Why is the GT ride so 'crashy' ?

MUch as I love my GT, having driven my wife's Mk5 golf for the past 2 days it's really brought home to me how 'crashy' the GT ride is. You'd imagine the Golf to be really wallowy to soak up all the road bumps / pot holes etc but if anything it handles better than the GT due to it's superb suspension set up.

I'm not for a minute expectine the GT to be a soft comfortable ride but that said it's inability to soak up road imperfections is dreadful. The shocks / dampers they use on the car must be very poor quality.

Has anyone gone to the trouble of improving the situation by replacement etc ?

I'd heard car reviewers say this about the GT but only realised it myself when driving it again after the more 'forgiving' golf.

Obviously the Italian government look after their roads....still with the minimal road taxes we have to pay in this country the government wont have money to do this.

Don't know about the GT, but my 147 seems the same. I've got a Seat aswell that absorbs all the bumps etc far better than the 147. Both cars have 17" alloys so the tyres are similar. But the 147 does handle better on bends & roundabouts. I put it down to the Seat having softer suspension. I've never got round to trying to improve the Alfa tho as there always seems to be something else on it that needs money spent on it first!

My 147 was the same, and the BMW 1 series I got after it was even worse but the Brera is a vast improvement.

The "original' 147 with 17" rims needs a good set of Dampers...either Koni adjustables or Bilstein or equivalent. You do not need to change ethe springs if you want o keep the ground clearance. The ca rthen behaves totally different with a noticeably less crashty ride which absorbs typical road iregularities with ease and generally improves the ride and handling . However 17" rims and bad roads are still a no go area.....

Since getting my GTV .......... I find myself driving around all the potholes manhole covers and any random "cigarette butt" I see on the road.............. The suspension is pretty much crap............. I'm surprised I haven't been stopped by the police, thinking I was drunk with all the weaving across the road I seem to do..........

'er indoors has a BMW Z3 ............. It's like driving a limousine in comparison.



Cheers to All
Peter

My 147 is fine, wife has a Cee'd with Gas shocks and she says mine is smoother than hers !

Originally Posted by techie

My 147 is fine, wife has a Cee'd with Gas shocks and she says mine is smoother than hers !

I think from 2005 the 147 gained the tweaked suspension to improve the ride quality. Apparently it worked

If the lower wishbone bushes are worn that will make the ride a lot more crashy. I was shocked how much better they feel after they have been replaced.

No other perspective from the GT drivers ? - Doubt my dampers are worn as the car is less than 2yrs old.

i dont think it is that bad :/ ive driven mk5 golf too and thought it was soft soft soft

.....must admit though, that if had some spare cash would prob swap the suspension for some top kit - but then im always after a better ride level

Originally Posted by Ellaura

I think from 2005 the 147 gained the tweaked suspension to improve the ride quality. Apparently it worked

Yes I gather the facelift 147 is a lot smoother. Mine is on 02 so it's pre-facelift. Personally I prefer the looks of mine but would prefer the ride of a newer one.

Hmmm - maybe the golf tyres were underinflated....i make sure my Wifes are slightly over and it seems spot on. They've even dumbed down the suspension on the next golf to save money as the MK5's is so good but expensive to make.

I spend half my time trying to avoid holes in the road as I know what's coming as soon as a wheel hits them !

Originally Posted by pb5691

Yes I gather the facelift 147 is a lot smoother. Mine is on 02 so it's pre-facelift. Personally I prefer the looks of mine but would prefer the ride of a newer one.

Interesting - I wonder if the later GT's have better 'set up' in this area ?

my 2p, the 156 is the same compared to my brothers VW bora (golf with boot)
but the bora is a boring drive and the 156 is much more fun in every other way so i can live with it.

Originally Posted by mikeyw

Interesting - I wonder if the later GT's have better 'set up' in this area ?

Well I have a limit basis for comparison, but I'm 50+ (i.e. getting old), came out of a MK5 Golf TDI 2.0 last September to a Q2 GT (18s, lowerd suspension, stiffer roll bars, etc.) and find it just as comfortable as the Golf, just a bit firmer, less body roll when cornering, (it just begs to be blasted though left/right/left medium sized roundabout, which the Golf never did), and the seats are better. I always run tyres on cars this size at 34/36 PSI...

Any review I have ever read about GT's have universally criticised the crashy ride. Strongly suggest that you fit good aftermarket shocks (& springs if you want to lower the car). I used to avoid potholes/speed bumps before I fitted Bilsteins.

as above, quality dampers can transform the ride quality. i have KONI Sport fitted.

but also the tyres. the original 17" bridgestone RE050 225/45 have a considerably harder ride/sidewall than the 19" toyo Proxes4 225/35 tyres i have now!

of course, it's a bit subjective in what you are expecting and describing. but it can be improved upon. many things confer the overall ride quality: dampers, springs, car weight, suspension geometry, bushing size/material, wheel weight, etc. but as mentioned, the best things to change are dampers and tyres.

My old man's R32 Golf is more stiffly sprung, rolls less, has 18in wheels and is lower, yet rides significantly better than my 2.0 147. I badly need new shocks.

As a GT owner, I can agree with you that the GT ride is VERY bad on our Australian roads. Even though the road may not look at all bad, the GT's suspension is easily caught out and will often bottom out with a resounding CRASH! The suspension must be bottoming out very easily and must be crashing on the bump stop limits.

This is annoying me so much that I have ordered and received (but not yet fitted at this stage) a set of Bilstein dampers and a set of Eibach springs for both front and rear. My car has done only 35,000 kilometres at this stage so I have decided to not replace the suspension bushes at this time because of the huge additional cost. I can only source PowerFlex bushes and they are VERY expensive. (Maybe I should replace the bushes as well - what do you think?????).

I have also ordered (and still waiting for) an aluminium engine guard to replace the original fibre one - this will give additional ground clearance I am told. This guard is available from shop@alfisti.net but again, is very expensive, especially when you add in the shipping costs.

These new bits will be installed at my next major service when I will also be fitting a Q2 diff. The timing belt, idlers and tensioner will also be done at that time.

So, fingers crossed - I am hoping for a huge improvement in quality of ride and will report on my findings when the job is complete.

Stay tuned......Ciao

nylon PowerFlex bushes will only make the ride 'harder', so probably not a good idea you your case. having said that, depends which and how many you change; they will place more 'work' on the dampers to control the suspension, but with Bilstein's fitted, could be no issue. so a bit hard to predict.

I have Koni shocks and Eibach springs....quite a bumpy ride but I quite like the feel of the road I get. Tried softening up the front shocks but handling wasn't as good so went back to the firmer setting. Not sure how my set up compares to a normal 147 as I haven't driven one for a long time.

More importantly, recently having had all wishbones replaced, the handling and ride quality has greatly improved.

Replacing the stock Goodyear Boots with Toyo T1-R Proxes gave a huge reduction in the crashiness.

Others report the same!

DG