6+ Best Volkswagen Golf MK6 GTI Coilovers: The Ultimate Guide
Are you looking to buy coilovers for your Golf MK6 GTI?
The Volkswagen Golf Mk6 GTI is a very popular hot hatch that took the good from the Mk5 and improved on it.
If you are looking to get the most out of your MK6 GTI, one of the best upgrades you can do is to install a set of coilovers. In this guide, I’m going to give you the 6 best coilovers for the MK6 GTI on the market today.
The Best Coilovers for the MK6 Golf GTI
BC Racing BR Series
Lowering: Up to 1-3 inches (25-75mm) – Super Low kit goes 2-4 inches (50-100mm)
Dampening adjustment: Yes, 30-level
Price range: $1195
One of the most popular kits on the market today, the BC Racing BR Series is known for giving you the perfect blend of street comfort and handling performance for a fantastic price.
These coilovers have proven themselves time and gain both on and off the track, making them a great option no matter what you use the car for.
One of the reasons they are so popular is because they are highly customizable.
Want to go super low? There’s an extreme Low kit that goes up to 4 inches lower than factory.
Want a more comfortable ride or better performance? You can get custom spring rates and valving, and even upgrade to Swift Springs for even more comfort and performance.
Another cool thing about these coilovers is that they are fully rebuildable, and BC Racing will sell you all the parts to do the rebuild as well as rebuild them for you.
They feature monotube dampers with 30 levels of dampening adjustment, and the ride height adjustment is done by the shock body which gives you full suspension travel at all heights. Applicable models even come with camber adjustable strut mounts (which includes the MK6 GTI).
These coilovers are well known for being a great buy and have a fantastic reputation worldwide. They are excellent value for money and are one of the best coilover kits available on the market today.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body, 1-3 inches lower than factory, Extreme Low goes up to 4 inches
- 30-level dampening adjustment
- Monotube dampers with linear piston and dampening curve
- Aluminium strut mounts with front camber adjustment
- Spring rates: 7 Kg front, 6 Kg rear
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Swift Spring Upgrade available
- Fully rebuildable, parts or rebuild available from BC Racing
- 1 year warranty
You can get the BC Racing BR series for your MK6 GTI at the best price here:
GET MK6 GTI BC RACING BR SERIES COILOVERS HERE
Riaction GT1
Lowering: Up to 1-3 inches (25-75mm)
Dampening adjustment: 1-way, 32-level
Price range: $1043
The Riaction GT-1 coilovers are an extremely good option for around the $1000 mark.
They offer similar features to the BR Series above, including monotube dampers with linear valving and 32 levels of adjustment, shock body height adjustment and more, but with a few extras.
These coilovers can be upgraded to 2-way dampening adjustment, as well as be converted to digressive valving, something the BR Series don’t offer.
Riaction also have an excellent reputation for servicing coilovers ultra fast (4-7 days), and even offer a lifetime free labor warranty, meaning you only have to pay for parts to get your coilovers serviced.
If you are looking for a high quality set of coilovers primarily for street use and were considering something along the lines of BC Racing, these are another great option at a slightly lower price and with more features and a longer warranty.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body – 1-3 inches of lowering
- 32-level dampening adjustment
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- Upgradeable to 2-way dampening adjustment
- Can be converted to digressive valving
- Fully rebuildable & serviceable in the USA
- 2 year warranty
- Lifetime labor warranty
GET MK6 GTI RIACTION GT1 COILOVERS HERE
Ohlins Road & Track
Lowering range: Up to 35mm
Dampening adjustment: Yes, 20-level
Price: $2590
Ohlins is undisputedly one of the top coilover brands in the world, having a long history of motorsport success and only making very high quality kits for a select range of cars. Luckily for MK6 GTI owners, they make a kit for your car.
While the Ohlins Road & Track kit is definitely not cheap, it is one of the best kits you are going to get, especially one that will give you the perfect balance between road and regular track use (thus the name Road & Track).
Designed to give you a comfortable ride and excellent handling performance, it features 20-level adjustable dampers which allow you to quickly switch between road and race settings using Ohlins’ special Dual Flow Valve technology. Ohlins have specifically designed this kit to give you the best handling performance on the track, while still giving you the best ride comfort on the road.
The ride height on the Road & Track kit is done by the shock body, which ensures you get full suspension travel at all ride height settings, making for a more comfortable ride, longer lasting dampers and the ability to corner balance the car.
If you are looking for one of the best coilover kits that money can buy, with a fantastic balance of both ride comfort for the street and performance on the track, this kit is for you.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- 20-level dampening adjustment using Ohlins Dual Flow Valve (DFV) technology
- Monotube dampers
- Corrosion salt spray tested to ISO 9227 standard
- Rebuildable
- 2 year warranty
KW V3
Lowering range: 1.4-2.5 inches (35-65mm)
Dampening adjustment: Yes, 2-way independent compression and rebound
Price: $2854
The KW V3 coilovers are one of the most popular high end coilover kits in the world.
One of the reasons for this is that KW puts an extreme amount of engineering into every kit they produce, fine tuning each one for the particular car (not something most companies do).
This ensures that the kit reacts perfectly with the car, and in the case of the V3’s, gives you the perfect balance between street use and track driving.
These coilovers feature 2-way independent dampening adjustment, allowing you to independently adjust rebound and compression, so you can quickly fine tune the car for more comfort or more performance.
Another notable feature of these coilovers is their anti-corrosion properties. The shock bodies are made from KW’s special INOX-LINE stainless steel, and the spring perches are composite, meaning they are extremely resistant to corrosion. You will never have to worry about them seizing, and KW also offers a lifetime warranty to back this up.
The only thing I don’t like about these is that the ride height is adjusted by the spring perch, which means you lose suspension travel as you go lower. This can result in a worse ride and cause the dampers to blow out faster if you are running at the extreme end of the adjustment range.
However, this is quite common on European made coilover kits and may not necessarily be a deal breaker, just something to make a note of.
If you want a kit that gives you a good balance of street comfort and track handling, and is a bit softer than the Ohlins, the KW V3’s are a good option, especially if you live in a harsh weather area where corrosion is a problem.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by spring perch, 35-65mm of lowering
- 12-level independent compression adjustment
- 16 level independent rebound adjustment
- Special INOX-LINE stainless steel and composite spring perches which will never rust or seize
- Lifetime warranty
- Made in Germany
- Rebuildable by KW
Silvers Neomax
Lowering: Up to 3 inches (75mm) – Super Low kit goes up to 5 inches (125mm)
Dampening adjustment: Yes, 24-level
Price range: $1299
The Silvers Neomax coilovers are a fantastic option if you are looking for a highly customizable and upgradable coilover kit.
One of the main features of this kit not found on many other coilovers is the fact that they are modular, meaning they can be upgraded. In this case specifically, they can up upgraded to 2-way independent dampening adjustment with external reservoirs.
Another notable fact about Silvers is that they have a very high level of quality control, testing every single damper on the shock dyno and scrapping any that are not within a 5% tolerance. Every coilover kit is hand assembled in their own facility, ensuring each one is of the highest quality before being sent out.
Silvers also pride themselves for the fastest turnaround time in the industry, with every kit being made to order and even custom kits being completed within 10 days.
They also offer a wide range of customization options including custom spring rates and valving, Swift Springs, Super Low and more.
While these are made in Taiwan, Silvers have their own facility where they hand assemble these kits. They don’t outsource like most coilover companies do, which allows them to maintain a very high level of quality control and quickly produce the kits.
These come with an 18 month warranty, and have a very good reputation with people who have bought and used them – you will find many positive reviews online. For the price, these are a very good value for money kit, especially if you think you will need to upgrade in the future.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body, 1-3 inches lower than factory, Super Low kit goes up to 5 inches depending on the model
- 24-level dampening adjustment
- Electroless nickel plated carbon steel shock bodies for maximum corrosion resistance
- 52mm monotube dampers with “hybrid” linear piston and digressive valving for increased comfort and performance
- Aluminium upper strut mounts with camber adjustment on the front
- Spring rates: 9 Kg front, 5 Kg rear
- Custom spring rates and damper valving option available
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- 18 month warranty
ST X
Lowering: As low as the car will go
Dampening adjustment: No
Price range: $1194
The ST X are the perfect coilover for those who just want to daily drive their GTI, lower it and get a comfortable ride with better handling.
ST coilovers are actually made by KW and these are practically identical to the KW V1s, aside from the fact that they do not have the INOX-LINE stainless steel shock bodies. Instead, they use galvanized shock bodies, which is what allows them to be sold for a lower price.
So if you live in an area that doesn’t see a lot of harsh weather, these are a great option that will save you some money.
They don’t have dampening adjustment, but they have twin tube dampers tuned by KW for the best balance of ride comfort and handling, and have a great reputation for being comfortable on the street, even when low.
The ride height is designed to be able to be lower the car to its mechanical limits, meaning you can go as low as you want with these coilovers.
These use the OEM top mounts for increased comfort levels, so be sure to order a new set if you get these coilovers so you can replace them at the same time.
The ST X are perfect if you are going to be daily driving your GTI and just want a coilover that will go low and ride comfortably without any fuss.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the spring perch, up to the mechanical limits of the car
- Twin tube dampers fine tuned by KW
- Galvanized shock bodies for corrosion resistance
- Composite spring perch
Solo-Werks S1
Lowering:
Front 35-65mm (1.4-2.5 inches)
Rear 35-70mm (1.4-2.75 inches)
Dampening adjustment: No
Price range: $499
If you are on a budget but you really need to lower your MK6, the Solo-Werks S1’s are the way to go.
These coilovers are extremely cheap yet offer superb value for money and will make sure you still retain a comfortable street ride while going low.
Solo-Werks was actually started by ex-KW engineers, so you are basically getting a lot of KW knowledge for a very low price.
While they don’t have dampening adjustment and don’t come with top mounts (you use the OEM ones), what they do have is excellent ride quality which can even handle track use. The dampers are twin-tube and are specifically tuned for every application.
The shock bodies are heavy gold zinc plated for maximum corrosion resistance, and have been salt spray tested for 500 hours.
They also feature special elastomer progressive bump stops which are designed to increase comfort even if you bottom out.
They also come with a 3 year warranty, which is unheard of at these price levels and shows you how much Solo-Werks believe in their product.
Overall, if you are looking for a budget coilover kit for your MK6 GTI, you are going to struggle to find anything better for anywhere near this price.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the spring perch, lowers 35-65mm (1.4-2.5inches) front and 35-70mm (1.4-2.75 inches) rear
- Twin tube dampers tuned specifically for the vehicle
- Heavy gold zinc plated shock bodies which have been salt spray tested for 500 hours – for excellent corrosion resistance
- Elastomer progressive bump stops for added comfort
- 3 year warranty
- Boesheild T-9 lubricant/protectant for the adjustment threads
Conclusion
I hope this has helped you to find the right coilover kit for you MK6 Golf GTI. If you any questions about any of these kits or any other kit, or would like to suggest something else for this list, feel free to post in the comments below.
If you have a MK7 GTI, be sure to check out the best coilovers for the MK7 GTI guide.
Cars owned: Mk2 Golf with 1.8T swap, BMW E28 with M30B35 swap, BMW E36 328I Mtech, BMW 750IL, Nissan 300ZX, Honda Civic EF
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