Coilovers *Fast road/ Track days*

[danishmkvgti]

Had the KW V3, but dropped them for a set of Bilstein B16 PSS10, and are more than double happy for the Bilstein when considering they are in the same pricerange.

Bilstein FTW

I'm considering some adjustable coilovers for my next car (i have weitec hicon gt on the current vRS) so it's probably going to be between the V3s or B16.

In what way would you say B16's are better?  I was at JKM the other day and Jim was telling me that v3's are the right choice..   :-/

Height adjustment on the B16 is 2 alloy rings against eachother maintaining the chosen height, good
Height adjustment on KW V3 is 1 fiberreinforced ring held in place by a minute pinol unbraco screw size 3, Bad
KW V3 has both compression and rebound seperate adjustment, good BUT the struts need to be taken off the car to be adjusted, very bad (How many takes of the struts to adjust????)   
B16 has only one knob to adjust both but it sits at the bottom of the strut and is accessable by reaching your arm in behind the wheel and can be adjusted on site, meaning you actually adjust accordingly to your driving circumstances 

The KW V3 is not bad, they are just stupid designed and have a great PR organisation behind it 
As they are in the same pricerange it's a nobrainer to me after trying both, Bilstein it is 

[rob_e]

Thanks dude.   No substitute for first hand experience!

B16's are a little bit cheaper too so that's good. 

 

[the bruce]

There are thousands of opinions. The more people you ask the more confused you'll be.
That's the nature of things.  


Just to make a try of objectiveness:

- Sachs and B16 dampers are easy to adjust as theres is only one knob that is easy to reach
- KW V3 has separated knobs for bump and rebound, at rear to have to  loosen the damper
- KW use flimpsy plastic adjustment spring seats on front
- Sachs and Bilstein use Monotube shocks and upside-down
- KW V3s are just twin-tube
- Bilstein B14: no damper adjustment (no mistakes)
- Sachs Performance offers 20 damper adjustments (B16: 10)
- Sachs: (almost) linear springs (Bilstein and KW: progressive)


There are many more track related coilovers like Bilstein Clubsport CSC, H&R Clubsport RSS
and RSA, KW Clubsport, VW Racing, AST and some more.

I'd recommend do not ask too many people.  


My personal list of street coilovers:

1. Sachs Performance
2. Bilstein B14 (saves money - no hassle)
3. Bilstein B16 PSS10
4. KW V3

[DFish]

I've recently been in talks with Alex at AKS about this sort of thing and he's pushing me towards the B16 PSS10's. As they are close enough on price with the V3's I'm thinking the man has his head screwed on. Not knocking the V3's as there are plenty out there running them, so cant be that bad.

Fish

[rob_e]

Thanks Bruce, Fish.. :)

You're right about lots of opinions not helping..  however I probably trust the feedback most of people who'd had experience of more than one setup - trouble is on the vRS there just aren't enough people upgrading to get a good bunch of comparisons, hence why I'm over here reading up on the golf site..

I've met Alex a couple of times and he obviously knows his onions plus he's a vrs owner too which helps.

B14's are a consideration, but even though they are cheaper I don't want to spend circa 1k then find I'm wishing I could make them stiffer/softer etc - if i go for these them i'm stuck with whatever they ride like out of the box.

I don't track the car so i just want something I can make firm and controlled for when its just me in the car, then wind it back to comfy for a long trip with the kids in the car.

:)

sorry for the thread hi-jack.

[the bruce]

Don't mind, a friend runs a B14 on his VRS and it covers both spirited driving and long trips amazingly well.

 

[wigit]

had a set of B16s put on the Ed35 today with a set of Eibach Arbs (and a few other goodies), car still settling and needs a tweak front and rear but the damping on this is sublime, ride is firmer but the jiggyness you get on stock suspension has gone as damping is top notch, also the damping adjustment is easy to use underneath

was a close call between the B16s and the VWR AST two ways, the ASTs were equally impressive from a ride perspective but, didn't like messing about under the scuttle to change the front damping



 

[Muuu]

Hello Guys,
after so many tests, how are the best coilvers kit for trackday??
looking for.. ST XTA or GAZ, any feedback in track?

[Aleksandar]

Hello all, I purchased my new to me edition 30 a few months now and it's running superpro bushes all round, b14 coilovers with ARB front and back.. It's very neutral with no added understeer, no lift off oversteer either.. Fitted an lsd and will get to stage2 plus next week...
Talking to Area Motorsport regarding Verkline LCA and some hardrace parts they are suggesting nitron r1 coilovers which they use in their race cars... That's all great but they are £3200 so would like to know if anyone is running nitron?
From people who spend time on track, are the kw clubsport 2 way worth it? They are £2500 or should I go with ohlins or the b16 with single adjustment...
I don't daily the car it's my weekend car / Track car which will see 6 to 8 track days a year if not more... I'd like to be able to soften for road use and have a very good track setup with 255 front 235 rear setup on track wheels.

[pudding]

I didn't think Nitron did anything for VAGs. Predominantly BMW from what I saw unless that's changed recently?

I ran the Ohlins Road & Track on mine, which were superb. Those and Gaz Gold are the best coilovers I've ever used, and I've been through some! Not a fan of KW. Underdamped in my experience, but the Inox ones are the best by far build quality wise. My V3s still looked new after 4 years of daily use. B14/16 are too stiff for the road, for my tastes, but if it's a toy/track car, comfort is secondary

AST is another top brand, but again, richly priced. If you get onto a bumpy track, a bit of forgiveness in the spring/damper rates can often work better than being bounced all over the shop by uber stiff setups.

[Aleksandar]

I didn't think Nitron did anything for VAGs. Predominantly BMW from what I saw unless that's changed recently?

I ran the Ohlins Road & Track on mine, which were superb. Those and Gaz Gold are the best coilovers I've ever used, and I've been through some! Not a fan of KW. Underdamped in my experience, but the Inox ones are the best by far build quality wise. My V3s still looked new after 4 years of daily use. B14/16 are too stiff for the road, for my tastes, but if it's a toy/track car, comfort is secondary

AST is another top brand, but again, richly priced. If you get onto a bumpy track, a bit of forgiveness in the spring/damper rates can often work better than being bounced all over the shop by uber stiff setups.

Here is the link for the nitron which are made to their spec : https://areamotorsport.co.uk/product/nitron-ntr1-coilover-kit-area-ms-track-spec-golf-mk7-cupra-5f/

They are listed as mqb platform but will make them for the mk5 gti.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the ohlins, I guess it's nice to be able to adjust one way only and have them soft and compliant for road use... The b14 are OK but I feel the same, a bit harsh on bumby roads, hope to test them on track soon so will see how they will be at Snetterton 👍🏼

[pudding]

Cool, they look very decent and Nitron have a good reputation.  The MQB struts aren't that different to the PQ35 platform, so I'm sure they can make you a decent set.  Being UK based, their after sales service is more accessible than the European brands.

The Ohlins were good, but only for 30K miles, and their aftersales is terrible, so I really can't recommend them. I never ran them on a track but I think they would have been pretty good for that purpose. Their USP was the 'dump valve' to keep the car stable on harsh bumps. Bilsteins & KWs don't have that, but not sure about other brands.  Maybe Nitron do something similar.

At track speeds, things can get a bit bouncy if the spring and damper rates are tuned nicely, but the B14s would be better on track than the road for sure. The B16s better still, and they can be used on the road with the damping set right down to 2 or 3 (out of 10).

[Aleksandar]

I've ordered them together with Verkline lca and hardrace camber arms with Area Motorsport setting the car up... The nitron come with custom spring rates which area spec for the mqb platforms, I'm sure they know what they are doing as they have built some good race cars. 32 adjustable stages for the nitron and tested by them on roads, the ring and most uk tracks. Can't wait for an installation date now.

[pudding]

 

Looking forward to your feedback