changing wheels and tyres Superb Sedan

[romaniac]

Hello

I've purchased a set of 19" wheels ready to put onto my 2012 Superb Sedan when it arrives next month. I haven't yet bought tyres for these wheels and was wondering if anyone has had experience changing their wheels? What size I should be looking at? I want to keep the road noise to a minimum but also have a better performing tyre than the ones that come standard.

FYI these are the wheels http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/fdghdfgh.jpg

I've already got skoda centre caps for them to replace the porsche ones.

Thanks

[pologti18t]

The standard wheel/tyre size is 225/45 x17 on a 17x7.5inch rim. How wide are the 19 inch wheels?

You are going to have to go to a much lower profile tyre to keep the rolling diameter the same on the 19inch rim. Something like 225/35X19.

[romaniac]

The standard wheel/tyre size is 225/45 x17 on a 17x7.5inch rim. How wide are the 19 inch wheels?

You are going to have to go to a much lower profile tyre to keep the rolling diameter the same on the 19inch rim. Something like 225/35X19.

They are 19x8.5 and 19x9.5. Would the 225/35x19 still fit?

[pologti18t]

They are 19x8.5 and 19x9.5. Would the 225/35x19 still fit?

I think you will find that the 9.5 inch ones will be illegal on your car. Most state road authorities have regulations on what increase in wheel width (not tyre) you can have on a FWD car
Are you sure they will fit your car (bolt pattern, offset etc). You don't usually put different width wheels on a FWD car.

[romaniac]

I think you will find that the 9.5 inch ones will be illegal on your car. Most state road authorities have regulations on what increase in wheel width (not tyre) you can have on a FWD car
Are you sure they will fit your car (bolt pattern, offset etc). You don't usually put different width wheels on a FWD car.

If the 9.5 inch won't fit I can exchange them for 8.5 inch ones. The bolt pattern is the same, not sure about offset. Problem is without the car here I can't try it out. So the 225/35x19 should fit on the 19x8.5 rim all round?

[Diesel_vert]

If the 9.5 inch won't fit I can exchange them for 8.5 inch ones.

IMO, that'll be the best thing to do.

So the 225/35x19 should fit on the 19x8.5 rim all round?

Yes, 225/35 R19 tyres will fit 19x8.5 wheels quite fine.

Though if you require your vehicle to be roadworthy, you need to fit 235/35 R19 91Y XL tyres, since the load index must be no less than 91.

[CanberravRS]

No where in Aus will allow 9.5 without an engineer's certificate and likewise no insurance company will provide you insurance unless the wheels are legal.
9's are legal Max for the Superb... 225/35/19 would be the suggested size for a 8.5 and 235/35/19 for 9inch if it exists.

[romaniac]

Great thanks for your help guys. I'll get 19x8.5 all round then, don't want to have insurance problems. I'll take a look at tyres in the 225/35/19 size , any recommendations on brands?

[Buller_Scott]

You don't usually put different width wheels on a FWD car.

come to south east dub fest and say that, lol.

Great thanks for your help guys. I'll get 19x8.5 all round then, don't want to have insurance problems. I'll take a look at tyres in the 225/35/19 size , any recommendations on brands?

firstly, nice wheels! i hope the offsets etc are bang on so you dont have any headaches.

as for tyres, that's a bit of a can of worms... what are your goals? are you going to be pushing in corners/driving hard etc? or are you after a quite grand touring tyre?

michelin ps2's have your size, bf goodrich gforce profiler should as well, and i've been using their little brother (gforce sport) for a while - great tyre, grippy in the wet let alone the dry, and AWESOME wearing. pirelli pzero rosso/ pzero, etc etc.

if you dont know much about tyres, and if you havent got any set 'go to' tyre, then really the only thing to do is try to create a shortlist based on your size, read up on reviews online, and then shop for the best price for the short-shortlisted tyres.

people are going to laugh at this next bit - you're in melbourne, so i'd suggest checking out COSTCO for tyres... i did get some bridgestones there a few weeks ago, and they were still 40% cheaper at costco than any bridgestone tyre center, even WITH the bridgestone tyre centers' october sale. they stock bridgestone, michelin, and pirelli iirc.

they had a deal where if you buy 4 tyres, you get $50 off the price, plus they fill the tyres with nitrogen, plus free nitrogen top ups for the life of the tyre, plus free tyre puncture repair for the life of the tyre. not bad...

p.s. im not saying this because im sponsored by costco or anything... i wish i was, though.

[Diesel_vert]

I want to keep the road noise to a minimum but also have a better performing tyre than the ones that come standard.

235/35 R19 tyres are mostly of the ultra high performance variety, which mainly focus on handling and grip. Noise, comfort, wear, rolling resistance & cost are second thoughts here. The joys of ultra low profile tyres and big wheels...

The big brands with their most recent flagship performance models are listed below (and incidentally, the only ones available in such a size):

Bridgestone Potenza S001
Continental Sport Contact 5P
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Pirelli P Zero

At this level, they're all really much of a muchness in terms of noise, but at least all of these tyres will certainly outperform the standard tyres, which are Continental Sport Contact 2 (for 225/40 R18 ), IIRC.

[CanberravRS]

After having 2 Skoda's with 18's i can happily say that the new Michelin PS3 ROCK! Way better than the Factory 225/40/18 Continentals

But much depends on your driving style and preference for life expectancy vs grip levels.
Best to ask around and get a feel.. then choose.

[romaniac]

Thanks for your recommendations guys, I don't have hardly any knowledge when it comes to wheels/tyres!

The offset on the 19x8.5 is ET57, does that mean I would have any problems?

[CanberravRS]

Not sure on that offset. The factory 7.5's are ET46

[romaniac]

IMO, that'll be the best thing to do.



Yes, 225/35 R19 tyres will fit 19x8.5 wheels quite fine.

Though if you require your vehicle to be roadworthy, you need to fit 235/35 R19 91Y XL tyres, since the load index must be no less than 91.

Where did you get the information on the load index needing to be a minimum of 91? I want to go with 225/35/19 but I can't find any with the load index higher than 88. If I go with the 235s then it meets that load index however the speedo will be more out of whack and diameter and height will be more different than standard.

[Diesel_vert]

Where did you get the information on the load index needing to be a minimum of 91?

In fact, it'll be a bit higher than that, as Australia doesn't get the GreenLine II models. So the tyre placard may even state "no less than 94" (or 92 depending on specification).

The current Superb comes fitted with the following tyre sizes:

205/55 R16 91H*
205/55 R16 94V XL
225/45 R17 94W XL
225/45 R17 94Y XL
225/40 R18 92Y XL

*GreenLine II models only

To my knowledge, models based on the current Golf platform have never been fitted with tyres with a load index of less than 91. I don't see why it would be any different for the current Superb, especially when they've gone to the trouble of specifying XL (extra load) tyres for it, with the exception of GreenLine II models.

Not to mention that being based on the stretched version would imply an increase in kerb weight.

I want to go with 225/35/19 but I can't find any with the load index higher than 88.

That's correct, it's either 225/35 R19 84Y or 225/35 R19 88Y XL.

If I go with the 235s then it meets that load index however the speedo will be more out of whack and diameter and height will be more different than standard.

That's also correct, but it's better than fitting a set of tyres with an insufficient load capacity (safety first). VW must've reached the same conclusion, as even the Golf comes with 235/35 R19 91Y XL tyres, and not 225/35 R19 88Y XL tyres.

I've also noted that despite the availability of 225/40 R18 88Y tyres on the marketplace, all models on the current Golf platform have been fitted with 225/40 R18 92Y XL tyres instead...