[steady eddie]

According to the published literature, our 2013 SEL Premium sits 5.3 inches off the ground.

If this is correct then it is one of the lowest vehicles out there.

I can't remember owning a car that I could not slide under. No way can I slide under thus one.

My question is this: How low is YOUR NBS Passat??

S.E.

 

[VAGguy]

Ground clearance is the lowest point of the car to the ground. That may be a cross member or suspension component. That said, I've never been able to slide under any vw car and I'm not that husky.

 

[steady eddie]

Ground clearance is the lowest point of the car to the ground. That may be a cross member or suspension component. That said, I've never been able to slide under any vw car and I'm not that husky.

VAGuy--

I come from an air-cooled VW background and I could get under each one, no problems, no jacks needed. THIS one is different. MUCH lower.

How can an ordinary person determine if the car has been lowered?? I know, I know, measure it....and compare it to another one...
But from where to the ground??

These water-cooled rigs are so low from the factory, this fact must explain why the aftermarket lowering kits are so *short*, often being but 1.5 inches lower than OEM.

Stiffer spring rates are a good thing and would help eliminate that "Camry feel" but couldn't you do the same thing with new tires??

S.E.

 

[VAGguy]

I should have said modern car.

Post a picture of the wheel gap. Common measurement most use when bragging about being low is FTG. This is the highest point in the wheel arch to the ground.

Eliminating the "Camry feel" is all in the steering and suspension. Unless you have incredibly crappy tires, it won't make any difference except for grip.

 

[steady eddie]

VAGuy--

Bingo!! You got it!! I feel that the OEM tires leave a lot to be desired.

The Hankook tires seem to be universally panned by everyone, we were fortunate to get a Passat with the "better" Conti tires on it. But, I believe they are under inflated at the factory spec of some 30 PSI. At that low of a pressure setting they become marshmallows, too low for much sidewall strength. And soft sidewalls are a very bad thing.

 

[VAGguy]

I had them at about 33 iirc and they felt better. The idjits at the dealer I bought my CC from had them at 40. Like driving on marbles.

 

[steady eddie]

Try this link:

Top 325 Complaints and Reviews about Continental Tires

I think that when it comes time for new tires, I will try a set of Cooper Tires, made
in America.

On edit: Or maybe NOT..Cooper Tires aren't rated very highly, either..

S.E.

 

[steady eddie]

Your Dealer wasn't too far off the mark, check out this photo (shown above ^)

It shows the door placard from an A3 Audi with 94H tires on it..check out the inflation numbers...they are nowhere near 30 PSI....

S.E.

 

[steady eddie]

We done stepped in it now.!!

I have found that the Federal Government has mandated that all car Mfgs. must use but one tire pressure setting per vehicle (per axle).

This is a direct result of a big legal hassle that Ford and Firestone got into some years back. All of the new car placards (door stickers) look the same, because of the Federal regulations.

V-W uses the same door stickers as every one else.

S.E.

 

[steady eddie]

Here is a link to a thread over on vortex:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1810686-W12-Tire-Pressures-Ride-Comfort-and-Road-Noise&

 

[steady eddie]

Here is a link to a thread over on vortex:

VWVortex.com - How accurate is the Phaeton speedometer?

It seems that even the mighty Phaeton suffers from this...