I'm fairly happy with the handling-comfort ratio, but I feel like the suspension doesn't mask minor road imperfections, especially at high way speeds, very well.
Roads that visually look smooth don't feel smooth. I'm on stock setup and 16" wheels (2007 Rabbit). I'm not expecting it to ride like a Cadillac or a Benz E class, but just seems a little excessively firm.
How many miles does it have on it? If your car sees average use the suspension is probably in need of some attention if you want it operating at its best. When new I thought my GTI’s suspension was fantastic.
The shocks on the Miata felt sharper but settled down much faster. The ride never feels smooth on the Rabbit, even on 16" wheels on Michelin all-seasons (not new but not that old either) at 36 PSI.
I've also tried Bilstein B8 in the past and there was a definite loss in comfort but a commensurate gain in repsonsiveness. I've yet to try Koni Yellows
The best setup was the VWR with Autotech (Sachs monotube). Perfect for 80% of road conditions but I'd bottom out too often over rough patches on my commute, which is why I went back to stock.
Surprisingly, stock setup isn't quite working for me as I had hoped. I've only had the car for 100 miles, so hopefully it settles in...
Also--I wonder if there was some kind of production year split on the mk6 suspension. Some people share my sentiments that the mk6 setup is a little on the harsh side while others think it's too soft and seems a little too wallowy/bouncy on the highway. My 2014 GTI definitely felt a little wallowy/bouncy on the highway but rode beautifully across most surfaces. My 2007 GTI was a little harsh, particularly on initial impact (but I was riding on 18" and I quickly downsized to 17") and I'm feeling every little bump with this new setup.
The rabbit has the 2.5 5 cyl though so the nose is heavier.
Hard to say what youre feeling OP. Suspension is kinda subjective. I drove the stock suspension on my GTI until this year, like 85k miles, when i changed them for coil overs. They still looked and felt great when i took them out. and i was driving on the 18in detroits with thinner rubber. I never felt what you described in your post. The suspension always felt great
Not sure if 1 additional cylinder is that much heavier than the turbo+intercooler, but even so I don't think it should degrade ride quality this much--it's not like ride quality suffers terribly whenever I have a front passenger.
I do agree that how "comfortable" or "tolerable" the bumps are is a little subjective, but I've driven a lot of cars and this is definitely on the uncomfortable side of things for a stock setup.
Is it possible that when you installed the new OEM suspension you may have installed the wrong springs? They are color coded and specific for the exact weight of that optioned vehicle. That's the only thing I could think of besides your bushings being worn all around but you said everything is new
Not sure if 1 additional cylinder is that much heavier than the turbo+intercooler, but even so I don't think it should degrade ride quality this much--it's not like ride quality suffers terribly whenever I have a front passenger.
I do agree that how "comfortable" or "tolerable" the bumps are is a little subjective, but I've driven a lot of cars and this is definitely on the uncomfortable side of things for a stock setup.
if it was winter i would say maybe you have some frozen shocks/struts... happened on my mk3 jetta, but then again it had 200k+ miles on factory suspension when it happened... every bump felt like a big rock, no give at all.
you say all new parts, so maybe one or two items are defective, or wrong spec? did it get worse after the change, or stay the same?
It's about the same. I had a 2007 Rabbit setup with 200k miles to brand new everything--shocks, springs, rear control arm bushings. It felt just like my 2007 GTI when I went back from a lowered setup to a 2013 GTI part that someone took off after 20k miles. It does handle better than the Rabbit setup, but it feels worse over smaller imperfections than my old VWR/Autotech setup. The bumps feel sharper and not as well dampened--and this is with 16" wheels! All my prior VW experience has been with 17" wheels, sometimes with summer tires (I'm on Michelin Pilot AS right now, set to 34psi as per the door jamb).
Is it possible that when you installed the new OEM suspension you may have installed the wrong springs? They are color coded and specific for the exact weight of that optioned vehicle. That's the only thing I could think of besides your bushings being worn all around but you said everything is new
I got the 2 door w/o sunroof springs (Although the 4 doors seem to use the same rear springs as well).
Most spec sheets show the Rabbit as being lighter than the GTI, so the springs COULD be a little stiffer than they otherwise might have needed to be with the 2.5L engine, but like i said I don't think the 2.5 would weigh significantly more than the 2.0T to warrant this kind of deviant behavior from the suspension.
Even the base Rabbit setup was a little rough around the edges and something felt "off" in the rear.
I've also tried the stock 2013 GTI setup on my 2007 GTI and this feels the same--minor road imperfections are very easily felt in the car and not in a controlled or a subdued manner.
when I did have the 2013 setup on my old GTI, I did have some doubt that the shocks were working as they should, maybe they were a bad batch. This seems rather egregious though.
