Winterreifen am Polo 9N :-( | Posts 48+

jörg schmidt wrote:

Honestly, I can't understand your problems. I also live in a low mountain range area at an altitude of over 400 meters, and we have... more snow than anywhere else in the surrounding area. My motto: Install brand new tires. I don't think the tires in this segment will differ significantly from each other. When I switched from Fulda to Pirelli, I noticeably, meaning significantly more grip, in the wet, and also on snow.

Hmm, was that still not a significant difference? Or if it was, then only because of the new, full tread depth?

Quote:

I've been using Pirelli Snowsport or Snowcontrol tires in size 195/55-15 on my Ibiza 6L ASZ for several years. Before that, I had Fulda tires.

Ah, so it's almost directly comparable to our problem child, the 9N, where we've only used branded winter tires so far.

What tire pressure do you use for your WR?

Hi there,

Has the Polo ever been measured?

If it develops a life of its own on uneven ground, it could also be that the toe-in is set too low. I say this because my Golf was also catastrophically misaligned from the factory. VW can't even manage to get the headlight alignment right from the factory, so you shouldn't expect anything better for the axle geometry .

Hi Ulf,

So far, I've always had a pressure of 2.6 bar all around.

Best regards, Jörg.

Oh, I see.

I still owe you an answer.

The Fulda tires had a significantly longer lifespan compared to the Pirellis.
Therefore, the rubber compound would also have had to be harder, and the grip would have been lower.

One morning, while driving with the Fulda tires around a curve due to a wet road surface and changing road conditions, I lost control and started to skid. I immediately contacted my tire dealer and had them replaced. However, the tread depth wasn't a factor in that situation. The tread depth mainly becomes noticeable when there is water on the road surface.

Best regards, Jörg.

Roger wrote:

Has the Polo ever been measured? If it develops a life of its own on uneven ground, it could also be that the toe-in is set too low. I say this because my Golf was also catastrophically misaligned from the factory. VW can't even manage to get the headlight alignment right from the factory, so nothing better should be expected for the axle geometry .

Answer for Polo and Ibiza: Maybe .
Neither of them has been on stage before, and as a measure of the track's condition, I would rather look at the tire wear pattern, which so far has been largely unremarkable.
To compensate for the slight tendency towards increased wear on the inner suspension components, I adjusted the camber angle of both wheels a few months ago by increasing it slightly (approximately 45 degrees per tie rod).
If that helps at all, they should hopefully stay on track better during the upcoming winter.


"@jörg schmidt: We generally run similar pressures, but the rear tires have about 0.2 bar less pressure than the front tires."

@Ulf
With more toe-in, the car reacts slightly more sensitively to steering movements.
I'm not sure, but maybe that will only make your problem worse.

Just this year, I've had the alignment checked twice already. With roads like these nowadays...

Staying in the correct lane is essential for proper driving behavior.
I once owned a Volkswagen Passat station wagon. When I bought it, I was almost afraid to drive above 80 km/h on dry roads.
When the alignment was properly adjusted, the box felt very stable on the road.

Best regards, Jörg.

ulf wrote:

Neither of them had been on the stage before, and as a measure of the track, I would rather consider the tire wear pattern, which has so far been largely unremarkable.

"In my case, the wear was unremarkable even after over 30,000 km, but it still had a full degree too little camber on the right rear wheel."

Quote:

To compensate for the slight tendency towards increased wear on the inner edges of the control arms, I adjusted the camber slightly more on both wheels a few months ago (approximately 45 degrees of rotation per tie rod). If that helps in any way, they should theoretically stay on track better during the upcoming winter.

Generally speaking, I would expect that to be the case, assuming everything else is consistent. More toe-in results in better on-road stability but also increased tire wear.

jörg schmidt wrote:

@Ulf With more toe-in, the car reacts slightly more sensitively to steering movements. I'm not sure, but maybe that will worsen your problem.

It will show... but I think it's unlikely, because so far, the tendency to slide on mud/ice has had to be countered with quite strong steering adjustments - and without creating a tendency to lift up.

Roger wrote:

In my case, the wear was unremarkable even after over 30,000 km, but it still had a full degree (!) too little camber on the right rear.

. . . which, as far as I know, cannot be adjusted at all on the 9N platform?

ulf wrote:

which, as far as I know, cannot be adjusted on the 9N platform.

Okay, that only works with a single rear swingarm suspension. I just wanted to point out what kinds of errors can already exist from the factory.

@Ulf:

What tires did you end up getting?
And how satisfied are you with it?

Roger wrote:

@Ulf: What tires did you end up getting?

Hello Roger,

those who are there:

ulf wrote:

Earlier today (October 7th, 2011), I ordered a set of Dunlop WinterSport 3D tires in size 195/55 R 15 from the local tire shop, hoping that, in addition to Roger's description, many of the good test reviews are at least somewhat accurate.

Quote:

And how satisfied are you with it?

So far, I haven't heard any complaints. But until now, this winter hasn't presented us with road conditions comparable to those in the past, when the problems with the other WRs became much more apparent.

[Translating...]

THX