17" rims for a golf r

[Angryman]

So after having 5 wheels reforged due to buckling on our **** nq roads I've decided to look into replacing my 19's with 17' s. Can anyone foresee any problems with going smaller on the r????

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[kaanage]

It will ride better, have more grip on bumpy roads, use less fuel and accelerate and stop better. And your tyre bill will be lower.

As long as they clear the brakes, you have nothing to lose except pose value and outright grip on smooth surfaces. But the brakes are the big question.

[QIK-R]

I'm not sure 17's would fit would they?

[nat225]

17 ENKEI PF01 SILVER RIMS WHEELS 17x8 +50 5x112 JETTA | eBay

this should clear the R brakes.

not sure if oem 17" from vw would clear R brakes.... if someone has tried to put on a set of Denvers to his R please let us know (thinking of getting a set of R brakes myself).

[Xciteu]

So after having 5 wheels reforged due to buckling on our **** nq roads I've decided to look into replacing my 19's with 17' s. Can anyone foresee any problems with going smaller on the r????

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Wow,that sux! Where abouts in NQ do you live? I'm up in Townsville with an R on the way. The roads where you are can't be any worse than here! My S15 rode with 18" Volk GTC rims and Ive never had a drama. My R will ride with 19" Volks too. You must do a fair bit of highway driving at night to get all that abuse to your wheels?

[Angryman]

Thats what I forsee as the only issue as well. If I can confirm they clear the brakes then it should be fine. I'm up in Cairns and travel to Moranbah every week for work, about 2000km round trip.

My first buckle was south of Townsville near green acres on the bridge, not a pot hole, it was the step up onto the bridge which buckled both fronts, pancaked them like a pice of sponge cake hitting a wall, both rims had a palm sized flat spot that had to be taken out, the other buckles happened on various pieces of **** road between cairns and Collinsville.

The one obvious one buckled on a pothole near Glenden. If you manage 30000km in your first 5 months of ownership and dont buckle a wheel I'll be impressed

Interestingly enough the bloke thats been taking them out for me has said that these rims are the softest he's ever come across, possibly why they are damaging so much on the roads. They'd probably be great on the auto strada or the autobahn but not much chop on good ol NQ Highways I'm afraid.

[Diesel_vert]

So after having 5 wheels reforged due to buckling on our **** nq roads I've decided to look into replacing my 19's with 17's. Can anyone foresee any problems with going smaller on the R?

Approved wheel and tyre fitments for the Golf R:

Summer

205/50 R17 93W XL*
6.0 J 17 ET 48.5

205/50 R17 93W XL
7.0 J 17 ET 47

225/45 R17 94W XL
7.5 J 17 ET 51

225/40 R18 92Y XL
7.5 J 18 ET 51

235/35 R19 91Y XL
8.0 J 19 ET 50

Winter

205/50 R17 93H XL*
6.0 J 17 ET 48.5


*Snow chains permitted


There should be no physical barrier to fitting 17 inch wheels. In fact, there is a "winter tyre" package in the options list for the Golf R, which includes four "Meribel" 6 J x 17 alloy wheels fitted with 205/50 R17 93H tyres for EUR 965,00 which would logically indicate that 17 inch wheels can be fitted.

My first buckle was south of Townsville near green acres on the bridge, not a pot hole, it was the step up onto the bridge which buckled both fronts, pancaked them like a pice of sponge cake hitting a wall, both rims had a palm sized flat spot that had to be taken out, the other buckles happened on various pieces of **** road between cairns and Collinsville.

The one obvious one buckled on a pothole near Glenden. If you manage 30000km in your first 5 months of ownership and dont buckle a wheel I'll be impressed

Interestingly enough the bloke thats been taking them out for me has said that these rims are the softest he's ever come across, possibly why they are damaging so much on the roads. They'd probably be great on the auto strada or the autobahn but not much chop on good ol NQ Highways I'm afraid.

Have you been keeping an eye on tyre pressures? (Don't always wait for the tyre pressure sensor alert). The factory recommendations for the R are quite high, so if they were a bit low it may have increased the chances for wheel buckling to occur.

Pressures for the Golf R:

17 inch

Half load - Front: 2.6 bar (38 psi) / Rear: 2.6 bar (38 psi)

Full load - Front: 2.8 bar (41 psi) / Rear: 3.2 bar (46 psi)


18 and 19 inch

Half load - Front: 2.7 bar (39 psi) / Rear: 2.7 bar (39 psi)

Full load - Front: 2.9 bar (42 psi) / Rear: 3.0 bar (44 psi)

[Angryman]

Thanks for that, awesome info, and all tyre pressures are spot on. Just bad roads. The new tiggy we bought just cruises over them with ease, but still looking at the 17's for the r

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[Diesel_vert]

In that case, since you're looking for new wheels and are not limited by the factory wheel widths, you may want to look at 235/45 R17 97W XL or 235/40 R18 95Y XL tyres, as the rolling circumference of these more closely matches that of 235/35 R19 91Y XL, rather than the factory tyre fitments.

You also gain some width, which translates into increased load capacity if you buy the XL versions (or perhaps more importantly, more wheel protection!) as well as lower costs since they are common sizes for some Commodores and Falcons (higher sales volume, lower prices).

[Angryman]

Awesome point mate, thanks for that I'll get all this info together before I rock into a couple of the tyre places tomorrow

[Blitzen]

I think 17's will look very small and disproportionate on the R... I know what you are saying about NQ roads, having just moved from Townsville, but I was running 18's with 35 profile rubber on them, and didn't have any real problems on my Polo GTI....

[Greg Roles]

Just because it's you, I'm prepared to swap my 17's.......

[kaanage]

you may want to look at 235/45 R17 97W XL or 235/40 R18 95Y XL tyres, as the rolling circumference of these more closely matches that of 235/35 R19 91Y XL, rather than the factory tyre fitments.

VW's tyre/rim sizing is a mystery to me as they don't seem to always choose the closest match for the different rim diameters.
The "standard" fitment for the R is the 225/40R18 which matches well with the 225/45R17 (and 205/50R17 but I can't see you fitting these). Then again, the 235/35R19 is the closest match in the 19" to the "standard" fitment.
Is there odometer adjustment in VCDS for this?

I think 17's will look very small and disproportionate on the R...

It all depends on what is more important - what other people think or what you think.
Performance nearly always gets the nod over fashion for me.

[Diesel_vert]

VW's tyre/rim sizing is a mystery to me as they don't seem to always choose the closest match for the different rim diameters.
The "standard" fitment for the R is the 225/40R18 which matches well with the 225/45R17 (and 205/50R17 but I can't see you fitting these). Then again, the 235/35R19 is the closest match in the 19" to the "standard" fitment.

225/35 R19 does indeed more closely match 225/40 R18 - however, with a load index of either 84 or 88 XL, the load capacity of any 225/39 R19 tyre is insufficient for the Golf, hence why I suspect VW went for the next size up.

Choosing between an incorrect speedo (which could be fixed via software) or potential for overloading the tyres (potential safety/legal ramifications)? VW probably went for the former rather than the latter.

Is there odometer adjustment in VCDS for this?

Don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were such an option, as I imagine any system dependent on a pre-specified rolling circumference (ABS, ESP, etc) would need to be configured according to pre-specified tyre fitments.

Luckily, having the vehicle preconfigured for 235/35 R19 tyres means the OP would do well from fitting 235/45 R17 or 235/40 R18 tyres.

I think 17's will look very small and disproportionate on the R... I know what you are saying about NQ roads, having just moved from Townsville, but I was running 18's with 35 profile rubber on them, and didn't have any real problems on my Polo GTI....

It all depends on what is more important - what other people think or what you think.
Performance nearly always gets the nod over fashion for me.

In my opinion (like the OP needs any more) I reckon 235/40 R18 95Y XL tyres on 8.0 J 18 wheels would provide the best compromise between ride, handling, grip, aesthetics and practicality.

[dylan8]

Just because it's you, I'm prepared to swap my 17's.......

haha nice one!

Is there odometer adjustment in VCDS for this?

I wouldnt be stressing about it. most newer cars speedos are out so if anything it may correct it going to a slightly bigger tyre.