19” Santiago Wheels...Comfort?

[Hertsman]

Have had 19" on my R and GTI but not Santiago (Pretoria and Reifnitz) and with DCC the ride is excellent really, pretty cossetted in comfort and firm but not crashy on Sport - I would be nervous without DCC but if that is an option I would be very surprised if you were not pleasantly surprised how good ride actually is and how the DCC makes tangible felt, change between settings

[rajb]

Personally think you'll be fine with the 19's. I've gone from 18's to 19's and the ride isn't too harsh at all. The suspension is pretty good even without DCC.

[X42]

Have had 19" on my R and GTI but not Santiago (Pretoria and Reifnitz) and with DCC the ride is excellent really, pretty cossetted in comfort and firm but not crashy on Sport - I would be nervous without DCC but if that is an option I would be very surprised if you were not pleasantly surprised how good ride actually is and how the DCC makes tangible felt, change between settings

Absolutely, I didn’t really get too much of a test drive as the dealership is surrounded by roadworks upon roadworks which is rammed with traffic, but I did have a little test from comfort to sport and it was lovely. Very short lived though which is why I’ve forgotten so quickly what it was like.

Personally think you'll be fine with the 19's. I've gone from 18's to 19's and the ride isn't too harsh at all. The suspension is pretty good even without DCC.

Thanks for letting me know how you found it. Glad to hear the ride isn’t too harsh even with the 19s on. The additional bonus of DCC should hopefully make it a more pleasureable experience. I should be picking the car up tomorrow so I’ll report back first hand how I’ve found it.

Another aspect of this, which has been discussed elsewhere, is tyre pressures. Current recommended pressures are set to enhance efficiency, so pretty hard. I run mine at 35psi, rather than the recommended, which, from memory, is 39psi. Certain to have a big influence on comfort.

Ah interesting, higher pressure in the tyres makes for a harder ride. I’ve heard that the lower the tyre pressure however the more rolling resistance on the road which uses more fuel, but of course not to the point where they are borderline flat. Have you found 39psi is too much? I may experiment when I get the car to see which is better. Fuel economy is a relatively big point for me but the Golf is already a really economical car from what I’ve been reading around the forums. Anything in the 30/40’s is better than the 12mpg I was pulling in the M5 that’s for sure and low 20’s for the RS3.

[Talk-torque]

Ah interesting, higher pressure in the tyres makes for a harder ride. I’ve heard that the lower the tyre pressure however the more rolling resistance on the road which uses more fuel, but of course not to the point where they are borderline flat. Have you found 39psi is too much? I may experiment when I get the car to see which is better. Fuel economy is a relatively big point for me but the Golf is already a really economical car from what I’ve been reading around the forums. Anything in the 30/40’s is better than the 12mpg I was pulling in the M5 that’s for sure and low 20’s for the RS3.

You’re right, it’s a compromise. The recommended pressures are higher than for previous versions of the Mark 7, so my 35 psi is not outside of safe limits, or normal usage. Obviously, using higher pressures will give you a little more economy, but the trade off is there. You may well find it perfectly acceptable to use the higher pressures with the DCC set to comfort, so getting the best of both worlds.

Good Luck with the new car!

[X42]

So quick update for anyone that may still be reading..

I’ve done 200 odd miles already and I must say the ride is superb. Even with the DCC in Normal the ride is very reasonable even on the 19’s.  I haven’t been this excited about a car since my RS3. It just seems to have everything in one. It certainly doesn’t hang around, it’s great on fuel and it looks pretty good too.

Awesome stuff

[Watts]

Glad you are happy. They are a great looking wheel albeit a bit of a pita to keep clean

[Yusee]

So quick update for anyone that may still be reading..

I’ve done 200 odd miles already and I must say the ride is superb. Even with the DCC in Normal the ride is very reasonable even on the 19’s.  I haven’t been this excited about a car since my RS3. It just seems to have everything in one. It certainly doesn’t hang around, it’s great on fuel and it looks pretty good too.

Awesome stuff

You’ve summed up the car pretty well. I didn’t think you’d be disappointed with the ride coming from a performance audi- which are far too firm for daily use. Steering better in the golf too, imo.

[Mutley75]

Agree with this. I agonised over 19s coming from 18s on my A3. As it turns out the 19s on the GTI (without DCC) ride much smoother than the typically lumpy 18s on the A3. As stated above, steering is much nicer on the Golf too. Go with the 19s. If you change your mind it’s easy to downgrade to 18s, but more expensive to go the other way.

[king monkey]

Agree with this. I agonised over 19s coming from 18s on my A3. As it turns out the 19s on the GTI (without DCC) ride much smoother than the typically lumpy 18s on the A3. As stated above, steering is much nicer on the Golf too. Go with the 19s. If you change your mind it’s easy to downgrade to 18s, but more expensive to go the other way.

Spot on here Mutley. My R on 19s rides far far better than my S3 on 18s did.

Oh, btw Mutley, I don’t recall you agonising about 19s.