18" or 19"

[Uomo]

Guys,

I can't decide whether to get 18" or 19" rims.

The fact is that i've only ever driven on 15, 16 and at most 17" rims.

Can i ask if i need to change my suspension setup if i want to get 19" on my GTI and also will the comfort level deteriot significantly?

Will going bigger rims improve performance (Eg. grip/traction) or is it purely cosmetic?

SOrry if these are dumb quesitons...

[Tim]

the bigger rims dont look so nice until u lower the car a little. But stock suspension shouldnt be a prob provided all the offsets are right.
if you go for cheap ones they will be heavy and detract from performance.

Im gonna go for 19s on my GTI when i upgrade them. They really do set off the car. But she needs to come down a bit first.

[itgwv]

Yes they will make a difference to ride comfort and also will make damaging a rim much easier as less rubber acting as suspension if you go over a rut or potholes. Won't improve handling either, maybe on a racetrack but from expierience will give you less grip and make your tyre options quite a bit more expensive. But having said all that boy they look good! And like Tim Said make sure you lower the car, at least 25mm. I had 18's on my GTI and Eibachs and looked spot on. Sold the rims to my dad whose GTI isn't lowered and kind of looks like it's raised.

[QQQ]

*steering at slow speeds is heavier
*tyres on 19's are more expensive and less range available
*if you drive on bad roads then you will find 19's are too harsh and skip over bumps under hard braking or accelerating
*regular wheel alignments are important; if you lower the car the stiffer springs will also increase the load on the tyres and also wear on the inside camber; get a wheel alignment done to prevent excess wear rather than after you've noticed it.
*cheaper wheels are usually more heavy and will reduce performance at low speeds
*cheaper wheels damage just as easily as expensive ones; most people only think cheaper get damaged more because more people have them.

if you do lots of k's then stick to 18's but if you prefer more show then go 19's

[Tim]

I do think that the stock suspension on a mk5 is a bit nervous at normal driving speeds. It only really starts to make more sense once u load it up a bit. Its like the stock dampers are out of their depth to control the stock springs.

Perhaps someone here with 19s on their mk5 can comment? Im thinking with an upgraded suspension package that the low speed jitteryness could be improved. Even with bigger wheels.

But yeah. Tyres are $$$$$$. and then some

[Uomo]

corrrr it's a hard decision.
I love the way 19" look but won't have enough $$ for new rims/tyres and also a suspension upgrade.

Maybe, i will just go with 18" but they don't fill the wheel arch enough for my liking....

[VWEAPN]

if your getting 18's on a mkV dont even bother getting wheels is my opinion. only 1 inch bigger than std.

[SoVeReIgN]

I agree - Save up for some decent 19s!

[Nardi330]

apparently as tested by EVO (a uk car mag) in their annual tyre test. they ran both 17s & 18s on a Golf GTI E30. 17s is faster around their test track than 18s.

if u prefer performance, stick with 17s. if you want look, might get all out and go for 19s. but the biggest problem with 19s are tyres. not many of them have the right load rating for the GTI.

[fuzion]

19s on Louie's mk5

and who said less range on 19s tyres your a doof lol 95% of sports cars these days run 18s/19s with a HUGE range of tyres available, maybe not in the "Wanli/Nankang" department but definately in the dunlop, bridgestone, michelin, pirelli range! its about the money on everything

18s and 19s fit the gti's quite well and the load rating, come on guys really ... where do you get this from? lol

So the tyres which are on the ferrari's, porsches, lambo's, audi's etc have a bad load rating which might not be the similar one? as we all are "auto bahn drivers" here and track drivers?

expensive wheels are made from a higher quality alloy, having less chance to bend/damage from day to day use. some even lighter then your stock wheels with tyres, have a look at MAK, OZ and BBS if you want something expensive and lightweight, if your not worried too much go for something semi-light which wont break the bank.. and any large wheel will slow you down on any car due to larger rotation on the starting point but is better at high speeds. this is all basic stuff!

if your in vic, try www.mwtc.com.au .. they seem to have a lot of brands avail for euro's

[Uomo]

cheers, thanks for the education.

I think i'll take the advice of sticking to the 17" for now and save up for some BBS 19"

[4potscreamer]

I concur with Tim about the MK5 being a bit nervous at low speed. Typical VW set of springs being over sprung compared to the damper valving.

I find my GTI with 19's rides just as good as the stock setup. I have H&R springs with a 35mm drop which helps dramatically. I think there matched perfectly to the stock damper valving. The only area where you can feel it is in low speed ride where it jiggles a bit more. This is where it comes down to tyre choice.

For 19's generally most go for 235/35/19's. The area i did the most research is in side wall stiffness. The stock conti 17's have very stiff side wheels which is a conti trademark for in tyre. I found the Michelin Pilot sports had one of the most supple ride of many tyres i came across.

What i getting at is spend as much as you can on tyres when going for 19's. Most people who complain about the harshness is those who have cheap tires and i'm even referring to my non-vw friends. Its an expensive car, it deserves decent tyres.

The place to improve ride quality and where i'm headed is coilovers. You can have the drop you desire and depending on the kit some have seperate rebound and compression adjustments which you can dial your own set up to. Big bucks, yes, but it depends on how much you desire or value the best ride possible with the bigger rims.

[fuzion]

I concur with Tim about the MK5 being a bit nervous at low speed. Typical VW set of springs being over sprung compared to the damper valving.

I find my GTI with 19's rides just as good as the stock setup. I have H&R springs with a 35mm drop which helps dramatically. I think there matched perfectly to the stock damper valving. The only area where you can feel it is in low speed ride where it jiggles a bt more. This is where it comes down to tyre choice.

For 19's generally most go for 225/35/19's. The area i did the most research is in side wall stiffness. The stock conti 17's have very stiff side wheels which is a coni trademark for in tyre. I found the Michelin Pilot sports had one of the most supple ride of many tyres i came across.

What i getting at is spend as much as you can on tyres when going for 19's. Most people who complain about the harshness is those who have cheap tires and i'm even referring to my non-vw friends. Its an expensive car, it deserves decent tyres.

The place to improve ride quality and where i'm headed is coilovers. You can have the drop you desire and depending on the kit some have seperate rebound and compression adjustments which you can dial your own set up to. Big bucks, yes, but it depends on how much you desire or value the best ride possible with the bigger rims.

i concure with you too buddy lol!

also uomo, you can just search ebay! you will grab a bargain there definately if you keep a look out!

[Nardi330]

18s and 19s fit the gti's quite well and the load rating, come on guys really ... where do you get this from? lol

So the tyres which are on the ferrari's, porsches, lambo's, audi's etc have a bad load rating which might not be the similar one? as we all are "auto bahn drivers" here and track drivers?

there is no such thing as "bad load rating". it's just a matter of what is fitted as OEM.

there are 2 types of ratings, 1 is weight (which is usually a 2 digit number eg. 93) and the other is speed (shown by a letter eg. W)

up here in QLD, you cannot fit a tyre with a lower ratings. it is easy to match the speed ones cos most performance tyres (which 19s certainly are) have at least a W. the problem is weight. iirc OEM tyres is 91 but most of the 19s on the market don't go up that high. many only goes to 88.

usually the lower the profile, the lower the weight load rating.

so if a F430 comes with OEM tyres that have a weight rating of 88 then there isn't a lot of problem finding replacement tyres. but it's a different story for the GTI.

also many of those manufacturers u mentioned get bespoked tyres and they're very different to those off the shelf.

[Bing56]

19"x8.5".ET+48. RS4 Reps from Velocity motoring in the US. Landed cost to your door is less than AU$1500.00. Fitted with Yokohama Advan's 235x35. @ $130.00 each. The Facts: Pros;improved handling, smoother acceleration and stick to the road like the proverbial S--T to a blanket...Cons; rim rash and chips if not careful and can give minor rub on undulating corners at full WOT.