[PIJ]

New member, advice needed.
I bought my 1.5 SEL DSG from new last June and so far covered only 1600 miles due to shielding etc.
I am generally happy with the car except I find the ride quality mainly on urban roads bumpy and unsettling
(Carmarthenshire).
At the time of purchase I did not have a choice of wheels, which are 18 inch
Koln with Hankook Ventus Prime 215/45R18 89V. The dealer has told me over the phone that a smaller wheel size would make no difference as the car is set up for these wheels.
I regularly check the tyre pressures which are front 33 and rear 30.

Your thoughts will be much appreciated.

 

[glint.bladesong]

The dealer has told me over the phone that a smaller wheel size would make no difference as the car is set up for these wheels

That is going to need some explaining... I would LOVE to hear what bits of the car in particular are "set up" for 18inch tyres, and how they are set up in such a way that 17 or 16 inch tyres cannot be used.

Its possible that he means you cannot just change from 18 inch tyres to 17 or 16 inch tyres as the rims are for 18inch, but that is being rather generous with my interpretation. You obviously would need to buy new rims if you change to a 16 or 17 inch tyre, but I cannot think of a single other reason why you couldn't. You would certainly get a more comfortable ride if you did.

Our T Cross has 17 inch tyres and I have found it to be a lovely ride from inner city to orange gravel (aussie orange gravel, if you haven't driven over it it is like nothing else, think compacted dirt track covered in orange pea sized and shaped pebbles) It's not an off-roader, but it feels comfortable and composed while I'm behind the wheel.

 

[PIJ]

That is going to need some explaining... I would LOVE to hear what bits of the car in particular are "set up" for 18inch tyres, and how they are set up in such a way that 17 or 16 inch tyres cannot be used.

Its possible that he means you cannot just change from 18 inch tyres to 17 or 16 inch tyres as the rims are for 18inch, but that is being rather generous with my interpretation. You obviously would need to buy new rims if you change to a 16 or 17 inch tyre, but I cannot think of a single other reason why you couldn't. You would certainly get a more comfortable ride if you did.

Our T Cross has 17 inch tyres and I have found it to be a lovely ride from inner city to orange gravel (aussie orange gravel, if you haven't driven over it it is like nothing else, think compacted dirt track covered in orange pea sized and shaped pebbles) It's not an off-roader, but it feels comfortable and composed while I'm behind the wheel.

That is going to need some explaining... I would LOVE to hear what bits of the car in particular are "set up" for 18inch tyres, and how they are set up in such a way that 17 or 16 inch tyres cannot be used.

Its possible that he means you cannot just change from 18 inch tyres to 17 or 16 inch tyres as the rims are for 18inch, but that is being rather generous with my interpretation. You obviously would need to buy new rims if you change to a 16 or 17 inch tyre, but I cannot think of a single other reason why you couldn't. You would certainly get a more comfortable ride if you did.

Our T Cross has 17 inch tyres and I have found it to be a lovely ride from inner city to orange gravel (aussie orange gravel, if you haven't driven over it it is like nothing else, think compacted dirt track covered in orange pea sized and shaped pebbles) It's not an off-roader, but it feels comfortable and composed while I'm behind the wheel.

 

[PIJ]

Thanks for that,I agree smaller tyres would help,I need a face to face chat with dealer

 

[AussieJohn]

Smaller wheels and tyres with a higher profile would undoubtedly assist, but as the car came standard with the larger wheels I can't see the dealer agreeing to a no cost swap. I'm sure that there would be a cash adjustment required, but you never know. For comparison, my R Line rides on 18 inch wheels with 45 profile tyres. I keep them at 38psi all round and find the ride over a variety of Australian roads to be comfortable. So, up to a point, the car is set up to ride on a variety of rim sizes and tyre combinations. Ultimately it's down to personal preferences and tolerances. Cheers-John

 

[PIJ]

Smaller wheels and tyres with a higher profile would undoubtedly assist, but as the car came standard with the larger wheels I can't see the dealer agreeing to a no cost swap. I'm sure that there would be a cash adjustment required, but you never know. For comparison, my R Line rides on 18 inch wheels with 45 profile tyres. I keep them at 38psi all round and find the ride over a variety of Australian roads to be comfortable. So, up to a point, the car is set up to ride on a variety of rim sizes and tyre combinations. Ultimately it's down to personal preferences and tolerances. Cheers-John

It’s good to have another opinion from Australia, my son moved to Chelmer, Brisbane from Wales 15 years ago. The ride on good surfaces is not a problem but urban roads are poorly maintained in recent times.As previously stated I need to meet with the dealer but only when Omicron calms down here.

Many Thanks

Peter

SEL 1.5 DSG Limestone Grey, heated seats, folding mirrors,spacesaver wheel.

 

[Tricky2]

Misses has an R line with 18" low profiles, yes ride is firm, but I wouldn't say it was unsettling. As has been said, smaller wheels with a larger profile would probably improve your ride. Oh, and we're also in Carmarthenshire! Just outside Llandeilo

 

[froug]

18" on an SEL here, and as per the others a firm ride but not unsettling.

 

[PIJ]

Misses has an R line with 18" low profiles, yes ride is firm, but I wouldn't say it was unsettling. As has been said, smaller wheels with a larger profile would probably improve your ride. Oh, and we're also in Carmarthenshire! Just outside Llandeilo

Thanks for that Tricky, you will probably know how bad some of the roads are in Carmarthen where I live. When the time comes do you think that a different tyre could be helpful? (Hankook on now).Also should I continue with pressures of f 33 and r 30 based on 2 persons?.

Many thanks

Peter

 

[AussieJohn]

It’s good to have another opinion from Australia, my son moved to Chelmer, Brisbane from Wales 15 years ago. The ride on good surfaces is not a problem but urban roads are poorly maintained in recent times.As previously stated I need to meet with the dealer but only when Omicron calms down here.

Many Thanks

Peter

SEL 1.5 DSG Limestone Grey, heated seats, folding mirrors,spacesaver wheel.

Hi Again Peter, I suggest that you try higher pressures-say 36 psi all round- at the pressures you are using perhaps the tyres fall into bumps and holes. This may produce an unsettling ride. At higher pressures you may well ride over the disturbances. Try it and see, you can always lower them again, but I believe that you will have a better ride and longer tyre life. Cheers-John

 

[PIJ]

Hi Again Peter, I suggest that you try higher pressures-say 36 psi all round- at the pressures you are using perhaps the tyres fall into bumps and holes. This may produce an unsettling ride. At higher pressures you may well ride over the disturbances. Try it and see, you can always lower them again, but I believe that you will have a better ride and longer tyre life. Cheers-John

Hi John,
So grateful that you have given this more thought. What you say makes sense, so in the next few days I will give it a try and come back to you.
Many thanks
Peter
PS I predicted a 5-0 defeat in the Ashes, I’m sure I will be right

 

[Adagamp]

Hi I live in Carmarthenshire so drive the same roads , my SEL has 17” tyres , generally urban driving , over potholes , speedbumps etc I find the ride pretty good.
In truth I would have gone for 16” rims on my SEL if the option was available,I preferred the Wheel style ,and likely better ride and it would have saved me £30 per corner for replacement tyres compared to my 17”. Add another £20-30 on top of that for 18”.

 

[Tricky2]

Between us this must be all the 'cross's in Carmarthen

 

[PIJ]

18" on an SEL here, and as per the others a firm ride but not unsettling.

Between us this must be all the 'cross's in Carmarthen

Yes we are a bit thin on the ground here, but I do know of a 1.0 L R line manual in town.(Limestone Grey ) Before we bought ours the owner kindly came here for us to look at it and even offered me a test drive which I declined because I have not driven a manual for over 8 years.
As you know I am new to the forum and so grateful for everyones help .
.

Peter

 

[AussieJohn]

Hi John,
So grateful that you have given this more thought. What you say makes sense, so in the next few days I will give it a try and come back to you.
Many thanks
Peter
PS I predicted a 5-0 defeat in the Ashes, I’m sure I will be right

They were determined to give that one a red hot crack and draw the test.-Cheers -John

 

[Tricky2]

PJ, just checked and ours are pirrelli P7's same size as yours. Yes the ride's firm (just come back through the lanes Talley to Salem) can you define unsettling in more detail?

 

[PIJ]

PJ, just checked and ours are pirrelli P7's same size as yours. Yes the ride's firm (just come back through the lanes Talley to Salem) can you define unsettling in more detail?

Tricky, the best example I can give you is going over speed bumps which is almost always slowly and we get thrown around quite a lot.I realise this can happen to lots of other cars but this is very much worse than our 2017 Golf. Having said that I always knew that the Golf would be a hard act to follow
regarding drive quality.

Peter

 

[Tricky2]

Yes I guess it is much firmer ride with the low profile tyres, they're very much like 'rubber bands'. Didn't know the SEL came standard with low profile like our R Line.

Edit, OK that's interesting, my brochure (OK 2020 model year) has the SEL as 205/55 R17, the 215/45 R18 are fitted to the R Line. Maybe they've upped the spec since ours, or may be they are non standard and the reason why it's not so balanced.

 

[PIJ]

Yes I guess it is much firmer ride with the low profile tyres, they're very much like 'rubber bands'. Didn't know the SEL came standard with low profile like our R Line.

Edit, OK that's interesting, my brochure (OK 2020 model year) has the SEL as 205/55 R17, the 215/45 R18 are fitted to the R Line. Maybe they've upped the spec since ours, or may be they are non standard and the reason why it's not so balanced.

Thanks for that Tricky. This morning I have increased pressures to 36 all round as suggested by Aussie-John, and see how it goes.When Omicron calms down I will go to the dealer in Neyland.
,

 

[alanandmaureen59]

New member, advice needed.
I bought my 1.5 SEL DSG from new last June and so far covered only 1600 miles due to shielding etc.
I am generally happy with the car except I find the ride quality mainly on urban roads bumpy and unsettling
(Carmarthenshire).
At the time of purchase I did not have a choice of wheels, which are 18 inch
Koln with Hankook Ventus Prime 215/45R18 89V. The dealer has told me over the phone that a smaller wheel size would make no difference as the car is set up for these wheels.
I regularly check the tyre pressures which are front 33 and rear 30.

Your thoughts will be much appreciated.

No problems with 18" rims and the Ventus tyre at the pressures you list. Can the dealer let you drive similar to compare, maybe something else going on with suspension.