17" Tires: People's experiences..

[gavs]

Hi all,

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of some 17" wheels from the states. They are sans-tires so now I am on the hunt for some rubber to marry with them!

Tire size I am after is 205/45 R17.

Main factors for my process of elimination are: Price (unfortunately), sidewall stiffness and lateral grip.

Thanks all for your input in advance,
Gav

[Gravey]

I'm pretty happy with Toyo Proxes4, but mine are 225

Very grippy in wet and dry and seem quite predictable too

[Manaz]

That tyre size doesn't sound right for a Mk4 - 225/45R17 is the stock size on any of the Mk4s that came with 17" wheels. The Polos with 17" wheels came with 215/45R17 IIRC.

If you can fit them under the guards, 235/45R17 is a much cheaper size than 225/45R17, because they're standard fitment to cars like the XR6 Falcon (and thus there's a bigger market for them).

I'm currently running Pirelli P6000s in 225/45R17. Likely to change them to Kumho KU31s when they wear out, and putting Kumho KU36s on my track wheels when I get them. Another good tyre is the Bridgestone Adrenalin.

I chose 17s instead of 18s because of the better ride comfort.

[Gravey]

That tyre size doesn't sound right for a Mk4 - 225/45R17 is the stock size on any of the Mk4s that came with 17" wheels. The Polos with 17" wheels came with 215/45R17 IIRC.

If you can fit them under the guards, 235/45R17 is a much cheaper size than 225/45R17, because they're standard fitment to cars like the XR6 Falcon (and thus there's a bigger market for them).

I'm currently running Pirelli P6000s in 225/45R17. Likely to change them to Kumho KU31s when they wear out, and putting Kumho KU36s on my track wheels when I get them. Another good tyre is the Bridgestone Adrenalin.

I chose 17s instead of 18s because of the better ride comfort.

interesting point about the sizing Manaz - is this strictly legal? I remember once ordering some tyres that were the wrong width (I screwed up despite writing it down correctly lol) they said they wouldnt have fitted them even if they fit on the rims as it wouldnt be compliant?

My tyre guy said he liked the Proxes4 a bit better than the KU31's as they were very similair in performance but lasted a bit longer. I'm keen to try the KU31's out next time though, even though I am loving the Proxes4.

[Edit] sorry to hijack, but is the difference in ride comfort from 17's to 18s really that noticeable Manaz?

[gavs]

Hmmm, interesting point Manaz....

I ordered the wheels through ECS tuning and they are genuine 7 spoke Audi TT wheels, they said they are 17" x 6" wheels which I thought sounded very odd, I have been looking on the internet today for the exact design and found a listing of Audi wheels and it says that this design is actually 16"x7"!!

If so, I'm not going to be happy because I only bought them due to being advertised as a 17" wheel!!

Could I get 215/45 R17's on them?

[TazzyVR6]

I've got Goodyear Eagle F1 225/45 R17 on my mk4. Great in the dry but don't grip so well in the wet IMO.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Hmmm, interesting point Manaz....

I ordered the wheels through ECS tuning and they are genuine 7 spoke Audi TT wheels, they said they are 17" x 6" wheels which I thought sounded very odd, I have been looking on the internet today for the exact design and found a listing of Audi wheels and it says that this design is actually 16"x7"!!

If so, I'm not going to be happy because I only bought them due to being advertised as a 17" wheel!!

Could I get 215/45 R17's on them?

I've not seen one set of wheels in the world that are 6 inches wide if they're 17 inches in diameter. I think they're either 17x7 or 16x7 man!!

Kumho KU31's are alright, they're nice and cheap but I'm not sure how they are when in the wet or for lifespan.

[Pullstarter]

KU31 is fine in the wet, although I got 4mo which makes a big difference I guess. I had Falken 459 on the VR and they were fantastic, although they might be a bit out of your price range.

Value for money and performance I think you'd be pretty happy with the KU31 Kumhos.

[noone]

Another happy Ku31 customer here, I've got a set on my Polo GTI (slightly different sizing) and I'd rate them over the stock Conti CCS2's.

Got mine for $110 a corner, balanced, fitted and old ones disposed. pretty hard to get anything decent around that price.

I found the reviews on 1010tyres helpfull

[gavs]

Ok, can confirm that the wheels are 17" x 7" which sounds like a much more realistic wheel size, I guess someone made a boo boo at ECS when typing up the ad!!!

So the general concensus seems to be Kumho ECSTA KU31 tyres. What kind of price would I look at paying for 225/45 R17 or 235/45 R17 if I can get them to fit.....

[Jarred]

fitment shouldn't be an issue at all! you're talking about 225 and 205's, I think you'll find 205's is a 'standard' (of many sizes) size for a 7" wheel. I've got 185 on a 7" wheel and had no troubles getting them fitted.

My point, 'non-compliance' of tyre fitment/would only be due to incorrect load rating.

Having said that. if you're not worried about 'stretch' or the appearance of the wheel/tyre combo, generally the bigger the better cause you'll have more grip. if you want sidewall stiffness, having a 'stretched' tyre will help improve sidewall stiffness. allthough a 45 profile isn't too large (and hence not much 'ballooning' so it shouldn't be too much difference between a 225/45 and a 205/45.

hth

[Manaz]

IIRC, the 17" wheels on the Bora Sport were 17x7.5, with a 225/45R17 tyre as stock.

I'm kinda surprised that the 7 spoke TT wheels are 17x7, I always thought they were 17x7.5, just like the Bora Sports (and the 6-spoke S3s).

215/45R17 would be perfect on a 7" wide rim (I believe that's what goes on Polos with 17" wheels).

Check out Option 1 Garage (www.option1garage.com.au) for prices on Kumho tyres, they've been running some pretty sweet pricing on the KU36s for a while now, and can also get the KU31s cheap.

But confirm (by measuring) the size of your wheels when they arrive before going any further - just to be safe.

[No457 Snowy]

Just keep in mind that if the rims are 17" diameter you will want to run a 225/45 R17 tyre. If you change from that you will be also changing speedo accuracy/drive ratio as spec'd from VW.

The ECSTA KU31 tyres are an excellent tyre in the dry and wet and also wear well. Actually they are probably the best bang-for-buck performance oriented tyre out there, while still keeping decent tyres on your car that won't compromise your safety.

Cheers,

Snowy

[gavs]

Hmmm, interesting point Manaz, I thought the TT wheels were 17x7.5" too, but I have been assured by ECS Tuning that these are 17x7" wheels..... I still have fears that they're only the 16x7" wheels, I guess I'll see when they get here, I wonder what the return policy would be for their false advertising......

Snowy, if I can get the 235/45 R17's on then hopefully my speedo will be more accurate, currently 100kph on my GPS shows approx 106 on the speedo, 110 on the speedo is 105.5kph on the GPS so if I can close that magin I'd be happy plus have a bigger rubber footprint

[gavs]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience running Kumho KU36's? Definately more a dry weather tyre compared th the KU31's but with limited reading on the net, still have ok wet weather grip.... I generally don't fang in the wet, trees and stuff come from different angles in the wet