robo_remy
New member
- Location
- Oregon, USA
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI
Hey all, new to this forum and this is my first post!
I have a 2017 GTI S (mostly stock, 39k miles) and I have spent the last year outfitting it for car camping (yes, it's possible to sleep two people comfortably in a GTI, but that's another topic). The plan is to take the car on a 3 week trip from Oregon up to the Arctic, driving up the Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk in the NWT, then heading back south with a detour into Alaska in August 2022.
As much as everybody says that doing the Dempster without 4WD is not possible, given due care and solid preparation it's certainly doable. The majority of the highway is shown in Google Street View, and they captured imagery with small Chevy sedans that seemed to make the trek with no issue. Plus the locals drive it with 2WD cars routinely. From extensive research on Street View, it doesn't look to be very rocky or potholed, just a bit muddy in sections following heavy rain. I included a couple typical photos from Street View as a reference.
The main takeaway is this: out of the 6000+ mile journey, nearly 1/4 of it will be on decently-maintained gravel roads. And I'm no stranger to driving the GTI on awful forest roads, it's been to trailheads in the Cascades up roads where it certainly doesn't belong. My biggest concern is having enough mud traction off the ferry landings, and then the low sidewall height with the stock tire/wheel combination being a liability on short sections of rocks or potholes. I also don't plan on driving FAST on the gravel stretches of road.
I just got a new set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus tires on the stock 18" rims, retiring the Pirelli P7s that I drove it off the lot with. These tires will have plenty of treadlife left in them, and they have '2-ply reinforced sidewalls', and I would prefer to just use these tires for the trip (especially for the 75% on pavement). I also plan on taking a full size spare in addition to the donut, as well as a better jack and tire-changing equipment than comes standard.
So here are my questions:
1. Should I be confident in taking my current wheel/tire combination on a trip like this?
2. Would you consider downsizing to a 17" (or 16" since it's an S) with new tires just to take advantage of a slightly taller sidewall? (If downsizing, I would want steelies or cheap rims and some kind of winter tire, maybe something like the Firestone Weathergrip that is a decent all-weather tire with the 3PMSF.)
3. Airing down... how much?
4. Any suspension mods recommended?
And any other tips/ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!
I have a 2017 GTI S (mostly stock, 39k miles) and I have spent the last year outfitting it for car camping (yes, it's possible to sleep two people comfortably in a GTI, but that's another topic). The plan is to take the car on a 3 week trip from Oregon up to the Arctic, driving up the Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk in the NWT, then heading back south with a detour into Alaska in August 2022.
As much as everybody says that doing the Dempster without 4WD is not possible, given due care and solid preparation it's certainly doable. The majority of the highway is shown in Google Street View, and they captured imagery with small Chevy sedans that seemed to make the trek with no issue. Plus the locals drive it with 2WD cars routinely. From extensive research on Street View, it doesn't look to be very rocky or potholed, just a bit muddy in sections following heavy rain. I included a couple typical photos from Street View as a reference.
The main takeaway is this: out of the 6000+ mile journey, nearly 1/4 of it will be on decently-maintained gravel roads. And I'm no stranger to driving the GTI on awful forest roads, it's been to trailheads in the Cascades up roads where it certainly doesn't belong. My biggest concern is having enough mud traction off the ferry landings, and then the low sidewall height with the stock tire/wheel combination being a liability on short sections of rocks or potholes. I also don't plan on driving FAST on the gravel stretches of road.
I just got a new set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus tires on the stock 18" rims, retiring the Pirelli P7s that I drove it off the lot with. These tires will have plenty of treadlife left in them, and they have '2-ply reinforced sidewalls', and I would prefer to just use these tires for the trip (especially for the 75% on pavement). I also plan on taking a full size spare in addition to the donut, as well as a better jack and tire-changing equipment than comes standard.
So here are my questions:
1. Should I be confident in taking my current wheel/tire combination on a trip like this?
2. Would you consider downsizing to a 17" (or 16" since it's an S) with new tires just to take advantage of a slightly taller sidewall? (If downsizing, I would want steelies or cheap rims and some kind of winter tire, maybe something like the Firestone Weathergrip that is a decent all-weather tire with the 3PMSF.)
3. Airing down... how much?
4. Any suspension mods recommended?
And any other tips/ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!