Know any experts on Passat suspension?

What do you want to change?

I have a 2000 GLX wagon, which came with the "sports package" - 17" tires and (I'm guessing) stiffer suspension. My main complaint is road noise. It's very loud compared to similar cars (accords, camrys, and newer passats). Also, the ride is too stiff for my comfort.

I was wondering what I can do to (1) substantially reduce road noise and (2) give it a smoother ride.

I have a 2000 V6 GLS wagon. The car is very quiet, in fact it is one of the things that sold us on it. I do not have the larger wheels and sport suspension. My understanding is that the larger rims translate into a somewhat harsher ride and there's more tire noise. (Stiffer tires) You could switch back to the standard alloys and some new tires. It wouldn't be cheap, but you're probably due for tires anyway.

Try some 16" rims with a higher profile tires. If your tires were 17" with 55 profile try a 16" with a 65 profile or whatever the factory tires would be for the 16" rim. Just a change in profile can make a big difference. Of course some might argue that the Accord, Camray as well as some VW models do not have a very sport suspension. Different tires can be quieter but changing the aspect ratio would be a better test. The challenge is finding someone to swap wheels and tires with for an hour.

Another questi>I have a 2000 GLX wagon, which came with the "sports package" - 17" tires

Jim B.

FWIW, the standard wheels on a GLX (i.e. without sport package) are 16", with 55-series Michelin MXV4s IIRC. (Can't remember offhand if they're

205/55 or 215/55, I think it's the former.) I would not say my GLX is particularly noisy or harsh. So maybe just switching to the standard GLX wheels/tires would do the trick.

-- Mike Smith

It's easy, do you want to swap your 17" for my 15" tires/rims? Getting rid of the 17" should improve the ride quality 90%. I'm considering doing an tire/rim upgrade on my 99 GLX Passat and may go with 16" for that reason.