Sportwagen Ride Quality - SE vs. SEL

[rdtompki]

We're selling my wife's 2004 Passat in favor of a 2015 Golf TDI Sportwagen. I've only driven the SE with 17" wheels, but my wife really wants the built-in Nav of the SEL (no a smart phone person at all is she). Any noticeable change in ride quality with the lower profile SEL tires?

BTW, we're keeping my 2002 TDI Jetta Wagon with only 350,000 miles on the odometer. It's barely broken in Only downside is that I only average about 43mpg Best care I've ever owned by several miles.

 

[skramer]

We're selling my wife's 2004 Passat in favor of a 2015 Golf TDI Sportwagen. I've only driven the SE with 17" wheels, but my wife really wants the built-in Nav of the SEL (no a smart phone person at all is she). Any noticeable change in ride quality with the lower profile SEL tires?
BTW, we're keeping my 2002 TDI Jetta Wagon with only 350,000 miles on the odometer. It's barely broken in Only downside is that I only average about 43mpg Best care I've ever owned by several miles.

Yep...I have an SE but had some RSE12's I put on the car to see how I liked them, since they are hyperblack. The tires on the car are BS RE97AS, which are considered a softer sidewall compared to other 225/40r18's. There is a change in the ride of the car, its not horrible, but you can tell a difference. The tires in question only have 11k miles on them..I think going to a 235/40r18 is the best route to go if I keep the 18's on the car, I love the hyperblack look. If I added 235/40 it would keep the sidewall height very similar to the 225/45, more sidewall adds more "give" into a casing which would help with ride comfort, while being only 1.7% larger in overall diameter of the casing. Just my thoughts...but unless the SEL has different suspension (which I dont think is the case), it is noticeable change when hitting the bumps between 40 & 45 series casings...that 5% does make a difference to me.

 

[k^2]

Why would they install 18" wheels on a station wagon blows my mind. I understand putting them on a GTI but on a Station Wagon? It must have been some genius in the marketing department at VW. If I was buying an SE or SEL model I would tell the dealer to take those wheels off and swap them with 16" coming from the S model.

 

[SpeedyR]

some like the looks. but I guess it depends upon where and how you drive. I have been traveling recently around the US and I forget how crappy the roads are in some area. Here they repave roads just for the fun of it. except downtown ATL. it's like they forgot what paving is...

I'll probably get the SEL but might sell the wheels just because I want something that looks different.

 

[D15SEL]

some like the looks. but I guess it depends upon where and how you drive. I have been traveling recently around the US and I forget how crappy the roads are in some area. Here they repave roads just for the fun of it. except downtown ATL. it's like they forgot what paving is...

I'll probably get the SEL but might sell the wheels just because I want something that looks different.

I had same dilemma on my sedan TDI SEL. Within a 1000 miles I found another VW owner with 17" rims that wanted to swap. Did so for a bit of cash that I used towards a new set of snow tires for my winter 16" rims.
Very happy with decision.
Good luck

 

[South Coast Guy]

Why would they install 18" wheels on a station wagon blows my mind. I understand putting them on a GTI but on a Station Wagon? It must have been some genius in the marketing department at VW. If I was buying an SE or SEL model I would tell the dealer to take those wheels off and swap them with 16" coming from the S model.

I agree; it looks dumb. I also can't understand why some owners want to drop or lift their car.

 

[andyrooski17]

Just saw a Golf R for the first time in person this morning on my commute. I believe those are 18" wheels as well, and the whole time I was just thinking they look too big. Only 1" bigger than the SE, but much different in overall appearance.

Other than that, I can't offer any comparisons for the OP's original question.

 

[rdtompki]

I'll be picking up our SEL GSW in 3-4 days and I'll almost certainly look for someone with 17" wheels to work a trade. At least twice a month we have a 10 mile round trip on a bad ranch road and I just don't see the additional concerns that come with the lower profile tires.

 

[SVG]

Pretty sure R’s get 19” wheels.

 

[Early8Q]

I understand the general sentiment here, and share it. At the same time, I have to admit that I love the handling of the 17s on my '12 JSW and I swore I would downsize to 16s. The "turn in" of a lower side wall can be nearly as addictive as the TDI. I have never had 18s, but can imagine cursing them most of time, and loving them some of the time. YMMV

 

[Nutty 5.0]

I've never been a fan of big wheels unless they have a real warranted need especially on a daily driver which my GSW is. The wife and I do like to take turns fast when we can and was a reason for me along with the great looks (to me and the wife) of the Durban's. I was a bit concerned about the ride even though I like a stiff ride (TWSS!) and was pleasantly surprised that these don't feel too harsh at all to me. Coming from Mustangs with 17's running 275/40's these 18's on the VW appear like they'd be much harsher but not at all. Kudos to the engineers for balancing it out.

I'd say take a Golf or GSW for a ride (Or when yours comes in with them on) and give them a chance. I'm curious what other think once they get they and have them for a while including myself.

 

[rdtompki]

Picked up my GSW today. Regarding the ride my initial impressions are as follows:
1. on a relatively smooth road the 18" wheels and 40 tires are fine.
2. chip seal introduces a good bit of high frequency vibration and as the road get rougher the buzz becomes lower frequency and more noticeable
3. the car turns in well - the good news
4. the car is more sensitive to cross winds than my 2002 Jetta wagon. I attribute this to the stiffer sidewalls, but I could be mistaken.

I'll keep the combination for 1000 miles or so, but our roads in Kalifornia are not good most places.

Love the car, however.

 

[eav]

SEL with 18" wheels, overall I would say it handles well but the ride is just a bit harsher than I would like. I have not really pushed the handling much but I've noticed that as you get more extreme it starts to get just a bit squirrely. I'd say the car really needs a fully independent suspension. Still for the vast majority of driving its fine.

Its a good car, would I like to see improvements down the road, yes very much so. The aforementioned fully independent suspension, a better nav. system, a bigger fuel tank, and more horsepower and torque.

 

[andyrooski17]

SEL with 18" wheels, overall I would say it handles well but the ride is just a bit harsher than I would like. I have not really pushed the handling much but I've noticed that as you get more extreme it starts to get just a bit squirrely. I'd say the car really needs a fully independent suspension. Still for the vast majority of driving its fine.

Its a good car, would I like to see improvements down the road, yes very much so. The aforementioned fully independent suspension, a better nav. system, a bigger fuel tank, and more horsepower and torque.

Is that all?

 

[SportWagenMeister]

Apologies for reviving an old post.

Just got the GSW SEL last week and am not happy with the 18s. The ride is too jarring for me. I found one person with 2015 16s off of a Golf S and another person with 2015 17s off of the GSW SE.

Aside from going to both of their houses and driving their cars, or heading back to the dealership (which I may have to do) to drive both variations - are there any thoughts on whether it is better to downsize all the way to 16s or just to 17s?

Looks are not my concern. I am happy enough with the look of the OEM 16s and 17s from the 2015s. Ride comfort is my number one concern; number two concern being that I don't want to give up sure footing on the highway (I want it to feel planted and not jittery) and the good handling that this thing has. Mostly, comfort though - as long as comfort doesn't mean that everything else is sloppy.

The roads around here are just awful; major bumps, potholes, etc.

Thanks! ABSOLUTELY LOVE everything else about the vehicle (independent rear suspension and better NAV would be great, but I still love it). First VW.

 

[andyrooski17]

If comfort is your number one priority, I would think your answer is to downsize all the way to the 16's.

I haven't heard much talk of any major handling problem on the 16's vs. 18's

 

[Caseyb476]

My SE wheels are fine on most roads, even dirt. I find my car to ride smoother on dirt than my GF's RAV4. For winter, I also have 16" Sparcos with snow tires and they are noticeably more squirmy but same ride quality and noise. I attribute the squirmy to being cheap winter tires. If you got S wheels with all season tires, you probably wouldn't know the difference

 

[sapgar]

We're selling my wife's 2004 Passat in favor of a 2015 Golf TDI Sportwagen. I've only driven the SE with 17" wheels, but my wife really wants the built-in Nav of the SEL (no a smart phone person at all is she). Any noticeable change in ride quality with the lower profile SEL tires?



BTW, we're keeping my 2002 TDI Jetta Wagon with only 350,000 miles on the odometer. It's barely broken in Only downside is that I only average about 43mpg Best care I've ever owned by several miles.

Yeah I got the S model. Handled fine even with the lackluster bridgestones. I found some 13 GLI takeoff 17s on Craigslist that resemble the look of the 18s on the SEL but provide a better ride. I really like the 17s on the Jetta SEL and those would have looked great. I did the same thing on my prior JSW and found the 17s to provide a lot more planted performance. The big difference I find is the new Golf has a nice tight suspension. I'd say the 17s I have now on my GSW are as firm as I'd want to got, but they provide nice handling. If you don't care about looks, I'd go 16s... More tire options.


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[sapgar]

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[rdtompki]

I've got 10K miles on the 18's now. Not great on our short ranch road drives or on rough chip seal, but I'm keeping the 18's until I wear them out. Then I'll look for some sort of 17" wheel.

 

[gmcjetpilot]

I anguished about removing swapping out my 16" for 17"... it is a matter of:

Ride: Less side wall harder ride.
MPG: MPG less the bigger Dia. rim,
Money: low profile bigger Dia. rim tires cost more
Handing: Low profile, skinny sidewall better turn handling (aggressive diving)
Style/Looks: Matter of opinion, but BIG rims has been the trend (good trend?/bad trend?)

I like the compromise of the 17", however technically the 15" or 16" is better
in many ways. That is why many cars had 15", 16", before the STYLE priority
took over. Everything is a trade off....

We have all seen the ridiculously large rims, right?
http://acidcow.com/pics/20091112/wow_wheels_27.jpg

 

[Scouser]

Love the 18s on my SEL, have always been a fan of wider wheels and tires on VWs. Our roads here in Western WA are pretty good and though I feel the bumps, it's no where near a deal breaker. I'm putting on 19x8.5s this week with 235/35/19s with H&R sport springs...love the moderate lowered look along with tires that fill out the wheel wells...but that's me. The OEM 18's will be kept as the winter wheel and tire pkg. Both the wife and I love our SEL in titanium silver...

 

[jen_madcity]

Apologies for reviving an old post.

Just got the GSW SEL last week and am not happy with the 18s. The ride is too jarring for me. I found one person with 2015 16s off of a Golf S and another person with 2015 17s off of the GSW SE.

Aside from going to both of their houses and driving their cars, or heading back to the dealership (which I may have to do) to drive both variations - are there any thoughts on whether it is better to downsize all the way to 16s or just to 17s?

Looks are not my concern. I am happy enough with the look of the OEM 16s and 17s from the 2015s. Ride comfort is my number one concern; number two concern being that I don't want to give up sure footing on the highway (I want it to feel planted and not jittery) and the good handling that this thing has. Mostly, comfort though - as long as comfort doesn't mean that everything else is sloppy.

The roads around here are just awful; major bumps, potholes, etc.

Thanks! ABSOLUTELY LOVE everything else about the vehicle (independent rear suspension and better NAV would be great, but I still love it). First VW.

SportwagenMeister: I can tell you that I was so-so on the 18" wheels. Today I drove a Golf hatch with the 225/17/45 wheels (a loaner as the A/C compressor failed in my '15 TDI SEL, but I digress!). To me it felt noticeably different. I liked it much better. Still handled well but the ride was much less harsh. Those of you who traded (I would like to do so) for smaller wheels/higher sidewalls: how did you find folks to trade with? Somewhere on this forum? I would trade in a heartbeat for the 17" wheels. Thanks!

 

[skramer]

SportwagenMeister: I can tell you that I was so-so on the 18" wheels. Today I drove a Golf hatch with the 225/17/45 wheels (a loaner as the A/C compressor failed in my '15 TDI SEL, but I digress!). To me it felt noticeably different. I liked it much better. Still handled well but the ride was much less harsh. Those of you who traded (I would like to do so) for smaller wheels/higher sidewalls: how did you find folks to trade with? Somewhere on this forum? I would trade in a heartbeat for the 17" wheels. Thanks!

You could also move to 235/40r18 vs 225/40r18...Gives an extra .5" overall diameter of tire/wheel, and increases the sidewall height from 90mm to 94mm, the 225/45 is 101mm. I find with the 235 the ride is much better on 18's, and the extra size fills in the wheel well

 

[sapgar]

SportwagenMeister: I can tell you that I was so-so on the 18" wheels. Today I drove a Golf hatch with the 225/17/45 wheels (a loaner as the A/C compressor failed in my '15 TDI SEL, but I digress!). To me it felt noticeably different. I liked it much better. Still handled well but the ride was much less harsh. Those of you who traded (I would like to do so) for smaller wheels/higher sidewalls: how did you find folks to trade with? Somewhere on this forum? I would trade in a heartbeat for the 17" wheels. Thanks!

I have a GSW TDI S and went from 16s to 17s for the look mostly and for handling a little. I did the same thing with my JSW prior to this (same wheels too ). The GSW has a sport-tuned suspension, so the ride is firmer with the same size wheel but really responsive even with the 17s. I can't imagine going any stiffer. Handling was more on the leisure side with the 16s yet still firm. I love the look of the 18s on the SEL, so I went with the old 2013 Jetta GLI 5 split spoke design.

With ride quality, it comes down to sidewall height/width, wheel size and tire pressure.

 

[jen_madcity]

You could also move to 235/40r18 vs 225/40r18...Gives an extra .5" overall diameter of tire/wheel, and increases the sidewall height from 90mm to 94mm, the 225/45 is 101mm. I find with the 235 the ride is much better on 18's, and the extra size fills in the wheel well

skramer: Is the ride really noticeably different considering the sidewall height only increases by 4 mm?? Thanks for the info though, I hadn't considered this option.

 

[skramer]

skramer: Is the ride really noticeably different considering the sidewall height only increases by 4 mm?? Thanks for the info though, I hadn't considered this option.

It is noticeable...not at smooth as the 17's are, but much better than the 225/40's are. The problem is this is all about feel, and the "casings" make a big difference, and have been different with the 3 sizes I've had on the car. The stock 17's are the worst tires I've ever had the unfortunate pleasure of having on a car (the only thing they did good was mpg's)

 

[MichaelB]

The ride comfort on 18" wheels sucks. They just look cool. My Passat came with 18" wheels and when the tires are shot I have a used set of 16" Biolines I am going to replace them with............looks be damned, the ride will be more comfortable and the tires are much less expensive. But if bling is your thing mount the tallest wheels with the thinnest side wall and don't complain about the ride.

 

[gmcjetpilot]

Per the OP questions 16" vs 17" small differences. I had 16" and changed to 17" on my MK6. I would not keep you from the SE... to get the NAV. 18" seems to be getting silly, harsher ride, more likely rim damage, more expensive tires and less MPG.... However that is what the public demands super low profile tires and big rims.... despite the lack of practicality, it is about style.

You can see the 17" Goal rims on my avatar. I had 16" Bioline rims'. I don't think there was a big difference in ride, a little. I do keep an eye out for pot holes, buckles in the pavement and curb rash. I lost about 1% to 2% from worn 16" rim/tires to new 17" rim/tires.... Part of the loss is new tires have more meat and weight, as do the larger rims. I did gain better handling and quite ride with the Primacy Michelins.

VW's are stiff riding 16" or 17" compared to a 1980's Cadillac or Lincoln Continental, land yachts that just sails over bumps and wallowed around turns. I had an "airport car" 25 years ago, a 1973 AMC Matador, V8, with super soft luxury ride, hilarious how it drove. My regular car at the time was a Subaru four door GL with manual trans. It had a softer ride than the VW. However the VW handles nice at speed and around turns.

I may sell my 16" bio-line rims or put them back on after I wear out my 17" tires.

 

[Saggio]

Love the 18s on my SEL, have always been a fan of wider wheels and tires on VWs. Our roads here in Western WA are pretty good and though I feel the bumps, it's no where near a deal breaker. I'm putting on 19x8.5s this week with 235/35/19s with H&R sport springs...love the moderate lowered look along with tires that fill out the wheel wells...but that's me. The OEM 18's will be kept as the winter wheel and tire pkg. Both the wife and I love our SEL in titanium silver...

Awesome! Sounds like something I'd do. It's strange to me reading through this thread about 17" wheels being to "Jarring" for someone lol.

I guess everyone has their own likes and dislikes though.