OT: sportwagen

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by gemship

Nice looking wagon, does it have AWD?

No VW JSW TDIs had all wheel drive...

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

So, what did they do to it to make it emissions compliant? Add urea thingy?

I don't know exactly but I have a certificate that the Base Kit 1 components and a NOx Catalyst were installed by the dealer to bring it up to date and compliant.

[AngryScientist]

if i were you charlie, i'd try and get rid of those wheels for some 17's or even 16's. car will ride less harsh and you'll be less likely to bend a rim, especially for a chicago winter.

by the way, do these sportwagons have a full sized spare?

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

if i were you charlie, i'd try and get rid of those wheels for some 17's or even 16's. car will ride less harsh and you'll be less likely to bend a rim, especially for a chicago winter.

by the way, do these sportwagons have a full sized spare?

My 2013 TDI did..and I swapped it for the doughnut spare on my 2017 GSW..

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

if i were you charlie, i'd try and get rid of those wheels for some 17's or even 16's. car will ride less harsh and you'll be less likely to bend a rim, especially for a chicago winter.

by the way, do these sportwagons have a full sized spare?

Yeah, I'm sure there is all sorts of stuff I could do but I am simply not inclined to spend anything else on what seems fine to me. :-)

Do smaller wheels improve handling and protect the rim better? I have no clue, so I rely on you and others. Maybe if the Chicago roads trash these I will consider if needing to replace. It was the best deal on the cleanest car with low low miles and a warranty I could find.

Cheers,

I needed a car not another hobby! :-)

[charliedid]

And yes, full size spare

[Cat3roadracer]

I have an unused full sized spare that I kept when I turned in my TDI. Anyone here is welcome to it. Jack and tools as well.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Yeah, I'm sure there is all sorts of stuff I could do but I am simply not inclined to spend anything else on what seems fine to me. :-)

Do smaller wheels improve handling and protect the rim better? I have no clue, so I rely on you and others. Maybe if the Chicago roads trash these I will consider if needing to replace. It was the best deal on the cleanest car with low low miles and a warranty I could find.

Cheers,

I needed a car not another hobby! :-)

haha, i gathered that charlie

i suggested smaller wheels because they will be cheaper and more reliable than what you have on there.

the only reason to get the bigger wheels is really - they look better, and may handle cornering marginally better. those wheels were put on your car by an enthusiast who thought they looked better.

smaller wheels will be cheaper and more comfortable. going to a smaller rim and maintaining the same overall diameter on a car wheel is the equivalent of swapping to a fatter tire on your road bike. more air cushion to absorb road imperfections, potholes and bumps, and add subtle suspension to the whole system. 16 or 17" tires should be significantly cheaper than 18 inchers too.

obviously someone already beat those wheels up a bit if they need to be "straightened"

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

haha, i gathered that charlie

i suggested smaller wheels because they will be cheaper and more reliable than what you have on there.

the only reason to get the bigger wheels is really - they look better, and may handle cornering marginally better. those wheels were put on your car by an enthusiast who thought they looked better.

smaller wheels will be cheaper and more comfortable. going to a smaller rim and maintaining the same overall diameter on a car wheel is the equivalent of swapping to a fatter tire on your road bike. more air cushion to absorb road imperfections, potholes and bumps, and add subtle suspension to the whole system. 16 or 17" tires should be significantly cheaper than 18 inchers too.

obviously someone already beat those wheels up a bit if they need to be "straightened"

Thanks for the schooling. Makes sense.

[hollowgram5]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

So, what did they do to it to make it emissions compliant? Add urea thingy?

Just programming as far as I know. The lady and I bought a '14 sportwagen dsg, and I had a '13 golf 6mt.

The car doesn't really drive any differently, aside from the dsg-6mt change.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Thanks for the schooling. Makes sense.

no problem.

incidentally, i think you did very well for a low mileage car and the money you spent on it.

pay particular attention to what oil you use in it as VW has a pretty tight spec on required motor oil. if you dont intend to have the car serviced at the dealership, find a good independent shop that specializes in european cars and knows the TDI. It is not necessarily a complicated engine, but there are intricacies (like knowing the proper oil spec, just any good synthetic wont do...), and keep good records in case you need that warranty coverage.

enjoy the car, it's a pretty cool one!

[hollowgram5]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Thanks for the schooling. Makes sense.

Nick is right. My experience has been with my '13 golf tdi had 17s from the factory and I had some winter tires on steelies that were 15s if memory serves correctly (they could have been 16s). The car was quieter and smoother rolling down the road.

Nice thing is, you can get aftermarket rims or find OEM takeoffs of plenty of Audi or VW stuff that will fit just fine and do very well for you.

Enjoy it, my '13 had 103k on the clock when I turned it in, new to us car is a '14 and has 46k.

[R3awak3n]

Smaller wheels will also improve your MPG.

That said, I would not do anything under 17in, just don't like the look and as said, bigger wheels = wider, improved cornering. 18in wheels are 8in wide, paired with summer tires, it is night and day compared to the stock 16in setup that came with the car. I think the tires matter most but the wheels matter a little bit.

That to me has been the biggest difference in this car, having a summer and winter wheel setup... 4 season tires are meh...

[velofinds]

The wheels in question are the 18" Karthoum from VW's parts catalog. I had the smoked (gunmetal) version on my old car; they also came in silver.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

Alloy wheels can often been straightened and made almost like new.

Yeah, my wife scuffed wheels on her 6 week old Q3 about 18 mos ago...luckily, we purchased some "appearance protection" which pays for things like scuffed wheel repair, dings, chips, etc....anyway, took it to some wheel shop that tunes and repairs wheels.....I had no idea. Wheel looked brand new when they were finished. Very cool....

Anyway, nice looking new wagon. Enjoy!