Polo gti suspension help

[SBN]

Recently purchase a 2016 (6c I think) polo gti, its perfect apart from the ride.

Every bump in the road or crack is felt with an extreme rebound that would make any task such as changing the radio station or music track frustrating because you would always hit the wrong button. The seats are very supportive but you can still feel a pretty bumpy ride.

I had a BMWm140i and that was bad but not as bad as this.

The car looks like it is on standard Vw springs and shocks. The car doesn’t have DCC or adaptive suspension.

Is this normal ?

Not the same but in comparison my mum’s Ibiza of a similar year and a sport VAG version drives 100times better than this in the comfort stakes.

[petrolbloke]

I expect it's normal. Small, relatively light car combined with lower/firmer suspension (compared to non sporty models) and low profile tyres is a not going to be amazing in terms of ride.

First thing to check is the tyre pressures - if they are over inflated then the ride will suffer. The next thing to check is the load rating and whether or not they're runflats.

If it's got the right tyres on and the pressures are OK then the next option I'd look at would be getting another set of wheels that are the next size down, but then it might not look like a GTI.

[popeyewhite]

Just ordered some H+R coilovers for mine. It handled pretty well with the suspension in place when I purchased it but it creaked and bottomed out too readily. And that was with the coilovers the original owner had used.

[Creg]

I had a manual 6c GTI but it had the sport button meaning the dampers were “adjustable“.

With the button pressed the ride could be fairly harsh at times but never found an issue on the normal setting.

One thing I did find was swapping the factory fit Bridgestones it came on for Michelin Pilot Sport 4s improved the ride greatly and far improved the wet/cold weather handling.

[SBN]

Thanks all for the replies.

It’s definitely harder and bumpier than my mothers 1.2 tsi Ibiza but then it also steers and doesn’t wallow as much as that.

We have the Michelins already fitted so I will take a look at the pressures today. They are near replacing so I may look for a tyre with a softer side wall… any suggestions?

[shtu]

A relatively simple option is to downgrade the wheel diameter. A set of Polo r-line alloys look almost the same as the gti wheels, and are an inch smaller.