Going from 16 to 19" wheels

[BecsTiggy]

Hi, I had been after a set of second hand New York wheels that have proved too hard to come by. I need new tyres soon so my next choice is a set of TTRS Audi replicas. Was talking to Jax at Bowen hills who are telling me I'd really not notice any difference between an 18" and 19" wheel in regard to ride comfort. I realise it will be a big change going from the standard 16's but hoping not too lose too much comfort. I will be staying with standard suspension. Any advice or experience with this would be greatly appreciated. Also like to know what tyre sizes people are running on 19's. Thanks Bec.

[NZTiguan]

From what I've read anything over 17s and you are likely to notice it. Personally I've stuck to 17s because of the bit of off-road work I do so i prefer a bit more sidewall.

Cheers

[team_v]

I went from 16 - 19 and it looks great.
There is noticably more transmission of road quality issues into the cabin though as you have a smaller sidewall to deal with the imperfections in the road.

I am running 245/45R19 Kumho Ku31's and they have performed flawlessly as a value for moeny performance tyre.
Now that i have been doing happy laps I have entertained the idea of 18" wheels so you get more variety and slightly cheaper tyre options and less NVH issues due to road quality.

[BecsTiggy]

Thanks, yeah I know I'm going to feel the road a fair bit more going from a 16 anyway. If it's not a lot of difference between a 18 and 19, I know the 19's would look a nice size. I will have a look at the kumhos, pretty sure they mentioned a Kelly k1 as an option. I havnt seen a tiggy with the ttrs in real life so I'm hoping they would suit well.

[team_v]

Thanks, yeah I know I'm going to feel the road a fair bit more going from a 16 anyway. If it's not a lot of difference between a 18 and 19, I know the 19's would look a nice size. I will have a look at the kumhos, pretty sure they mentioned a Kelly k1 as an option. I havnt seen a tiggy with the ttrs in real life so I'm hoping they would suit well.

The TTRS Wheels do look good, one of the forum members has them but he is based in the UK.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f97/tiguan-picture-thread-30354-45.html#post1005793

I have not heard of the Kelly brand but tyres is not something i would skimp on.
I pay roughly $210 per corner but i know their limits and i know they work really well in the rain we get here.

[tigger73]

Going from 16 to 19" wheels

I've had both 18's and 19's on my Tig and there was no major difference in the ride quality between the 2 sizes. The biggest difference was between the tyres I put on. Though you probably will notice it going from 16's to 19's as there's a much larger change.

Now just in case you look inside you fuel filler cap at the tyre sizes there, you'll see that the standard 19" tyre is 255/40R19. Be aware that this is for a wider rim (19x9) that is sold in other countries but not brought into Aus.

The reason for this is to be compliant with ADRs the tyre needs to sit inside the body of the car. To be legal you'll also need to purchase body extension kit to make the guards "fatter".

So you can either go this way or else do what a lot of us have done and only install 19x8 rims and 245/40R19 tyres. This will keep things sitting more flush.

I have also run 245/45R19 tyres to give a bit more sidewall and hopefully a bit softer ride. This does increase the diameter slightly and has the added benefit of not making your speedo over-read... Which can be a good thing and a bad thing depending on how close you drive to the speed limit

The only other thing you have to consider between rim sizes is cost and availability of tyres. As a general rule 19's are more expensive. But if it's looks you're going for then then consider it as an investment


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[brad]

What you will notice is the decrease in acceleration & responsiveness to throttle inputs & an increase in fuel consumption. Both due to the increase in weight of the wheel/tyre assembly.

This isn't an issue for most people but you might be one of the few who care.

[team_v]

What you will notice is the decrease in acceleration & responsiveness to throttle inputs & an increase in fuel consumption. Both due to the increase in weight of the wheel/tyre assembly.

This isn't an issue for most people but you might be one of the few who care.

Whilst this is the case for most wheels and definitely for rep's, my 19" RPF1's actually weigh less than my oem 16"s even with tyres.
It should be stressed that this is the exception rather than the rule though.

[brad]

Whilst this is the case for most wheels and definitely for rep's, my 19" RPF1's actually weigh less than my oem 16"s even with tyres.
It should be stressed that this is the exception rather than the rule though.

You got the good stuff most don't.

[Guy_H]

Our Tig in "street" form runs VWR rims, 18 x 8.5, light weight, no hub centric rings, stock centre caps, strong and does not protrude out of standard body.

Good option if you like the style (and really easy to keep clean )

$2695 a set of 4, in stock in Australia. The 18"s fit in either 8" or 9" versions we have in stock also.

[stiffy86]

Jax at Bowen hills took 2 days to put my tyres on my Savannah rims because, in his words "since you didn't buy tyres or wheels here we don't see you as a valued customer". Then I had to ask where my stock wheels were before I left as I don't think they planned on giving them back to me. Cheers a-holes

I didn't notice any difference between the stock or savannah wheels until I put coil overs in, now the majority of movement is in the sidewall flex as I'm back on my stock 16's. I put 245/40's on and they were fine on the Savannah's, prefer the slightly smaller sidewall so it lowers the car slightly and the speedo reads slightly high. Plus it's still legal in qld. I'll be going 235/45 on my next 19x9 so I hopefully don't cut up another tyre on my guard haha

[brad]

Probably best you find a new tyre shop. I can see their point but their actions won't be gaining any new customers.

We hated doing customer supplied tyres / wheels when i was in the retail tyre business. Our solution: Double the listed price & then give a 50% discount to our regular customers but maintain our normal good service / attitude.

Pretty stupid to hold a customers goods for longer than you need to - takes up too much space & what happens if there's a break-in/theft?

[BecsTiggy]

Thanks for the replies, leaning towards going with the 19's and 235 or 245 tyres x 45. Jax has heaps off second hand rims for sale so they probably planned on making some extra money out of them. Not in a great hurry at the moment but i will put pics up when I get them on. Oh, I would still put New York wheels on if by chance anyone knows of a set. I gave up looking for them though! Thanks.

[team_v]

I didn't think the New york style wheels were available in 19"
From memory they were the 18" option but most people won't sell them as they had to pay extra to spec up their car with them in the first place.

[tigger73]

Not wanting to put you off getting a set of New Yorks but they are a pain to keep clean....

Just something to keep in mind when buying wheels.


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