Hard ride!

[LaughingGravy]

I’ve recently got a new Cupra Leon VZ1 245ps 2.0. It’s on 18” wheels and recommended tyre pressures are 39psi all round. It doesn’t have the adaptive dampers of the VZ2/3 and the ride is very hard! I used to have a 184ps diesel Leon and that was much more comfortable… If I lowered the pressures to say 33 front 30 rear would the ride be smoother? Any suggestions welcome…

 

[tomek_olo]

You sure that they removed the elements from suspension that are used during the transport from the factory? It can be recognized by looking at the height if the vehicle.

 

[LaughingGravy]

I don’t think it’s that… it just seems to be very unsettled on everything but the smoothest roads… I’d definitely get adaptive dampers next time! (I didn’t test drive one, just ordered it expecting it to ride like my old Leon diesel 184ps FR …)…

 

[SRGTD]

What brand of tyres are on your car? Tyre brand can be a significant factor in ride comfort. Bridgestones certainly used to be - and may still be - the tyre of choice in 225/40 R18 size for some VAG performance models (e.g. VW Golf GTI and Polo GTI) with 18” alloys, and they tend to have pretty stiff sidewalls that translate into a firm ride that some owners may find uncomfortable. Reducing the tyre pressures should help, although I don’t think I’d reduce by as much as 6 psi (I run the tyre pressures on my VW Polo GTI+ with 18” alloys at 3 psi less than VW’s recommended pressure).

Even if you don’t think the shipping pucks have been left in situ in error, it would still be worth checking to make sure they’ve been removed.

 

[tomek_olo]

Hmmm, I see you got Bridgestones. Mine came from the factory on GY Eagle F1 SS (also 18").

I was also kind of amazed of the high pressures that are recommended, but I keep them at the required levels.

 

[SRGTD]

Hmmm, I see you got Bridgestones. Mine came from the factory on GY Eagle F1 SS (also 18").

I was also kind of amazed of the high pressures that are recommended, but I keep them at the required levels.

The higher the tyre pressure, the lower the tyres rolling resistance which will have a positive impact on fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

I dare say Cupra and VAG would‘ve been more interested in achieving as low official CO2 emissions figures as possible (hence the ‘high’ recommended pressures) than they would have been in achieving good fuel economy figures, as emissions directly impact the amount of emissions based fines Cupra / VAG would have to pay if - or more correctly when - they exceed the EU 2023 average CO2 emissions target (I believe the UK has separate legislation that imposes the same / similar emissions target figures as the EU).

Bear in mind that if tyres are overinflated, the risk of them wearing unevenly is increased - i.e. the central section of the tread is likely to wear more quickly than the outer sections.

 

[tomek_olo]

risk of them wearing unevenly is increased

2-3 track days and tyres are gone anyway

What pressure would you recommend?

 

[SRGTD]

2-3 track days and tyres are gone anyway

What pressure would you recommend?

I have a VW and run my tyres at 3psi below VW’s recommended pressure. Inspecting them and measuring the tread depth regularly and you’ll be able to tell if they’re wearing evenly or not across the width of the tread.

My car came with Bridgestones, but I changed my alloys shortly after getting the car and used that as an opportunity to change the tyres to Michelin PS4 which IMHO are a better tyre in pretty much all respects, and they give a more comfortable ride than the Bridgestones too.

 

[LaughingGravy]

Thanks for your comments….
I just checked, no shipping pucks. Tyres are Bridgestone Potenza S005. Jacked up the back and front some pics…. I’ll try lower tyre pressures to see if that helps a bit..

 

[Bobcat0110]

Hey there,

I've got the same feeling of extremely hard ride, where I feel every cm of road under myself. Also, as a result, I have quite a lot of vibrations transferred inside the car and making it very tiring to drive for long distances.
I'm driving a CUPRA Leon eTSI 150ps with Bridgeston (summer) tyres 225/40/R18.

Have you found it more comfortable to drive with lower tyres pressure?

Does anybody have a good recommendation for a set of more comfortable wheels? (probably 17")

 

[Bobcat0110]

You sure that they removed the elements from suspension that are used during the transport from the factory? It can be recognized by looking at the height if the vehicle.

How can I check that? Do you have a picture of the elements on the suspensions?
I have the same issues and I would like to double check that..

 

[SRGTD]

How can I check that? Do you have a picture of the elements on the suspensions?
I have the same issues and I would like to double check that..

Have a read of the discussion thread at the link below. I also posted a link to the Golf GTI forum in post #2 of that discussion thread that shows the location of the shipping pucks on the front suspension struts (they’re only fitted to the front struts during transit from the factory). The tell-tale sign if they’ve been left in place in error is the high ride height at the front on the car.

New mk4 owner - suspension problem

Hi all, New member here but I've had a mk3 Leon FR ST 2019 until recently. Sold it for a very good price at Arnold Clark but bought a grey mk4 Leon FR Sport hatch back yesterday, 72 plate pre-registered with 20 miles on it. I test drove a similar car and all was fine but noob mistake I didn't...

www.seatcupra.net

 

[LaughingGravy]

Hey there,

I've got the same feeling of extremely hard ride, where I feel every cm of road under myself. Also, as a result, I have quite a lot of vibrations transferred inside the car and making it very tiring to drive for long distances.
I'm driving a CUPRA Leon eTSI 150ps with Bridgeston (summer) tyres 225/40/R18.

Have you found it more comfortable to drive with lower tyres pressure?

Does anybody have a good recommendation for a set of more comfortable wheels? (probably 17")

I lowered the pressures to 34psi front 31psi rear, went to a wedding this weekend, 2 hours on the motorway, the ride was awful! so before we returned I upped both front at back to 40psi, the ride was better. I think lowering the pressures actually made the ride worse!

 

[Bobcat0110]

I lowered the pressures to 34psi front 31psi rear, went to a wedding this weekend, 2 hours on the motorway, the ride was awful! so before we returned I upped both front at back to 40psi, the ride was better. I think lowering the pressures actually made the ride worse!

Thank you for the feedback. Are you planning on changing wheels or just try to get used to it?

 

[Bobcat0110]

Have a read of the discussion thread at the link below. I also posted a link to the Golf GTI forum in post #2 of that discussion thread that shows the location of the shipping pucks on the front suspension struts (they’re only fitted to the front struts during transit from the factory). The tell-tale sign if they’ve been left in place in error is the high ride height at the front on the car.

New mk4 owner - suspension problem

Hi all, New member here but I've had a mk3 Leon FR ST 2019 until recently. Sold it for a very good price at Arnold Clark but bought a grey mk4 Leon FR Sport hatch back yesterday, 72 plate pre-registered with 20 miles on it. I test drove a similar car and all was fine but noob mistake I didn't...

www.seatcupra.net

Thanks for the pointer! I checked my car, and I actually have the rear suspensions higher than the front ones.. so I am assuming it's all how it should be?

 

[LaughingGravy]

Thank you for the feedback. Are you planning on changing wheels or just try to get used to it?

It’s a lease car (2 years) so I wont be spending any extra money on it. I thought motorway driving would be OK but even that was tiring, whoever at Seat/Cupra decided to set the suspension this stiff has obviously never driven one on U.K. roads!

 

[andylong]

Very difficult to compensate for stiff sidewalls, esp if there isn't much of them. Heavy wheels heavy tires, no resilience...
There was a post in a BMW forum that essentially said the ride was better overinflated and postulated that when over inflated the centre of the tire was able to squish before the stiffness of the sidewall was reached and it all became too much.
Looks like all manufacturers have this issue, vag BMW and us brands.
It's the price of wanting unecessarily large wheels I'm afraid.

 

[LaughingGravy]

Very difficult to compensate for stiff sidewalls, esp if there isn't much of them. Heavy wheels heavy tires, no resilience...
There was a post in a BMW forum that essentially said the ride was better overinflated and postulated that when over inflated the centre of the tire was able to squish before the stiffness of the sidewall was reached and it all became too much.
Looks like all manufacturers have this issue, vag BMW and us brands.
It's the price of wanting unecessarily large wheels I'm afraid.

Interesting, my car says if you’ve got 5 in the cabin the fronts should be 42psi, the rears 46psi, I’ve never seen pressures that high!

 

[adrianator]

Do you have DCC? If yes, have you checked the setting if it's on confort or not?

Sometimes when I start the car, it's by default on Confort mode but it's actually on normal. I understood it's a known issue with all VAG cars that have DCC. To "fix" it, switch it to sport or something else then back to Confort.

 

[LaughingGravy]

No, the VZ1 spec doesn't have this (DCC Adaptive dampers etc). They've since stopped selling the VZ1 spec, the 245ps or above now only come with the VZ2 or VZ3 spec, both which have the adaptive damping. Maybe they were getting too many complaints about the ride of the VZ1!