Suspension and wheel changes on 2015 GSW

Turned in my 2013 TDI Jetta and now the owner of a 2015 TDI GSW SE which rides like an army tank in my opinion compared to three previous Jettas we've owned. New 16 inch wheels and 205/55R/16 tires are ordered. Researched the Koni FSD yellow struts and shocks. Has anyone switched to Koni FSD struts/shocks. My new 17 inch wheels and continentals are for sale. Where is the best place to post them for sale. Thanks for help and suggestions.

The koni fsd would ñt your needs well. Another very popular choice for the mqb chassis are the bilstein struts and shocks. Just search here and elsewhere for mk7 bilstein to get popular informed opinions. Several avenues to unload your wheels, your local Craigslist is still a favorite.

Thanks for your suggestions. With all the people viewing my post, and very few to reply, I thought I'd offended everyone with my opinion on the "ride" of my GSW. I love everything about the car except the sport tuned suspension, which, I know 'ride-is-subject' to personal preference. The car just rides stiffer and bumpier, and differently that the previous Jetta cars we've owned. For anyone looking for a more comfortable ride, there is a very good article posted on TireRack.com whereby they tested a car with several suspensions systems; same car, same tires, but different suspensions. The Koni FSD struts and shocks, Koni sport struts and shocks, and OEM struts and shocks were tested on the same car. Enlightening article: Title: SUSPENSION COMPONENT TEST RESULTS
KONI FSD Dampers Improve Handling Without the Traditional Sacrifice in Ride Quality

I put a deposit on an embargoed '15 GSW last July, that I just signed the purchase order on. They had two 6 speed manuals, a Comfortline and a Highline. The 17" wheels on the Highline were a dealbreaker for me, and I chose the Comfortline with 16" wheels. I drive on a lot of back roads and definitely do not need less cushioning between the road and the rim. I think the Alltrack is just ridiculous, with 18" wheels. Not to mention the extra 300 lbs for the 4WD - I'd rather carry some chains for the 1 time every couple of years that I can't make it up my steep driveway, and I live in remote snow country.

I have a '15 Sportwagen S with 16" wheels. Although it rides firmer than my '02 Jetta Wagon with Koni Reds, it's comparable to my '99.5 Golf with Koni Yellows. Both of those cars have 15" wheels. I find the ride to be better than my (sold) '12 Golf with 17" wheels.

Koni doesn't make FSDs for the torsion beam rear axle on the GSW. They only have them for the cars with IRS. They do have Yellows, but I don't think you're going to see much of a change in ride quality with that switch. And when I put FSDs in my '12 Golf the ride actually got firmer. But that was a very light car, the lightest of any MKVI.

You could switch to 15" wheels. I ended up with those on my '12, and I was happy with them. I considered asking my dealer to swap '15s from a 1.8T GSW onto my car before delivery, but the wheels are ugly and tire selection for 15s is pretty limited. I'm really sensitive to ride qaility (I had three sets of wheels and three suspension setups on my '12 Golf in 12K miles before I was satisfied), but I'm not unhappy with the '15 GSW with 16s.

Drive the car for a while. The suspension will soften up.

I talked to a technician at Koni and explained my GSW sport tuned suspension situation. He said they do make the Koni FSD front struts and rear FSD shocks for the GSW. It is part #2100-4154 - Koni FSD - Shock Kit. The struts/shocks are yellow/gold in color and cost $643.10 ie., Import Replacement Parts website. Other dealers have them. That is the best price I could find. Not sure if I will bite that bullet yet. Waiting on the 16 inch rims and tires I've ordered. Will see how much that helps. 15 inch tires and wheels may be in the future for this car. I did like the 205/55R16's on the 2006 Jetta and 2013 Jetta. the '06 rode the best but it had the IR suspension which the '13 did not have. Both cars handled extremely well and rode comfortably with OEM suspensions.

You're right, I missed that item when I looked last night. We'll add those to our site. However, based on my experience with my MKVI Golf, if you order FSDs expecting a more compliant ride I think you may be disappointed. I actually went back to OE dampers in my '12 because I thought the FSDs were too firm in that car. How dampers behave varies a lot by vehicle platform.

EDIT: I just called Koni to order FSDs for our site. They make the FSD kits with both 50mm and 55mm diameter struts, both for the GSW with torsion beam rear suspension. I asked which fit the TDI, and their answer was to measure the strut. I also ran the VIN on my GSW and came up with an OE number, but VW's parts catalog doesn't show diameters.

Long story short, measure your strut diameter before ordering. I'm going to do some more research and see if there are any GSWs out there with 50mm struts. If our experience with MKVI Jetta Sedans is an indicator, there aren't. But we don't know yet.

Ernie said:

Turned in my 2013 TDI Jetta and now the owner of a 2015 TDI GSW SE which rides like an army tank in my opinion compared to three previous Jettas we've owned. New 16 inch wheels and 205/55R/16 tires are ordered. Researched the Koni FSD yellow struts and shocks. Has anyone switched to Koni FSD struts/shocks. My new 17 inch wheels and continentals are for sale. Where is the best place to post them for sale. Thanks for help and suggestions.

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Welcome to the GSW club! I'm still enjoying my (part 1 fixed) 2015GSW-S/MT and having just recently swapped out my Winter wheelset (195/65R15 Continental WinterContact SI) for the stock wheels/tires, I am noticing the ride difference. I can't imagine the GSW with the 17"ers!

That said, when I was younger, and in the Army, I was a crew member of M113's, M551's, and M2/3's, -- with the M2/3 being the closest comparable vehicle to the GSW, since it's also a turbo diesel with a rear hatch I'm not sure I'd compare the ride of my GSW with the M2/3... Then again, on the few times I rode in the back, I did find myself having the fight the effects of sleepiness induced by the soft rocking motion of the vehicle over rough terrain...

According to the Koni technician the regular yellow or red Koni struts are sport suspension tuned and adjusted manually by a knob - much firmer in valuing. However, the FSD he claimed, have two inner valves that self adjust as per road surface conditions. Supposedly, they soften when driving over rough bumpy surfaces, and, when cornering or on smoother surfaces they remain firm or more like OEM valuing. He cautioned me against the Koni yellows if l was seeking a more "comfortable ride"' and he recommended the Koni FSD yellows. The "test"that Tirerack did verifies this, and their findings can be read on their website article l cited in my earlier post. The other Koni struts as l said have manual knobs that you can adjust as per your preference. The softest setting he said was actually like OEM, or, firm but not like the racing tuned adjustment settings which you can adjust on that particular product. I hope this is helpful. I may purchase the FSD's if the 16 inch wheels don't tame this ride. Right now my F-250 4x4 rides better that my GSW with the 17's.

I don't know who you spoke to, and although the description they gave is accurate, whether or not the FSDs will provide a softer ride than the stock dampers on your car is an open question. They didn't on my '12 Golf. And they didn't on my '02 Wagon, but in that car the stock suspension was so soft that it needed firming up, not like the current cars.

What I ultimately ended up putting in my '12 was struts from a 2.5L Golf. They are valved softer than the TDI dampers. That worked. You may find that stock 1.8T GSW dampers provide a smoother ride than what's in your car.

Thanks for the damper suggestions. I put on my new 16's today with 205/55R/16 Michelins. There was a noticeable improvement in ride. Handeling seemed the same but then l did not push and limits in my test drive. Plan to stay with stock dampers for now.