18" v 17" monzas

[Gtiain]

Had 17s on my gti since I bought it in august, however this weekend I bought some mk6  18"  monza shadows from greeners. Put them on and went for a quick drive to see how they felt. I was extremely surprised at how much firmer the ride was. I expected the ride to be a little firmer, but it felt completely different.

However, They look absolutly fantastic though so will put up with the ride and I'm sure I'll get used to it
Was just surprised how different they are!

[RedRobin]

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When I changed from Monza 17's to 18's I was surprised how different they didn't feel! There's certainly no compromise in ride comfort imo.

[stu_no_1]

I didnt think it made any difference either when i did it

[Gtiain]

Maybe it's just psychological then! I thought they felt alot different. Maybe it's just me! 

[andrewparker]

Most notable for me wasn't the ride comfort, it was the turn in bite. The 17s feel a lot sharper in my opinion. It certainly makes me what to try a light weight 18 inch wheel.

[RedRobin]

Most notable for me wasn't the ride comfort, it was the turn in bite. The 17s feel a lot sharper in my opinion. It certainly makes me what to try a light weight 18 inch wheel.

....The Monza 17's weigh 11kg to the nearest. The Monza 18's weigh ~12kg and my lightweight OZ Alleggerita's weigh ~8kg. The response/feedback difference on lightweights is enormous by comparison.

[Richn83]

Ride compfort could simply be the difference between the tyre type make and pressure, especially if you went from worn old tyres to new.  I noticed a slight increase in the feeling of small bumps but the general compliance is similar to the 17".  I do have the feeling that the car feels more planted but havent had much of an opportunity to try out the twisties as I only did motorway miles before the cold weather hit.

They do look much better in the arches, and seem to sit further out.  I know the offset is the same, and standard tyres are the same width, does anyone know if the wheel itself is wider from the 17" to 18"?

[Gtiain]

You might be right because I had old AND rubbish tyres on (ones that were on when I got from the dealers!) and I've got some decent rubber now so that might be a contributory factor.

[andrewparker]

A more performance orientated tyre is likely to have a stiffer sidewall, so that will contribute to a harder ride.

[coullstar]

Ride compfort could simply be the difference between the tyre type make and pressure, especially if you went from worn old tyres to new.  I noticed a slight increase in the feeling of small bumps but the general compliance is similar to the 17".  I do have the feeling that the car feels more planted but havent had much of an opportunity to try out the twisties as I only did motorway miles before the cold weather hit.

They do look much better in the arches, and seem to sit further out.  I know the offset is the same, and standard tyres are the same width, does anyone know if the wheel itself is wider from the 17" to 18"?

Both 7.5in.

[swf7y]

Most notable for me wasn't the ride comfort, it was the turn in bite. The 17s feel a lot sharper in my opinion. It certainly makes me what to try a light weight 18 inch wheel.

....The Monza 17's weigh 11kg to the nearest. The Monza 18's weigh ~12kg and my lightweight OZ Alleggerita's weigh ~8kg. The response/feedback difference on lightweights is enormous by comparison.

What about ride comfort? Any difference at all?

[SeanyK]

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When I changed from Monza 17's to 18's I was surprised how different they didn't feel! There's certainly no compromise in ride comfort imo.

+1 I did worry also, as coming from a Seat Ibiza Cupra MK4 which, to be fair, rattled your teeth out everytime you went over anything other than a flat road.

18"s made no difference to the ride comfort on my GTI, and ALL the difference to the look of the car :)

[jmspear]

I have to say I disagree with all the above posters except GTIain, driving my ed30 with 18" pescara's back to back with my wifes gti on 17" monza's both with quality tyres on, the ride is noticebaly harsher on the 18's (i assume the suspension is the same??) also the handling on the 17's (on the road) is better, sharper turn in and agree with rr you can feel the weight difference.

18's  harsher, more expensive, handling not as good (on the road) but look better. I suspect that the 18's will be better on the track as less tyre roll due to stiffer sidewalls, the handling on my track car with Michelin Cups is rough on the road but sublime on the circuit because the side walls are like Iron and you get no side wall roll.

[stealthwolf]

Wasn't there something about road tests showing the 17" rims were better for ride handling and quality but the 18" looked better?

In fact, I'm sure it was mentioned on here a year or two ago.

[sadBastad]

Hi Red, as the owner of your old 17" Monzas, I have to comment. The improvement in the ride is very noticeably better. The wife immediately picked up on it. The only weakness in the comparison is that the 18s have F1s whereas I have fitted Avon Winter tyres to the 17s - have no idea if Winter tyres ride any better or worse. Will make no comment on the handling as Winter tyres on 17s are clearly not going to match up to Summer tyres on 18s in clement conditions (different story in the snow!).
As regards aesthetics, the guys at the tyre fitters preferred the look of the 17s as did the wife. I do think the 18s look better, but am considering just having them powder coated anyway, when I get them refurbed, to banish the white worm.