Ride with 18"wheels hard - how to soften ride a little?

[MikeB]

I have had my Mark VI GTI for about a week, and while I love the car, I find the GTI ride with the 18 "225/40 tyres hard / harsh. The various Melbourne roads with repairs all jolt a little much. Not just suburban roads, but even highways one notices all the undulations a bit much.

Now I am probably a little soft having had a Honda Accord Euro before (with standard 17" 225/45s) with no doubt softer suspension.

Firstly, what is the main cause - wheels or shocks? I love the wheels, don't want to change to 17" if I can avoid it. Is it the shocks? If so, what do people recommend ? Anyone else notice this? (in reading other threads, most want lower profile tyres, lower suspension, .......).

[schoona]

Honestly....my old man (he is 59) has KW V3's and at present the ride is better than standard (MkV GTI) and he has 235/35/19 tyres on 19x8.5 wheels.
Standard suspension plus the new wheels and tyres was a bit harsher, but the car now rides better than standard, is much better when cornering and looks like this:

[MikeB]

Schoona (nice wheels), if you are saying that the lower profile wheels it is a nicer ride..... then what else have you changed? Shocks? While changing the minimum (I like the wheels), what should I think of doing?

[schoona]

KW V3 coilover suspension

make sure you get something thats damper and rebound adjustable, so that you can get the comfortable ride happening (obviously a high priority)

The lower profile tyres and coilover suspension ides better than a standard mkv GTI yes

[gareth_oau]

let some air out the tyres!

[pumped]

let some air out the tyres!

Beat me to it

[brad]

What tyre pressures are you running & what make/model tyres?

[Corey_R]

Yep seriously... we've seen cars come out of the dealerships still having 45psi in the tyres! They are apparently set higher from the factor for the voyage over. Sometimes the dealers forget to set them back to regular pressures. 36psi at the front and 32psi at the rear in the GTI is probably optimal for handling etc, but you could drop them lower for comfort etc (and it's not like we've got autobahns in Australia where the higher psi's for constant 150km/h+ driving is required

[AdamD]

I went from a Euro running 17s (225/45) to a GTI running 18s (Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 225/40). I run my tyres at approximately 36psi, and no complaints here. Took a couple of weeks to get used to the lack of plushness though.

[brad]

Forgot.

have they removed the shipping blocks out of the springs?

[Corey_R]

Oh yes! Another good suggestion! We've seen that a few times here too! hehe

[triode12]

What do we pay dealer delivery fees for....? f..all apparently.

[brad]

What do we pay dealer delivery fees for....? f..all apparently.

I couldn't fault my car at delivery. Perfect paint, spotless, very happy.

Sometimes you get a numbnuts in PD.

[dave_r]

Yep seriously... we've seen cars come out of the dealerships still having 45psi in the tyres! They are apparently set higher from the factor for the voyage over.

Really? I've always found new cars came around 30psi and figured the dealers were playing tricks to make it feel like a more supple ride?

FWIW, I run ~38 in the R's 19's and leave ACC in sport most of the time these days. No issues with comfort for me. I think the Polo with 17's is actually a harsher ride.

[craig_the_german]

Hi all,

Pardon my ignorance but isn't the reason you would buy a GTI or any "performance car", the performance, ride and handling?

If the ride is too harsh, there are plenty of options to pick from when ordering.

Shoot me down if you wish, but how many GTI's are sold to people who want one because "It's a GTI" and haven't thought about how it is to live with day to day?