San Rafael, CA
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon, '15 Golf Sportwagen, '16 Touareg Lux
I'm a bit confused.
The ride on my Porsche GT4 is firm but also very smooth over bumps. When it hits a bump it soaks it up and isn't bone jarring. I'm talking about driving in a straight line and just feeling the way the car's suspension transmits the road irregularities to the driver.

I've owned my Mk4 since new in 2002 and I don't recall it being jarring like my Mk7. I did put some bilsteins on my mk4 a few years ago and it's firmer than stock but again not jarring over potholes.

When I get into my mk7 the way it handles road irregularities and potholes while driving in a straight line is terrible and I'm trying to figure out if changing out shocks would help.

I'm starting to have a love-hate relationship with my MK7 TDI wagon. I love the engine and overall interior refinement over my mk4 but I am loathing the suspension feel that rattles my bones.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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I've heard from several knowledgeable folks to stay away from Koni in general which is why I am specifically interested in Bilsteins.
I would say the opposite. I've had both Konis and Bilsteins on my MKIV cars and prefer Konis universally. I find that Bilsteins are harsh on the relatively simple VW suspensions, and don't provide any significant handling benefit.

My MKVII's ride is pretty similar to my MKIV on Koni Yellows. But far from unpleasant. I also have 16" wheels which may help. I've driven a MKVII Golf on 18s and didn't love it.
 

1854sailor

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Aug 10, 2004
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Westerly, RI
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2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
The ride on my Porsche GT4 is firm but also very smooth over bumps. When it hits a bump it soaks it up and isn't bone jarring...
So, you're comparing the suspension of a $90,000 sports car to that of a station wagon that cost what, ¼ of that? :rolleyes:
 

mheat

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Joined
Feb 16, 2003
Location
Shawville, Quebec
TDI
15 GSW, 03 JSW
I'm 7 miles of gravel roads away from pavement.
Had the choice of a Highline or Comfortline 2015 wagon with 6 speed manual.
The Highline had 17" wheels, which was a dealbreaker for me. Why the hell would I want 17" wheels on a gravel road?
Very happy with the 16's. We also have an '03 JSW with a freshly rebuilt suspension (and 15" wheels), and it is a bit softer, but really nice on unpaved road.
 

volksjaeger

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Aug 23, 2000
Location
San Rafael, CA
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'02 Jetta Wagon, '15 Golf Sportwagen, '16 Touareg Lux
So, you're comparing the suspension of a $90,000 sports car to that of a station wagon that cost what, ¼ of that? :rolleyes:
My '02 Mk4 didn't cost $90k new and it's stock suspension is superior imho to the stock Mk7 suspension.

My car is a base S model so I have the 16" wheels.

And I bought 2 of them and my buddy bought the 3rd and last manual they had at this dealership. So I have had 3 of them to drive and compare.

I know VW-Audi-Porsche has embarked on a strategy to create TIERs of vehicles and I am hoping they didn't purposely make the Mk7 suspension crappy so that they can justify the higher end Audis. The Porsche 718 4-cylinder is how Porsche is doing this tiering. Very sad.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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You use a lot of adjectives to describe the car's ride (jarring, terrible, crappy), but they don't really explain what you don't like about it.

When VW built the MKIV cars for the NA market they purposely made the suspension and damping softer to accommodate our poor roads compared to Europe. Although that worked, and the cars rode well on what passes for roads here, they understeered, had a lot of body roll, and would slide the front end when pushed.

In contrast, the MK7 cars have less body roll, still understeer, and ride harder on some surfaces (broken pavement and bridge expansion joints in particular). It's difficult to compare some handling characteristics because the electric power steering in the MK7 cars mask a lot of what's going on at the front wheels, compared to the hydraulic steering in the MKIVs.

I'm in and out of IVs and my 7 regularly. Have driven both today, as a matter of fact. Honestly I don't see a big difference between the IV on Konis and the VII on stock dampers.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
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Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I think the A4s were the worst from the factory of any of the Ax cars, in terms of handling/performance. But worked fine for most non-car people on most roads. Although their body roll is not nearly as bad as the A3 was, the suspension seemed to bottom out a lot in dips and the low hanging underpinnings made that all too obvious.

There may be a compromise in the A7 TDIs in terms of the beam type rear axle, as it could be viewed as an afterthought to a chassis that was really designed around IRS. However, I still do not think Volkswagen had diesel hatchbacks and station wagons high on the list of cars that performance minded folks were going to buy, so they made the change. I still think it is a fine driving car, and most folks who buy them would be perfectly happy with their standard suspension. I know I would.
 

volksjaeger

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Location
San Rafael, CA
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'02 Jetta Wagon, '15 Golf Sportwagen, '16 Touareg Lux
You use a lot of adjectives to describe the car's ride (jarring, terrible, crappy), but they don't really explain what you don't like about it.
I agree I'm having a hard time explaining what I don't like about it. My buddy that also bought one says the suspension is crappy. Unfortunately there's not a lot of mk7 TDI wagons out there and even fewer people who have upgraded their suspensions.
 

adjat84th

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Dec 13, 2008
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Virginia Beach, VA
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'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
I'm in and out of IVs and my 7 regularly. Have driven both today, as a matter of fact. Honestly I don't see a big difference between the IV on Konis and the VII on stock dampers.
My Koni FSD on my MKIV Jetta must be worn out then, the ride is fairly mushy. My MKVII Golf was firmer on stock hardware, but now has Bilstein B8s and VWR springs and is very firm but not obnoxious.

The B6s and B8s (for lowered vehicles) are both available for the solid rear axle vehicles.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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Honestly I don't see a reason to upgrade the stock suspension on my GSW, and that's from a guy who's changed suspension on his MKIV seven or eight times during its life.

I am among the few that are a fan of the trailing arm rear suspension. When the MKVIIs were launched I drove a Golf back to back on the same route with my MKVI Golf. Only on very hard cornering could you feel the difference that IRS made. I've taken MKIVs to countless track days and the rear suspension has never felt like a limitation. There are other issues with the platform on a road course, but that isn't one of them.
 

FiveLugNut

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2016
Location
New York
TDI
2015 GSW TDI S
I agree that the body roll on GSW could be improved so I had the Bilstein HD B6 installed. Struts and Shocks. Made a nice improvement in the handling.

GSW MK V11
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
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2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
I've come to the conclusion that my MK7 suspension in day to day driving is awful. The way it handles small or big bumps is one of the worst I have experienced in a long time- its very jarring. I understand the rear is a torsion bar so maybe that's the cause of the crappy ride.
My guess is that you probably have some 35 or 40 sidewalls, maybe even less. That's practically like riding on rims.

I just changed from OEM 235x45x18 to 235x55x18 and the ride is far smoother than before and less bumpy.
Just my 0,02
 

740GLE

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Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
I'd like to see those running on 35 or less sidewalls posting here, that 'Tex territory!

I'm driving a loaner '16 jetta S with the 1.4t and "15 rims, tires chirp like a mofo but darned if I'm not hating the cheap POS, got 42 MPG (MFI indicated) on a 230 mile round trip visit to Rutland VT.

The 1.4T has plenty of pull for what I'd need just needs to rev to get it, the transmissions is a bit jerky/jarring on the down shifts, and likes to hold rpms at 1200 more than i'd like and some odd vibration from it but as cheap as it is I could see myself living without the creature comforts.
 

slj333

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
Location
MN
TDI
2015 sportwagen s
New owner here of a 2015 Sportwagen TDI S and I really like the suspension so far. Good balance between firmness and quiet/smooth on the highway.
 

Mr_robs

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2013
Location
Bay Area, CA
TDI
15' GSW
100% agree with OP.

I put an airlift performance kit on my car with bilstien B8 rear shocks. Even with 19's and 225/35's it rides nicer than stock. I imagine it would be a dream with stock wheels/tires.
 

ritsco

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2005
Location
Northeastern CT
TDI
2015 TDI GSW SEL and 2006 Golf TDI GLS
I am coming out of a 2006 Golf GLS which had a full GLI suspension, which was just completely refreshed. She was riding on the 16" RXii BBS's, with 205/55x16" Conti Extreme Touring.

I just purchased a 2015 GSW SEL. She came with the 18" wheels and 224/40x18 P7's. I have to say, I love the way the car rides. Firm, but sure footed, at least for my use. She is no street racer, but she handles and rides much better than my MK4 did.
 

thundershorts

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Jul 15, 2010
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west chester pa
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2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
I know most here won't believe it but something a simple as aligning makes a difference in the total feel of the mk7. Mine was toed in one side and toed out the other, resulting in harshness and unpleasant understeer. Simply setting the toe to zero made it a totally different car. Anyone who thinks that just because a car is new it is right is not realistic. Obviously the rear is non adjustable but at least you'll know what the readings are. Tires and pressures obviously play a role. Bridgestones will ride softer but tracking is not nearly as good as the Conti's. My advice to anyone no mater what mfg car they buy is to have it aligned before taking delivery, or immediately go to a good alignment specialist.
 

thundershorts

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Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
My golf 2015 wasn't nearly as bad as the new passat sel, it had a misaligned subframe. Thats 0 for two as far as factory alignment. I would suspect other manufacturers are no better.
 
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