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| Whiteline sway bar end links. These sway bar end links are length-adjustable to prevent sway bar preload, which contributes to inconsistent handling as well as binding. |
Since we are also lowering the car, Whiteline’s bump steer correction kit is a must have. Due to design limitations, VW had to optimize bumpsteer based on the stock ride height. When you lower a car, you introduce areas of suspension travel that the car was not optimized for, mainly because the tie rod is set level to reduce the amount its length is changed by its angle. The increased change in tie rod length during bump travel causes the outside tire to toe out, fighting the steering inputs of the driver and the inside wheel. The resulting bumpsteer not only causes poor handling, but you can also expect faster component and tire wear to boot. Whiteline’s bump steer correction kit offsets the tie rod, bringing the tie rod back to level at a lower ride height, correcting bump steer for the useable travel of most coilover setups set to sane ride heights. Hellafunctional.
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| The Whiteline bump steer correction kit for the MKV and MKVI Golf. This kit corrects tie rod angle on lowered cars to reduce unwanted bumpsteer. The spherical rod ends used here reduce friction over standard ball joints. |
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| The Whiteline bump steer correction kit installed on the car. Note the spacer with integrated dust boot (yellow). Details like this are usually lost on many aftermarket components. |
Now that we’ve established a firm and stable chassis, we can move on to upgrading the factory springs and dampers. For our Golf, we decided to order a set of Suspension Techniques Speedtech Coilovers. These adjustable ride height spring and damper kits are built by KW Suspensions with almost the same features as KW’s Variant 1 setup. The primary difference between the KWs and the ST coilovers is the ST coilovers are electro zinc plated and chromated steel with a 5 year warranty, and the KWs are INOX stainless steel with a lifetime warranty. In the end, the ST coilovers’ lower price point, with identical performance as their KW stablemates had us sold, especially since our car is unlikely to ever see road salt and the massive corrosion that comes with it. Still Electro zinc plating is pretty damn corrosion resistant and the shock bodies exceed most OEM standards and will last quite a while even under salty winter conditions.
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| If Suspension Technique’s Speedtech Coilover system for the MKVI Golf looks exactly like the KW Variant I coilovers, that’s because they are basically the same unit, made by KW. The most easily discernable differences between the two setups is the ST version uses a galvanized body for a 5 year warranty, and the KW version uses INOX stainless steel bodies with a lifetime warranty. |
Like the KW Variant 1s, our ST coilovers feature gas charged twin-tube dampers with custom wound progressive rate springs up front over a threaded body damper, and specifically wound independent springs with a separate non-threaded damper for the rear. To handle ride height adjustment for the rear independently mounted springs, ST utilizes an adjustable perch that fits over the stock spring retainer built into the car, allowing the corner to be balanced at a user-determined ride height.
