18's ... benefits & drawbacks?

[john87]

I find the 18's give more tyre noise, but that could well be down to the fact that the fronts are currently at about 2mm 

The 18's do seem to tramline a little more, due to less sidewall, but the suspension still provides a much more refined ride than my last car with 18's (2009 civic type S)

[RedRobin]

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18's plus suspension mods = The 'sweet spot'.

[rich83]

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18's plus suspension mods = The 'sweet spot'.

Im not sure Robin. If i were prepping a mk5 for track it be certainly on 17s. 18s looks better admittedly.

[mad_pete]

Surely the unsprung weight and the fact the car has to spin them makes it 18s for show 17s for go ?

[rich83]

17s OZ

[4dyctdi]

Personally feel that 18s fill the arches better but at the end of the day it depends on your own taste. I run 18s on my gti and love the way it looks 

[RedRobin]

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18's plus suspension mods = The 'sweet spot'.

Im not sure Robin. If i were prepping a mk5 for track it be certainly on 17s. 18s looks better admittedly.

.....Low profile on 17's?

I'm talking about 'fast road' - I reckon my trackdays are over.



^ Looks like OZ only have one guy who quality checks: Sergio 74!

[DFish]

Doesn't it also come down to the brakes you're running? Only a few 17's will clear the 345's of the S3/Cupra setups.

Fish

[rich83]

45 profile robin. So normal, not stupidly low profile.

[mad_pete]

I was really only wondering about the choice between 17" and 18" Monzas on the stock setup.

Do they actually improve the handling as well as looking great? And how much does it affect the ride quality?

Cheers 

My comment was a bit general but I was really talking to this.   I don't disagree you can get super light wheels or 17" might be too small for big brake set ups.

[RedED30]

Our lasting Olympic Legacy will alllow us in my local area to run very small profile's and very low as the roads have been resurfaced for the Torch run.

It all depends what suits you best. I like the 19's for the fill they give to the arches, but if i have to carry people, i have to go to 18's.

[danishmkvgti]

I have 19's and considering dropping back to 18's due to many factors such as handling, ride quality, tyre prices, rubbing etc

I concur, i have run 225/45-17 on 7,5x17" ET 51 but feel the car looses out on steering feel, also had 235/35-19 og 8,5x19" ET 48 although it looked great i found my rimchoice to heavy and at trackdays there wasn't to much room in the wheel arches. I currently have 235/40-18" on 8x18" ET 50 front and 225/45-18" on 8x18" ET45, i find the 18" is the swwet spot on this car, handling wise, weight and brake clearance is where i want it to be.
I must admit i'm getting tired of the nonsense that higher profile tyres offers more comfort 
a higher profile offers uncontrollable suspension, whereas the lower profile let's the advanced suspension do it's job and let's the tyre do the grip that is it's job.

[rich83]

Your telling me that a 235 35 19 is just as comfortable ride as 205 55 16? 

[danishmkvgti]

Your telling me that a 235 35 19 is just as comfortable ride as 205 55 16? 

No, i'm telling you that 1400£ worth of suspension is better than 400£ of tyres to do the suspensions job. the lower profile tyre the more you have to consider what suspension to get depending what ride quality/ride feel you want from your car.

19" on a car who's suspension is made for 16" tyres is going to be a terrible ride, but combined with a suspension kit either adapted to that rim size or adjustable to accomodate what tyre size you want is the solution.

It's all in the details IMO of course