MK6 Wheel / Rim / Tyre Thread

[walbjj]

No dramas at all but I'd put the new on the rear & the rears on the front (put the L on the R & vice versa).

If you are really set on putting the new ones on the front then keep an eye on the tread depth & when the fronts equal the rears put the rears on the front

firstly, if its a fwd car then always put the newest tyres on the driving wheels, aka FRONT. the rears are trailing wheels, so there is less traction needed.
secondly, swapping left and right is not recommended especially if they are directional tyres. and are designed to be used on one side only. if its the re50, then i think they are asymmetric, so no go with swapping.
the safe play here is just stick new on the front, and see how much tread there is on the rears.
as far as mcgraths vw goes, well thats her fault for taking the car to a stealership. unless you are specific and double check their work, i always take and trust my car to a vag independent workshop

[nickSFC]

Thanks for the feedback all.

Coming up to 25k kms on this set. I've only ever taken it to Barloworld Mascot for servicing, and not sure if they've been rotated or not (maybe they did and I didnt realise?).

I'll just get the new ones put on the front, and probably get an align done at the same time.

[walbjj]

Thanks for the feedback all.

Coming up to 25k kms on this set. I've only ever taken it to Barloworld Mascot for servicing, and not sure if they've been rotated or not (maybe they did and I didnt realise?).

I'll just get the new ones put on the front, and probably get an align done at the same time.

u should always get an alignment done with new tyres, especially if u havent had it done in over 20k

[Diesel_vert]

After reading around, I'll probably go for the Goodyear Eagle Asy 2's... there should be no dramas getting just the 2 for the front, and leaving the existing RE050's on the back, right?

Yes, you'll be fine.

In case anyone is wondering, there is no regulation stipulating that new tyres are to be fitted on the rear axle.

firstly, if its a fwd car then always put the newest tyres on the driving wheels, aka FRONT. the rears are trailing wheels, so there is less traction needed.

The current trend of tyre manufacturers advising fitting new tyres on the rear axle is based on the idea that the rear plays a crucial role in maintaining vehicle stability.

The tread depth of new tyres tends to reduce the likelihood of the back from swinging around in adverse conditions, especially during wet emergency braking and aquaplaning situations. A vehicle's stability system (if fitted) can prevent, or at least, reduce the severity of such behaviour, but neither can it override the laws of physics.

The tyre manufacturers are essentially arguing that preventing the back from swinging around in adverse conditions should be priority and in the public's interest (and probably their interest as well, from a liability viewpoint).

I'm not arguing either way, just pointing out their rationale.

secondly, swapping left and right is not recommended especially if they are directional tyres. and are designed to be used on one side only.

Directional tyres are designed to be rotated in one direction - they can be fitted left or right as long as the direction of rotation is correct.

If the tyres have to be taken off the wheels, refitted and rebalanced, then so be it - though I doubt many people would ask the tyre fitter to go to this much trouble.

if its the re50, then i think they are asymmetric

RE050 = directional tread pattern

RE050A = asymmetric tread pattern

[brad]

firstly, if its a fwd car then always put the newest tyres on the driving wheels, aka FRONT. the rears are trailing wheels, so there is less traction needed.

Bum-draggers need the better tyre on the rear due to lack of weight on the rear end. This is one of the reasons why the Skoda Fabia hatch has 15kg of ballast attached to the LH rear bumper bar.

History lesson: When New Zealand started importing large numbers of grey imports in the 1980s that were mainly FWD it was noted their was a substantial increase in single vehicle accidents. The NZ DOT commissioned a study by one of the universities and the report found that a substantial contributor to these accidents was the rear tyres aquaplaning or losing grip. The front end has enough weight over it to maintain traction but the rear end needs all the help it can get, hence best/newest tyres on rear.

Tirerack thinks so
Kleber think so
Michelin think so
Pirelli says so on page 13

secondly, swapping left and right is not recommended especially if they are directional tyres. and are designed to be used on one side only. if its the re50, then i think they are asymmetric, so no go with swapping.

Yes, an RE050 is directional and should only be run in the recommended direction of rotation (I have run directionals backwards but only after getting out the tyre tread cutter & making them uni-directional).

I have only ever seen RE050A(ssymetric) fitted as OEM VW tyres. Asymmetric have an inside & an outside but are not directional. They can be rotated front to rear & side to side.

Generally, the tyre on the drive axle will get a "set" in the belts due to acceleration forces. In order for this set to "relax" you need to put the tyre on the lazy axle for a while. The tyre on the lazy axle won't have these stresses on the belt & the direction of rotation can be changed without stressing the tyre excessively.
Here's Bridgestone's take on it
Tirerack

the safe play here is just stick new on the front, and see how much tread there is on the rears.

I suppose it would be but technically it's incorrect.

The real problem with always fitting the best to the rear is that you get stuck with constantly replacing the fronts & putting the new ones on the rear. This may suit some people but most prefer to replace tyres in sets of 4. This is why I said an alternative is to put the new ones on the front until they are worn slightly less than the rears, then rotate them & every time the fronts get a couple of mm less than the front, rotate them again (say every 7500-10,000km). It isn't ideal but at least you can change all 4 at once & you dont get an aged tyre (5+yrs old) on the rear after going through 3 sets of fronts.

as far as mcgraths vw goes, well thats her fault for taking the car to a stealership. unless you are specific and double check their work, i always take and trust my car to a vag independent workshop

Well, good for you! I take mine to an independent as well.

It's her first new car in 30 years & she thought she was doing the right thing going back to "VW factory trained mechanics". Neither her or her husband are "car people". My BIL is one of the best builders in the area. As he said "If somebody comes & asks me to build a mansion I don't leave the flashing off the roof & tell the client it's their responsibility to worry about water leaks".

There are no specialist independents in their area anyhow. Busy people. Both work, 3 kids, etc. Traveling 25km to the nearest specialist independent isn't an option.

[Fixxxer]

Lots more things to consider aswell - the development of better tyres over the 3-5 years since you last bought, the difference in tyre types (all season/summer), as well as tyre brands being better than others, e.g., Michelin vs Kumho vs Goodride.
These will all impact on whether it is appropriate to change a few tyres, put the best on front/back, etc.
I'm looking at getting 2 new tyres soon, the Michelin PS3's that are half worn will go on the rear, because I believe these are better than the 'cheap brand' rears of a similar age (but more tread depth).

Newies will go on the front.
Fixxxer

[Diesel_vert]

It's best practice to replace tyres as a complete set.

I understand that not everyone follows this for whatever reason (which is perfectly legitimate), but fitting two new tyres will always have compromises, irrespective of which axle they're fitted to - this is generally indisputable.

It's more a question of exactly how much of a compromise there is - the problem being that, the degree of compromise will be different for everyone, as it depends on countless variables with many factors need to taken into consideration.

[moda]

Recommendations for places/stores to look for wheels?

Getting a 103TDI and want to get some nice wheels for it, over the stock 16s.

Something similar in style to the GTI/R/S4 wheels?

[DionM]

Well I've gone through a set of front Asymmetric 2s on the Jetta. 1.5mm on front, 5mm on rear.

I was lazy and didn't rotate them, got 14000kms.

Oh well. Learnt my lesson. Don't be so lazy.

[Bel]

I find it odd that my tyres are wearing so well... 45k service coming up (42k on the clock) and same tyres as always with a decent amount of tread. I do get them rotated ever second (15k) service, must make a difference?

[brad]

Depends on driving style & where you drive.

I have Michelin Primacy at the moment. They're just on 65,000km & get x-rotated every 10,000-15,000km. They've still got about 15,000km left on them. Then again, at 115,000km my front brakes are on 8mm & the rears on 4mm. I do mostly motorway driving & would be lucky to use my brakes 10 times in a 45km commute. I usually only accelerate briskly once in 2nd or 3rd gear.

I got 45,000km out of the original CSC2.

[walbjj]

Depends on driving style & where you drive.

I have Michelin Primacy at the moment. They're just on 65,000km & get x-rotated every 10,000-15,000km. They've still got about 15,000km left on them. Then again, at 115,000km my front brakes are on 8mm & the rears on 4mm. I do mostly motorway driving & would be lucky to use my brakes 10 times in a 45km commute. I usually only accelerate briskly once in 2nd or 3rd gear.

I got 45,000km out of the original CSC2.

Also depends on tyres. Those michelin tyres are more of a touring Tyre and have a harder compound. Great for longevity but not so for performance. Then again. U said u do mostly motorway which wouldn't necessitate cornering abilities of a performance Tyre.
I've gotten 38k km from my dunlop sport max and it has plenty left before the indicator.

[brad]

Also depends on tyres. Those michelin tyres are more of a touring Tyre and have a harder compound. Great for longevity but not so for performance. Then again. U said u do mostly motorway which wouldn't necessitate cornering abilities of a performance Tyre.
I've gotten 38k km from my dunlop sport max and it has plenty left before the indicator.

Indeed they *are* a touring tyre. TW 340 IIRC. Same as what they fit to the slippy/slidy GT86/BRZ & Prius.

Keep in mind the 45,000km I got on CSC2 (with life remaining). Some have got a lot more but others were throwing them away at 20,000km

[Cplus]

my 118TSI (2009) came stock with Dunlop SP Sport 1a.

these were nice tyres, but did not last long at all. I think the wheel alignment from factory was also less than ideal (too much front camber)

got around 15,000 km before the wear was starting to be uneven and rotating was not an option. replaced the fronts at the advice of the dealer/tyre shop with Michelin Pilot Sport 3's at around 20,000. the Dunlops were hard to find and were crazy price ($450+!) when I did. Replacing all 4 is ideal, but the rears were in good nick, so would have been throwing money away.

The new fronts and the OEM rears then went to 35,000km (rears now gone, fronts still had a reasonable amount of life) and then I replaced all 4 with Yokohama Advan DB Decibel. These are Yoko's premium "luxury/sports" tyre and they are brilliant. Very low noise and better grip than either the Dunlop or Michelin.

These (and a good alignmnet) have now been on for 15,000km and they look like new still.

Cracking tyres. I will definitely buy them, or their replacement again.

[slam]

My Mk 6 GTi was delivered with Bridgestone Turanza ER300 tyres. Never understood why VW would fit touring tyres on a GTi, when I’ve seen plenty others delivered with performance tyres such as Conti Sport Contact, Dunlop Maxx Sport, etc.

Have been considering getting some better tyres since I plan to take the car to the track once in a while. Current short list includes Michelin PS3, Conti SC5, Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 2, Bridgestone RE002, Bridgestone S001.

Tirerack is selling Bridgestone S-04 at USD 118 each, Conti Extreme Contact DW at USD 115 each, and the GY F1 Asymmetric 2 at USD 104 each. Sounds like a bargain but shipping is around USD 400, add another $80 or so for fitting & balancing and it is no cheaper than buying locally.

Any thoughts / comments / suggestions? Can I expect a big improvement in grip levels going from the ER300 to any of the above tyres?