Aftermarket suspension for MkV GTI

Has anyone fitted an aftermarket suspension on their MkV GTI. Was looking at KW Variant 2 coilover. The stock ride height is a bit too high for me..and want to lower it about 1.0 to 1.5 inches allround but dont want to retain good ride comfort. Also anyone fitted uprated front swaybars? Appreciate any feedback.

Can anyone point me to the Alian distributor for H&R suspension. Thinking now of the H&R Touring Cup kit (retails about US$650 in the US) and a thicker/stiffer rear anti-roll bar. Much appreciated.

Why don't you want to retain good ride quality? Is it going to be a track car?

Kirium - not starting anything.... but... :wink: are you totally happy with the suspension control in your car?

I am not as happy as I would like, feels too soft in the rear with poor bump control. I guess it depends on the types of roads you are driving - on flowing "flatish" stuff I love it but there are a couple of corners around my place that leave me wondering - take it for a mountain drive and it is compounded. Successive flowing ups and downs can be "interesting" to say the least.

I went as far as to make sure the shipping doovers were removed.

Also "squats" excessivly under hard acceleration.

I have come from a kidney bruising background so I am giving it a little bit of time.

It's never been an issue on Canberra roads. I'm originally from Cairns tho, so I know exactly how shithouse Qld roads are. She's only 2 weeks old still, so I've never pushed her to the point where I've noticed.

I'll probably get a KW sports kit with springs and shocks down the road (coilovers are too overkill for my needs) if I feel it needs it, but I haven't felt that way yet.

Having said that, I wouldn't sacrifice the excellent ride quality because of 1 minor niggle on a certain type of road. I don't get why anyone would want to kill the ride quality unless it was going to be a track car, hence my original question. The OP's statement that he didn't want to retain good ride comfort struck me as odd.

Agreed - that is why I am holding off for a bit, full coilovers is extreme. If you are young and full of money ...

I do want to retain decent ride quality which is why i am now considering a set of H&R Touring kit instead of a race set up. I come from a go-karting, saloon car racing/track background so stiff suspensions are something i am used to. However of late (no longer as young as i used to be) ride comfort is begining to become more impt, altho secondary to handling.
Anyway I bought the car for my 17yr old son and he's beginning to drive like me (not sure if thats a good sign) hence the decision to improve the handling. The stock suspension rides well but its not well controlled and leans alot in corners and understeers a bit too much for my liking. It also rides a bit too high.
I'm trying to make the car easier to drive fast (in corners, bends), corner flater and more neutral and hence safer. Trying to strike a fine balance between handling & acceptable ride.
Coilovers are not necessarily overkill. They are more expensive yes but they give you alot more fine tuning options. You can adjust the ride height to your own specs and some allow camber adjustments..basically it allows you to tailor the handling to your needs. I currently use Bilstein PSS9s on a BMW 330i and Cusco Zero2Rs on a 450hp subaru STI. Both are perfectly acceptable for daily use.

I totally agree that coilovers arent overkill. I was thinking of KW variant 2 or maybe Sachs Performance. And I know theres this company called Wiechers Sports who make front sway bar for the golf gti.
Hope that helps

You both must have misseed the part where I said

coilovers are too overkill for my needs

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1KGolf - I'd give Sachs Performance a miss. I've used them before on my BMW E46 330i and (1) they drop the ride height too much (so much that you have to roll the arches) and the damping is too soft and the rebound is not well controlled at all. I had them on for a month and replaced them with the Bilstein PSS9s.
Will probably go for H&R's or KWs depending on which is available locally as its a hassle to ship from abroad.