How To Setup A Golf R

[Kurve]

Hey everyone. I thought this would be a fun thread to make to gather some different opinions and experience.

I just picked up a MK7 Golf R after my MK7 GTI was totaled in a hit and run.

The car is basically stock aside from your normal basic forum bolt ons. More importantly, it's a completely stock suspension DCC car.

I highly enjoy mountain runs and track days, so I am prioritizing handling and turn in. I threw on some 200tw and got the car aligned and headed up to the tail of the dragon and surrounding roads a couple of weekends ago and it was just not as nicely balanced as my GTI was. It was understeering regardless of weight transfer and the haldex system seemed to send power to the back in a weird delayed fashion which felt a little uncomfortable on very tight switchbacks at speed. I was only able to get 1.5 degrees of camber in the front and 2 degrees in the rear from the alignment. My GTI had a bit more aggressive of an alignment as well as caster changes. My GTI would rotate and and turn in great. I know that a mountain road and a track are 2 different things in terms of speed and the Golf R may perform better at higher speed on the track.

For people with Golf R's, what is your setup? Suspension, alignment, etc. Thanks!

 

[ckuhns]

You’re going to want some more front camber, I’d go for either the Eurosport camber picks for stock top mounts, adds -.8 degrees and no added NVH at all, otherwise the 034 top mounts add -1.4 degrees, with a little added NVH. Rear swaybar if you don’t have one will also help tremendously. 0 toe up front, a touch of toe in at the rear.

 

[krs]

Here’s a thread on my setup if you don’t mind reading.

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/daily-driven-stu-setup.389538/

It’s a pretty balanced setup, focusing on daily driving, but still competing well at autocross.

 

[Kurve]

You’re going to want some more front camber, I’d go for either the Eurosport camber picks for stock top mounts, adds -.8 degrees and no added NVH at all, otherwise the 034 top mounts add -1.4 degrees, with a little added NVH. Rear swaybar if you don’t have one will also help tremendously. 0 toe up front, a touch of toe in at the rear.

Thanks! I was eyeing some of the things you mentioned. Good to know about the NVH

 

[Kurve]

Here’s a thread on my setup if you don’t mind reading.

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/daily-driven-stu-setup.389538/

It’s a pretty balanced setup, focusing on daily driving, but still competing well at autocross.

I'll check it out for sure. Thanks

 

[gboticus]

I’m still feeling out my setup as the car evolves but it definitely sees more track time than street time these days. It’s not much different than others have already shared.

KW V3 coils for suspension, Hankook RS4 for 200tw tires.

Front: -2.5*, 0 toe, OEM sway bar

Rear: -2.1*, 1/16” total toe in, 25mm solid rear sway bar

I definitely need more camber up front and a stiffer sway bar. These are things which are going to happen before my next track day for sure.

 

[DarkArrow]

If the Haldex feels funny, it might be worth it to do a flush of the screen/filter and just an overall fluid change. The screen isn't listed as maintenance, so even for the peace of mind, I would recommend it if you haven't done it already.


The R has tons of body roll and minimal front camber. First suspension mod I would recommend is a rear sway. It gets the car closer to neutral, and the best way I can describe the feeling is the rear doesn't feel like it's being dragged and fighting the front through turns anymore. I have a 24mm bar on the stiffest setting and have no issues with snap oversteer or any of the signs the bar is too big.

Then, zero out your toe and get more camber. I'm running -2.8* in the front and have fairly even treadwear on track. About -2.1* in the rear, but had some excess shoulder wear on the rears last track weekend, so that's going to increase soon. Zero toe front/rear. I disagree with the previous posts of a touch of toe in for the rear. Stability has been a non-issue for me, and we need as much rotation as we can get with these cars. Some people have run a touch of toe out, but as a dual street/track car, zero is good for me.

Bushings. We have pretty soft bushings. Getting stronger ones keep things in line with one another when applying high forces with minor increases to NVH.

Then it becomes how much you want to spend. Are you happy with just a rear sway and a good alignment? Lowering springs and shocks? Full coilovers and corner balance? I thought the OEM suspension + a rear sway did pretty well on track for OEM suspension.

 

[Kurve]

If the Haldex feels funny, it might be worth it to do a flush of the screen/filter and just an overall fluid change. The screen isn't listed as maintenance, so even for the peace of mind, I would recommend it if you haven't done it already.


The R has tons of body roll and minimal front camber. First suspension mod I would recommend is a rear sway. It gets the car closer to neutral, and the best way I can describe the feeling is the rear doesn't feel like it's being dragged and fighting the front through turns anymore. I have a 24mm bar on the stiffest setting and have no issues with snap oversteer or any of the signs the bar is too big.

Then, zero out your toe and get more camber. I'm running -2.8* in the front and have fairly even treadwear on track. About -2.1* in the rear, but had some excess shoulder wear on the rears last track weekend, so that's going to increase soon. Zero toe front/rear. I disagree with the previous posts of a touch of toe in for the rear. Stability has been a non-issue for me, and we need as much rotation as we can get with these cars. Some people have run a touch of toe out, but as a dual street/track car, zero is good for me.

Bushings. We have pretty soft bushings. Getting stronger ones keep things in line with one another when applying high forces with minor increases to NVH.

Then it becomes how much you want to spend. Are you happy with just a rear sway and a good alignment? Lowering springs and shocks? Full coilovers and corner balance? I thought the OEM suspension + a rear sway did pretty well on track for OEM suspension.

Thanks for the thorough breakdown. Sounds like a rear sway is crucial hearing from everybody else too. Good to know on the Haldex. I didn't even think about doing a haldex service. The car has 65k on it with little service history. I'm probably better off doing it regardless.

Just ordered some superpro control arms and Eurosport camber plates. Doing a little refresh on other suspension components. We will see how it feels after everything

 

[jmblur]

Mine -
Ohlins R+t - 70N/mm front, 110N/mm rear
Super pro front sway (soft)
Nuespeed RSB (stiff)
CSS knuckles
RS3 LCA bushings

~-2 deg front camber, -1.5 rear, 0 toe all arohnd... Is what I asked for. But judging by toe wear on tires that's not what I've got, lol.

Haven't put on Vorschlag top plates yet, hopefully this weekend. Same for swift springs with assist springs in rear.

Oversteer on corner entry, generally neutral mid corner, a bit of understeer out. Very controllable overall for autocross. Hasn't seen track time, but I might put rsb to soft for that.

One note on RSB - I found the car somewhat unsettled on quick direction changes with just the RSB. Really hard corner entries would also overburden the front outside tire and result in terminal understeer rather than rotation. The coilovers and much stiffer springs, especially in the rear, made a huge difference here.

 

[Kurve]

A little update. I took bits and pieces from everyone's advice and wow! The car absolutely dances now. Took it through the smokey mountains a couple of weekends ago. Still a couple of small things to add, but super happy with how it drives now. Thinking rear sway is next, but it loves to rotate if with just a small flick of the steering wheel (not fast but fun lol). It brought back the fun of the GTI

Changes - EuroSport camber plates, Superpro LCA's, brand new tie rods and sway bar end links.

Alignment came out to 2.6 degrees of negative camber in the front and 2.3 in the rear. 0 toe all around.

 

[Mini7]

Mine -
Ohlins R+t - 70N/mm front, 110N/mm rear
Super pro front sway (soft)
Nuespeed RSB (stiff)
CSS knuckles
RS3 LCA bushings

~-2 deg front camber, -1.5 rear, 0 toe all arohnd... Is what I asked for. But judging by toe wear on tires that's not what I've got, lol.

Haven't put on Vorschlag top plates yet, hopefully this weekend. Same for swift springs with assist springs in rear.

Oversteer on corner entry, generally neutral mid corner, a bit of understeer out. Very controllable overall for autocross. Hasn't seen track time, but I might put rsb to soft for that.

One note on RSB - I found the car somewhat unsettled on quick direction changes with just the RSB. Really hard corner entries would also overburden the front outside tire and result in terminal understeer rather than rotation. The coilovers and much stiffer springs, especially in the rear, made a huge difference here.

Your Ohlins setup is close to the same as mine.
Im on a stock front sway and went to a 9k front spring.
034 RSB on soft with 12k swift and helper in the rear.

Have you installed your Camber Plates?

 

[tmw2442]

https://store.034motorsport.com/dyn...l-joints-volkswagen-audi-mqb-and-mqb-evo.html

 

[jmblur]

Your Ohlins setup is close to the same as mine.
Im on a stock front sway and went to a 9k front spring.
034 RSB on soft with 12k swift and helper in the rear.

Have you installed your Camber Plates?

Not yet. I've been SLAMMED at work. Built up to 16 hour days 6 days a week the last month. Might take a few days off at some point and add them. Still a bit worried about ride quality implications.