Looking for Bilstein B14 Opinions

[SLO MK7]

Hey everyone!

First off, let me introduce myself as I'm a new member here. Back in May, I bought a 2017 GTI Sport with a 6MT in CSG and I've been lurking ever since as I've made a few modifications.

Before I purchased the car, I knew that I would be swapping out the wheels and tires for something lighter/stickier. Once I had the car, I realized that it needed a bigger rear sway bar (RSB) before anything else. I purchased and installed an H&R 24mm RSB which did wonders to the balance (not convinced I shouldn't have gone 26mm but oh well...)

Next up I purchased a set of 18x8.5 Nuespeed RSE10's in bronze and wrapped them in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 235/40r18 tires. Between the RSB and the tires, the car is now 8/10's of the way to sporty daily driver bliss.

The final thing to do is springs and dampers which brings me to the million dollar question: what setup to go with?

I'm looking to lower the car up to an inch while increasing stiffness to match the decrease in travel. Theoretically, I like the idea of going with a matched spring-damper which brought me to the Bilstein B14's. I like the idea of being able to set the ride height and have a spring that is selected to be stiff enough to not have bottoming-out issues. I have read as much as I can find on the B14's on this forum (and some on GolfMK6) and the only real concern I have is a few complaints about them being too stiff when set too low.

What I'd love to hear is any feedback from someone who has run the B14's near the top end of their height adjustment. If not slammed, are the B14's still too stiff for daily-driver duties? I know this is very subjective but I'm relatively young with pretty decent roads and want to experience a sporty suspension setup. Am I crazy? Overthinking it?

Any feedback welcome!

And lastly, an obligatory picture of the current setup:

 

[Chogokin]

I have the B14 for about 18k now. I have mine set where the lower control arms are parallel to the ground. For "street" coilovers...they ride pretty good. What I do like about them is that I can set the ride height prettymuch were I like it.

Coilovers have a range where they typically work best. I haven't tried them at max extension...but I've tried coilovers all the way down...where they ride like crap. There isn't much suspension travel spun all the way down.

 

[SLO MK7]

Thanks for the data point! I too like the idea of being able to set the ride height (within a range) instead of hoping that a given set of springs is exactly right...

In theory, parallel lower control arms sound great for geometry changes. Do you happen to know about how much drop you get with them set where you have them?

I'd definitely rather err on the side of higher with a bit of gap than lower with minimal stroke and/or putting the damper in an off-design range.

 

[bfury5]

Just for anyone who else who sees this, the B14 technically adjust ride height by changing preload which isn't true "ride height adjustment" because you're also changing effective travel of the damper when you change preload.