18" v 17" monzas

[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"?

Both 7.5in.

Cheers Coullstar 

[RedRobin]

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.

....Hi, you sad bastad!

Glad to hear my old 17's are making you and your wife happy  I guess that I may have not registered enough difference in my own mind - A lot of it is subjective. Also, perhaps having KoniFSD plus ARB's may have helped smooth out the ride and lessen the apparent difference. I would expect tyres to contribute a big difference to the feel of the ride.

If you fear the dreaded white worm then powdercoating is an excellent practical solution. I expect you already know I wrote all about it here:

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,726.0.html

[Janner_Sy]

quite alot of Guys on briskoda use the 17" alloys as they ride better.

[the bruce]

I ordered my GTI from factory with the 18", picked some BBS-18" on it, later 19" and several 17".
There are some differences between them more obvious when the car ist equipped with a stiffer
suspension (like mine).

ride comfort:

the difference depends on the make and type of tyres. Some more comfortable ones like Michelin
Primacy HP are available in 17" only. When these are compared with a PS2 in 18" or even 19"
the difference is really huge.
When both sizes are the same type and your GTI has OEM-suspension they feel neary the same.


dynamics:

there are many opinions. Some prefer 17" on the track, some like the 18" more. But nobody really
uses 19" for professional driving on a race track with a car like the Mk.5.
The difference in weight between bothe OEM 17" an 18" are just one kg and You won't feel this.
My 19" are 15 kg - that's obviously heavy 25 kg inkl. the tyre. So acceleration is worse and also
turn in.
But it all  depends on the tyre again:  my Federal 595 RS-R in 17" have a much stiffer sidewall than
my 19" Conti SC3.
Next year I will try a 18" performance tyre like the Yokohama AD08 or the new Michelin PSS on my
8x18 BBS. I'll see then if the performance ist better in 18" than 17".
The 17" will be used in the winter in future. In the moment I drive the 18" BBS with Conti Winter-
Contact 225/40 R18 V.
I suspect it's more the weight you feel. 8 kg Ultraleggera feels much better than cheap 15 kg 19".

[Kalpsn2000]

Not been in a GTI with the 17"ers fitted but have to say IMO the 18" diamond cut monzas look so much better. I find the ride a little stiff but worth it for the looks.