GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Street Touring Hatchback (STH) discussion/setup

JackRabbitSLIM

Go Kart Champion
Location
OHIO
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
Alignment is on Friday. Test and tune on Sun in Pittsburgh. Charlotte Pro the next weekend.

Messing around in the street shows good signs but as much as I want to beleive it, street stuff is never worth talking about.

Also setup in the coldish areas is a bit weird as you know @bfury5 because cars act so different in 50F compared to 90F. I'm probably going to ask for .125" out front and .25" out rear but that might be more of a party in Charlotte than I want. I've been to this event at 75F and 35F always the same weekend.
 

bfury5

Autocross Champion
Location
CT
Alignment is on Friday. Test and tune on Sun in Pittsburgh. Charlotte Pro the next weekend.

Messing around in the street shows good signs but as much as I want to beleive it, street stuff is never worth talking about.

Also setup in the coldish areas is a bit weird as you know @bfury5 because cars act so different in 50F compared to 90F. I'm probably going to ask for .125" out front and .25" out rear but that might be more of a party in Charlotte than I want. I've been to this event at 75F and 35F always the same weekend.
That sounds like a lot out in the rear, but you're running a higher % front to rear spring than I was so it might work out. Agreed on the cold, my setup was usually pretty neutral until those 50F mornings when it would snap around pretty quick.

Edit: I was also on 245 tires vs the 255
 

xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
255 35 18 Falken RT660 on 18x9 +45, 5mm spacer on rear. It pokes a little and rubs a little over speedbumps, but overall I'd say it fits.View attachment 204832

By my measurements, the stacked height of 4x 255/35/18 Falken Azeniz 660 vs 4x 265/35/18 RE71R, the Falken stack is 1/4 taller.

I'm a little surprised by this.
 
Last edited:

JackRabbitSLIM

Go Kart Champion
Location
OHIO
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
By my measurements, the stacked height of 4x 255 Falken Azeniz 660 vs 4x 265 RE71R, the Falken stack is 1/4" taller.
I assume this is what you meant. But yeah, the Falkens are big.
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
BC racing plates, come with the Redshift kit since its BC based
Any issues with the strut shaft and nut hitting dome over the strut mounting area? How much neg camber did you get? I'm looking at the Redshift kit too.
 

JackRabbitSLIM

Go Kart Champion
Location
OHIO
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
I don't know how much camber yet. I'm very sorry. Brad has like -3 with them.

There are no issues with the top nut and the dome but you have to drill a little hole to access the adjuster. It was easy.
 
Last edited:

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
I don't know how much camber yet. I'm very sorry. Brad has like -3 with them.

There are no issues with the top nut and the dome but you have to drill a little hole to access the adjuster. It was easy.
Sweet. Wife retired this year, so I can't just buy stuff when I want anymore, but these and IC are my next 2 buys.

I came from an STR NC Miata and see you also drive and STX BRZ.

What are your thoughts on ST BRZ vs ST GTI? I'm finding RWD was funner and I was faster, but the GTI is so much better as a car and 99% of the time when I'm not on autocrossing or on track.
 
Last edited:

JackRabbitSLIM

Go Kart Champion
Location
OHIO
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
My lead time on the Redshift coilovers was 6 weeks btw.

I haven't autocrossed the GTI yet. BRZ is super fun. RWD is great, it's pretty different imo. I do a lot of track events with it.
 

bfury5

Autocross Champion
Location
CT
Any issues with the strut shaft and nut hitting dome over the strut mounting area? How much neg camber did you get? I'm looking at the Redshift kit too.

No issues with top not clearance as Todd said, I ended at -3.2 last year. That was with the plates maxed out, but just a reminder I had to drill an access hole for the strut adjuster with the plate maxed. I might try to slot the holes a bit this year, but my guess is the camber plate will start to hit the body and I'm not sure I feel like trimming the plate.

As I'm sure Todd will say as well, the Redshift kit is very comfortable for the 99% of the time you're not at autox, especially given the high spring rates. At 450/800 I had no problems DDing the car, and my GF couldn't even feel a difference (not a car person though).
 

jmblur

Autocross Champion
Location
Massachusetts
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
So for a primarily street driven car that does double duty, would Ohlins be a better choice for overall ride comfort than the BC redshifts, while not giving up too much performance? Trying to decide if that extra grand is worth it for the Ohlins..
 

JackRabbitSLIM

Go Kart Champion
Location
OHIO
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
I've never owned Ohlins.

My opinion is that you'll be fine either way. The Ohlins will probably be more comfortable judging from my experience with other $3k dampers (Koni 3011 and Racecomp Tarmac 2), but by better I mean they'll feel even more like driving on glass. So it's like deciding between a 8/10 and 10/10 in a way. I'd guess that the Ohlins will hold up longer without re-work. I'm under the impression that Ohlin makes dampers for people who want to fly around on the autobahn and have a buttery ride. German engineering tends to be robust.

If you want a race shock that's okay for the road maybe try the BC if budget is important. I haven't raced them yet, so don't actually know if they're good but I go back with Redshift, he did my Integra 3011s and I have faith. I've known and driven a few cars that Redshift setup and people are always happy. The thing you get from Redshift is a tailored fit, right? So if racing is the main goal, that's worth something. Let's not pretend that the BCs are a super high quality damper though, they are more on the budget side.

If you want a super excellent street damper that's good for autocross and track maybe try the Ohlins. You can always re-valve them too. I have no doubt that @xXDavidCXx's re-valved Ohlins will outperform the BCs in terms of damping.

I'll just add that until you drive on a premium damper, their benefit is hard to describe but very real.
 
Last edited:

Mini7

Autocross Champion
Location
Charlotte, NC
Car(s)
2017 GTi Sport PP
I've never owned Ohlins.

My opinion is that you'll be fine either way. The Ohlins will probably be more comfortable judging from my experience with other 3k dampers (Koni 3011 and Racecomp Tarmac 2), but by better I mean they'll feel even more like driving on glass. So it's like deciding between a 8/10 and 10/10 in a way. I'd guess that the Ohlins will hold up longer without re-work. I'm under the impression that Ohlin makes dampers for people who want to fly around on the autobahn and have a buttery ride. German engineering tends to be robust.

If you want a race shock that's okay for the road maybe try the BC if budget is important. I haven't raced them yet, so don't actually know if they're good but I go back with Redshift, he did my Integra 3011s and I have faith. I've known and driven a few cars that Redshift setup and people are always happy. The thing you get from Redshift is a tailored fit, right? So if racing is the main goal, that's worth something. Let's not pretend that the BCs are a super high quality damper though, they are more on the budget side.

If you want a super excellent street damper that's good for autocross and track maybe try the Ohlins. You can always re-valve them too. I have no doubt that @xXDavidCXx's re-valved Ohlins will outperform the BCs in terms of damping.

I'll just add that until you drive on a premium damper, their benefit is hard to describe but very real.
This is a very fair assessment.

Had my Ohlins revalved by Barry at 3DM Motorsports after a year of use. My Ohlins did not require a rebuild.
Read some comments that they would need rebuilding every year. Erhhh No.
I have some headroom to go stiffer both front and rear after the revalve, but will likely be at lower spring rates then you Auto-X guys

Not likely to rebuild my Ohlins until I experience a problem Or get OCD about preventive maintenance.

Getting someone who understands the science and black art of tuning shocks and suspension is key to getting the right setup.
 

xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
So for a primarily street driven car that does double duty, would Ohlins be a better choice for overall ride comfort than the BC redshifts, while not giving up too much performance? Trying to decide if that extra grand is worth it for the Ohlins..
I don't think you are giving up any performance going with the Ohlins.

The other thing to consider is that you will need to source a front top mount with the Ohlins, so factor in another $500. I would not run expensive shocks through the OEM mounting system, but you could if you had to.
 
Top