GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

MK7 "Random / "Stupid" Questions Thread"

Ubermeister

New member
Location
US
Hey guys! I am a new owner of a 2017 GTI Sport, I was previously driving a 2015 BMW M235i that was AWD. One thing I notice is that when driving at highway speeds the GTI seems to be affected by the wind a ton more than I was expecting or used to from the bimmer. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to help give the car a more planted feel when driving quickly on the highway? It just feels a little bit unsafe making lots of corrrctions if I go to pass someone and speed up to say 100 mph, or since the people in my area drive very very slowly I will do a bit of bobbing and weaving. It's just a little unsettling. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
 

avenali312

Autocross Champion
Location
Mableton, GA
Car(s)
2015 GTI
Hey guys! I am a new owner of a 2017 GTI Sport, I was previously driving a 2015 BMW M235i that was AWD. One thing I notice is that when driving at highway speeds the GTI seems to be affected by the wind a ton more than I was expecting or used to from the bimmer. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to help give the car a more planted feel when driving quickly on the highway? It just feels a little bit unsafe making lots of corrrctions if I go to pass someone and speed up to say 100 mph, or since the people in my area drive very very slowly I will do a bit of bobbing and weaving. It's just a little unsettling. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I'm assuming it's the byproduct of being a hatchback versus your previous coupe. You have a lot more surface area on the side of your car now for the wind to hit. With that said, I don't notice it anymore since this is my second GTI. I do notice my wife's first gen Honda Fit is more affected by the wind than my GTI, and I think it's due to being lighter and the side is very flat. I'm sure someone with a physics degree can clarify more or show us some fancy wind tunnel imagery.
 
Location
St. Olaf
I am a new owner of a 2017 GTI Sport, I was previously driving a 2015 BMW M235i that was AWD. One thing I notice is that when driving at highway speeds the GTI seems to be affected by the wind a ton more than I was expecting or used to from the bimmer. Is this normal?
No, it's not normal.
First I'd question, is this actually due to crosswinds or is it just an impression
and actually caused by uneven pavement, which you would feel particularly
when accelerating harder on any FWD car.



Is there anything I can do to help give the car a more planted feel when driving quickly on the highway?
Yes, first thing to check is tire pressure. Overinflation causes 'wandering' on
uneven surfaces. Next thing if pressures are ok is to check is toe in. Have an
alignment done (your car's under warranty perhaps).
Sufficient toe in esp. on front is mandatory to compensate for crosswinds. ;)
The heavier the wind blows the more load is put onto the wheels of the 'back'
side, which will - when toe in is present - 'counter steer' to compensate the
unwanted force.



I'm assuming it's the byproduct of being a hatchback versus your previous coupe. You have a lot more surface area on the side of your car now for the wind to hit.
Sorry, this is wrong and misleading. ;)
Typically FWD cars are less prone to this issue, and it's not the lateral area
what matters most, but the center of that area. Actually it's more backwards
on the Golf compared to the 235i Coupé.
That said, there is no common 'issue' known. Any Golf should feel stable on a
straighline in a similar manner as a 1/2 series BMW. I had both 1 and 2 series
as company cars.


.
 

ATR

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Baltimore
Car(s)
'17 Golf R 6mt
Hey guys! I am a new owner of a 2017 GTI Sport, I was previously driving a 2015 BMW M235i that was AWD. One thing I notice is that when driving at highway speeds the GTI seems to be affected by the wind a ton more than I was expecting or used to from the bimmer. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to help give the car a more planted feel when driving quickly on the highway? It just feels a little bit unsafe making lots of corrrctions if I go to pass someone and speed up to say 100 mph, or since the people in my area drive very very slowly I will do a bit of bobbing and weaving. It's just a little unsettling. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Definitely check tire pressure first. My car was delivered to me with uneven tire pressure. This led to the car pulling to one side or the other when braking. I went and filled all tires to 37psi (cold). Seems to help quite a bit. Though the stock tires were pretty much crap for stability to begin with.

The stock tires are H rated.
I replaced them with V rated tires and stability was MUCH better in all respects.
 

Ubermeister

New member
Location
US
So I checked the tire pressure and it was even across all the tires but....it was set to 49 PSI according to a digital and an analog gauge...WTH were they thinking??? I had a feeling I should have checked but ignored it... lesson learned. Adjusted to spec and about to head home from work. Should know soon enough if that was the cause.

Thank you guys for the tips!
 

ATR

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Baltimore
Car(s)
'17 Golf R 6mt
So I checked the tire pressure and it was even across all the tires but....it was set to 49 PSI according to a digital and an analog gauge...WTH were they thinking??? I had a feeling I should have checked but ignored it... lesson learned. Adjusted to spec and about to head home from work. Should know soon enough if that was the cause.

Thank you guys for the tips!
What the what?! :eek:

I'd have words with the dealer that sold me a car with psi that high. After all it's the job of the Pre Delivery Inspection tech to check these types of things.
 

AdamSheikh

Autocross Champion
Location
FLL
Car(s)
15 GTI | 24 RS 3
What the what?! :eek:

I'd have words with the dealer that sold me a car with psi that high. After all it's the job of the Pre Delivery Inspection tech to check these types of things.

These cars often get shipped with high pressures. But it's definitely part of the PDI process to set these pressures to the correct values (37 cold for stock tires).

I'd also be sure to check for the shipping pucks in the front struts. If the tech missed setting the tire pressure at PDI, they may have left these in as well (which could also contribute to the squirrelly feeling on the highway you described).

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6978296-Quick-Guide-to-Remove-Strut-Pucks
 

nype

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
Excellent point Adam. Who knows what else was missed...
 

Ubermeister

New member
Location
US
Wow... the car was transferred to the dealership I bought it at the night before from another dealership in St. Louis (bought it in Kansas City). Fixing the tire pressure made a huge difference. But they were pushing as fast as they could to get the car ready for me because I live 3 hours away and was crunched for time. I wouldn't be surprised if something else was missed. I spent a good few hours pulling off plastic sheeting bits onbetween panels and there is still foam wrapped around the seat belt buckles in the back seat. Do you know if you are able to jack the car up high enough using the scissor jack that comes with it? Just moved into an apartment that doesn't have any on site storage and all my ramps, jack stands, car lifts etc are in storage and They need 24 hours notice before I can get into it.

Thanks fellas! You've been a huge help!!
 

AdamSheikh

Autocross Champion
Location
FLL
Car(s)
15 GTI | 24 RS 3
Do you know if you are able to jack the car up high enough using the scissor jack that comes with it? Just moved into an apartment that doesn't have any on site storage and all my ramps, jack stands, car lifts etc are in storage and They need 24 hours notice before I can get into it.

Thanks fellas! You've been a huge help!!

Yes, you should be able to jack it up high enough to get in there. Should only take 5 mins per side. I'm almost positive the pucks are still in there given all that you described. Seems like it was an extremely rushed (or even skipped) PDI process.

Keep us posted! And also be prepared to reach out to your dealer and/or VWoA about these issues. It's unacceptable for these things to be missed.
 

Ubermeister

New member
Location
US
Fortunately the pucks were removed prior to my purchase. Verified it this morning. The cars handling is much improved I just need to get new shoes for it and a different rear sway bar and should be good to go handling wise for my DD needs. Dogbone insert being installed this weekend as well as a JB4 should be fun ��
 

Gogo GTI

Go Kart Champion
Location
Boulder, CO
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
Question about the turbo gauge on the performance monitor: from what I understand you have to subtract 14.7psi from the reading to get your boost psi. So anything below 14.7psi is below atmospheric pressure? So you have to spool up just to get to atmospheric pressure? I don't understand how that works. :confused:

Edited: Removed stupid questions after typing them out and reading it over. Sometimes that's all it takes to figure things out.
 
Last edited:

SDGTIfan

New member
I got the car 2 days ago and when I press "voice" it says voice system is paused and is stuck in something called "voice setup examples". how do i exit out of this demo and back to actual voice system so i can activate voice calls etc
 

WoNayT

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
California
RSB install under load?- I searched and saw multiple install videos do it both ways but for a RSB install does it need to be done with the bar u see load or hanging free?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 
Top