MK5 Golf GTI

All Things Mk5 => Modifications & Technical Area => Performance Modifications => Topic started by: jedi-knight83 on January 29, 2015, 11:14:45 pm

Title: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: jedi-knight83 on January 29, 2015, 11:14:45 pm
Evening.

So I'm going to be doing a few more little upgrades this year to the golf. It's on 83k now and I suspect the original dampers. To be fair they ride ok still. The car is on h&r lowering springs so I gather the obvious choice are the bilstein b8s.

Been doing a quick google though and a few people saying they are really stiff? I don't want to lose tons of ride comfort.

Also is it a myth the mk6 versions are softer?

Thanks in advance.

Nathan.


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Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: rich83 on January 29, 2015, 11:41:34 pm
I believe the mk6 are softer than the mk5.
Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: skard on January 29, 2015, 11:43:14 pm
I took off my mk5 B8 kit today and replaced it with OEM - I think they're a very similar ride.

My car came with Koni FSD on and it felt like I was being slapped in the head every time I went over bumps
Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: Beddie on January 30, 2015, 11:51:50 am
The Mk6 versions are definitely more compliant than the Mk5, I've tried both and would only consider the mk6 version for mine as imo it gives just the right balance for the type of driving and roads I do, mk5 version is still a great setup though and it's nice to have the choice  :happy2:

Here's the damping comparison chart in this thread..
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147240&page=2
Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: jedi-knight83 on January 30, 2015, 12:15:04 pm
Thanks for the replies


I took off my mk5 B8 kit today and replaced it with OEM - I think they're a very similar ride.

My car came with Koni FSD on and it felt like I was being slapped in the head every time I went over bumps

So the koni were too stiff

Why did you remove the bilsteins?


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Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: skard on January 30, 2015, 12:18:00 pm
To be fair, I noticed the Koni's were leaking not long after buying the car, and had been wiped down.

I am returning my car to completely standard to sell it, that is the only reason why I took them off - they are fantastic.
Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: jedi-knight83 on January 30, 2015, 12:37:09 pm
Does the mk6 b8 still offer an improvement / upgrade over the oem mk5 damper then?


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Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: jedi-knight83 on January 30, 2015, 12:47:05 pm
Wonder what the oem damper compression figures are compared to these then

(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftapatalk.imageshack.com%2Fv2%2F15%2F01%2F30%2F80917d970abf93788e69ebfda8d787a2.jpg&hash=3609928507d2bcb8d224168118b0d8dd1797ee09)


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Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: Shoduchi on January 30, 2015, 01:52:02 pm
Thanks for the replies


I took off my mk5 B8 kit today and replaced it with OEM - I think they're a very similar ride.

My car came with Koni FSD on and it felt like I was being slapped in the head every time I went over bumps

So the koni were too stiff

Why did you remove the bilsteins?


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There are two Koni FSD kits available for the mk5 chassis. The first Koni made is the Kit 2100-4001, which is the one that I got (with Eibach Pro-Kit springs). But due to some complains about it being too soft, Koni made a stiffer kit for the GTI, Kit 2100-4090.

If you want comfort and still a good handling, I'd get the same kit as I have. If you want a more stiffer ride, more track oriented, you can get the GTI kit: 2100-4090.

You can read more about this in this review topic: http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=55600.0 (http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=55600.0).

Cheers
Title: Re: Bilstein b8 dampers questions. Mk5 vs mk6. Stiffness etc
Post by: Beddie on January 30, 2015, 02:43:36 pm
Does the mk6 b8 still offer an improvement / upgrade over the oem mk5 damper then?


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Yeah the mk6 version offers a big improvement over the OEM damper imo  :happy2:
The thread I linked has quite a few people running the mk6 B8 on mk5s