The Official Polo Tyre Thread

[kaanage]

Got 175/65 Michelin XM2s mounted on my 14" rims today - now I can push for some real performance numbers!!

Finally swapped to these rims and the XM2s are AWESOME. Ride is basically back to stock vs the jiggly firmness and occassionally thumpy ride when I had the B12 kit fitted with the stock tyres and wheels plus there is a surprisingly noticable improvement in fuel economy. And the road noise seems muted too. No doubt, the higher profile has a lot to do with the improvement in refinement but given that I'm running 36 psi all around, the suppleness is very impressive.

For general use (ie non-aggressive), I don't see any reason to need any more tyre (ie wider, grippier etc) on a non-GTi Polo (or even most of the GTi Polos I see driven by middle aged ladies).

OE 195/55R15 on left vs 175/65R14 on the right

[WEDEL.1]

Mmmmmmm, thought provoking post Greg.

Maris

[FLYINGTI]

Hey guys!
whats the polo gti 16" standard wheels offset??

[seangti]

Hey guys!
whats the polo gti 16" standard wheels offset??

there's a difference in offset between the 06 and 07 onwards models. I believe it's 43mm and 45mm, but don't quote me and I'm unsure which way round. search polo offset and those numbers should narrow it down.

[WEDEL.1]

For non GTI owners.

I recently replaced the Toyo Transas Teo Eco tyres (185/60 X 14) tyres on the Polo at 92,000 kms. These were the 2nd set of tyres, so an ave. of 46,000 out of each set isn't too bad.

However, I am always looking for ways of saving money, so I bought a set of Firestone TZ700. These are listed as a Touring tyre which is what I want. I bought them in 195/60 X 14 size which made them approx 12mm taller. The wheels now fill the wheel arches more, so the wheels don't look like shopping trolley wheels. This added another bonus in 6mm extra ground clearance so we don't scrape coming in & out of the driveway, 11 revolutions less each Kilometre, makes the speedo accurate within 2Km/h and offers a bit more protection against kerbs & stones. Hopefully this means more Kms out of the tyre.

The ride is noticeably smoother and the tyre is as quiet as anything I have had and the power steering seemed to get more power in it. All this for $115 fitted, balanced and tyre disposal, I am very happy at this stage. A bonus was the great service from the boys at Bridgstone Modbury.

Some pics;









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[kaanage]

Well I've just proven to myself, today, that running semi slicks (195/55/R15 Advan 048R) and fuel saving tyres (175/65R14 Michelin XM2) together make for a very weirdly unbalanced car. Cruising through hills with a mixed set is not something I aim to do again (ever)

[WEDEL.1]

Hahahahahahaaha. You're always trying something different Greg.

Maris

[kaanage]

I actually just fitted a single semi-slick to the drivers rear but even this caused the front to push badly in both directions. Immediate turn in on right handers wasn't bad as it tended to 'hook' the front around like a pivot point but once into the turn, it still overwhelmed the available front end grip, despite being on the lightly loaded inside.

I only did this to put a gentle heat cycle into the semi-slick as it was the replacement for the one that I killed and I didn't want to waste the first session at my next track day, toodling around, just to break in a single tyre.

[gavs]

Was rather intense watching from behind, the car just never looked quite right, I could see the front pushing wide quite a few times, one especially where the car just kept running onto the other side of the road after a left hander!

[kaanage]

Never looked right? You should have tried driving it!!! I did push the exit on that particular turn as I could see well up the road in advance so I knew there was no oncoming traffic - behaviour was as expected: massive understeer as the additional weight transfer made the outside rear stick even harder along with the traction requirements overwhelming total grip of the fronts.

I still contend that the 175 width XM2 is more than enough tyre for most Polos as I only held up one car in the group + the gentle and progressive breakaway characteristics make it very controllable as the limits are approached. In fact, even at a track day, it would be a good tyre for inexperienced drivers to learn with as they could learn the car's on the limit cornering behaviour and recovery techniques when overcooking a turn at slower speeds with highly predictable response.

[tooch]

I've got a set of Audi TT rims (17x7.5, +32 I believe) which I will be getting tyres for soon. Car has stock suspension at the moment but thinking of chucking a set of lowering springs in it soon.

Should I run 215x40x17 or 205x40x17? I'm leaning towards 205.

[gjuu]

Car - 08 Polo GTI
Rim Size - 16x6.5 (Standard GTI rims)
New Tire - Federal 595 RS-R
Tire Size - 205/45/16
Cost - $800
Tire Replaced - Original Continental
Km's On new Tire - 200km

Thoughts on New Tire - They are only new so this will obviously change over time
- Sticky off the line. A lot easier to get moving without being blinded by the ESP light. I haven't had the chance to fully test them yet but after a few spirited launches at the lights i expect great things.
- Sticky around corners - unbelievably so... corners and roundabouts that i take every day fighting understeer are taken as if on rails
- Quiet - for now. From reviews etc i have read I was expecting them to be noisy but they seem quieter than the originals.
Overall impression is that even if they only last a short time they are well worth the price for the fun they add just driving around the streets.

Update: Just put some kms on the tyres with a trip up to Port Douglas (about 420kms each way). For those that don't know from Townsville to Cairns is highway driving of around 350kms of some of the most attrocious roads you have ever seen in sections. But from Cairns to Port Douglas great windy roads along the coast.
So first day after 350 kms of highway driving then hit the windy road...the tyres felt as fresh as with grip to spare into and around the corners with heaps of traction coming out.
To give you some idea of the road speed of the corners, the speed limits are between 80 to 100km/hr with advisory corner speeds of down to 20kms/hr...so lots of sharp corners but a speed limit that allows for cornering fun and powering through the short sections of straight road between the corners.
The car and tyres performed amazingly with a TON of grip - the wife commented that it was like riding a roller coaster with the really sharp turn in, the flying flat around a corner and powering out.
The following day took a trip to back to Cairns and did it all again on colder tyres - I couldn't tell the difference in the feeling of security.
The only thing - which time will tell - is how long they last.

[POwers]

Car - 06 Polo GTI
Rim Size - 16x6.5 (Standard GTI rims)
New Tire - Kuhmo KU-39s
Tire Size - 205/45/16
Cost - $185 each fitted
Tire Replaced - Original Continental sc2's
Km's On new Tire - 10km

Tried to find the ku-31's everywhere but no one has them (sydney) so I got these, the pattern looks similar to the conti's and the noise is about the same so far, yet to take it on the freeway will update when I do.

[Spec83]

Car - 06 Polo GTI
Rim Size - 16x6.5 (Standard GTI rims)
New Tire - Kuhmo KU-31s
Tire Size - 205/45/16 87W
Cost - $135 each fitted @ Stylish Wheels, Moss St
Tire Replaced - Toyo T1-R
Km's On new Tire - 50km

These tyres appear to be bigger than the Toyo's they replaced, but are the same size/specs... Dry grip seems fine thus far. I would have replaced with T1-R's again except the price on those is well north of $200 each now..

[POwers]

nice price on those 31's Spec83 they dont sell them anywhere in syd atm!