Advice on wheels

[Thinlysliced]

Hi all,

I have a Skoda superb 2010 SE Diesel and it currently has 18 inch alloys.  I am considering changing these for something with a bit more rubber.  My job means I spend a good amount of time travelling to people's houses.   Having never kerbed an alloy in the many years of driving I have kerbed this one twice already and have just had a near miss with a prat on a country lane which meant I hit the kerb again.  None are disastrous or irreparable but I think the alloys protruding from the rubber is a daft idea.  

 

 

Which would you go for 16 inch or 17 inch alloys?

[chimaera]

Some people have gone with higher profile tyres on the 18s and been happy with the result. Kerbing is a risk with any of the wheel sizes unless you live in an area with especially low kerbs. Getting tyres with a good rim protection edge will help a lot more.

[philbes]

Some tyres have an additional rubber 'rubbing strip' on the sidewall that gives some protection to the wheel rims.  The Goodyear F1 Asymmetric tyres fitted to my car offer such protection.

[Thinlysliced]

Thanks, Chaps, the other aspect I thought the ride maybe a little less firm with more rubber.  I am spending a fair bit of time on country lanes, some better than others.

[terrytowelling]

16 are best for practicality , they are quieter , give a smoother ride are cheaper and don't puncture so readily. What's not to like , you can't see them from in the car either

Edited 28 October, 2016 by terrytowelling

[KenONeill]

I've never kerbed a rim on any setup that gives a 110mm tyre wall height. (eg 205/55 section).

[DEL80Y]

90mm on a 225/40 ....

Its the state of the roads and potholes thats making me change over to 17" winters very soon and see how it goes with them..

[KenONeill]

I've never kerbed a rim on any setup that gives a 110mm tyre wall height. (eg 205/55 section).

 

 

90mm on a 225/40 ....

Its the state of the roads and potholes thats making me change over to 17" winters very soon and see how it goes with them..

And the UK standard for kerb height is 4" (101.6mm).

[TheRobinK]

 

Which would you go for 16 inch or 17 inch alloys?

 

I live in a country area with a lot of poor roads and also a lots of lanes/roads with sharp bends. Often fun to drive but also harsh on the butt.

 

What I found, like you, was that the 18' look great but are no good to me due to the quality of road surface in my area.

 

The 16' give the nicest ride (had them on a loaner while a warranty repair was being done) but I felt a bit of slip on sharp corners.

 

The 17', which my car came with (225/45 R17), and I thought would need to be changed to 16' for my butt and my chassis sake, have been surprisingly good. After more than a year with them I'm happy. The ride has been much better than I thought and the cornering is not far off the 5 Series with 18's that I had previously. 

 

So - if my area had a crap surface,not covered in bends and sharp corners and had lots of kerbs -  I'd say 16's. As I do have loads of bends and corners and crappy surfaces and not many kerbs - I'd say the stock 17's are the ticket. 

Edited 28 October, 2016 by TheRobinK

[Superb170]

17s are the best compromise, taking aesthetics and comfort into account IMO.  18s look great but will suffer with poor ride.  I am one of those that went with the 45 profile - see here plus a few more threads on here too http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/372068-change-to-45-profile/.  I am now on my second set of 225/45/18 and very happy with ride quality - pretty much the same as 225/45/17 on my last Superb.  The main thing is the crashy ride has disappeared and there is more rubber there.  Less issues with kerbing.  Make sure you get XL sidewall tyres too.

[TheRobinK]

Make sure you get XL sidewall tyres too.

 

... and a kerbing rib (the rubber bit that sticks out further than your rims!) if there is any chance that someone like my beloved sister may ever drive your car, even on her own driveway.

 

(i.e. Robins sister = anyone who thinks that kerbs are there to make a thump noise - the noise that God gave cars to say "You can stop now and dry steer some more!)

[Thinlysliced]

Thanks All

[terrytowelling]

Hankook Tyres are £55 for 205 's . what's not to like ;-)

[silver1011]

See here...

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/373406-can-i-fit-22550-r17-tyres-to-my-superb/

 

I couldn't stomach 16's, hugely practical but they look like trolley casters on a Superb.

 

I stuck to 17's but fitted a higher profile tyre with a rim protector for ultimate protection...

 

[Greenline3Matt]

I went from 16" to 18" on mine and I have to say it rides really well. I am running 225/40 Vredestein Quatrac 3's.

[andrehj]

16" are by far the best option for the OP (I am a satisfied user of them), but if you still want to go for 17", make sure you get a 7" wide rim, like the Venus type and not a 7.5" one. These 7" wide rims are a little less easy to kerb.

[Thinlysliced]

Well I took the plunge and have bought a second hand set of 17 inch Alloys (the same ones as Silver1011), My mechanic mate is going to check them over before they go on the car, but all seems good so far.

 

I will let you know how I get on.

[psycholist]

On the 16" wheels I use for winter is surprisingly easy to unstick them under power on wet roads, while the wider 17" wheels I use for the summer have a lot more grip. On the winters on slippery roads I get fidgeting in 3rd on full power, which barely ever happens above 2nd gear with the 17s. I know they're different brands, but I've had 3 sets of summer tyres (All of which had A wet grip) and 1 set of winters (Again A wet grip) so far and I have to be conscious of having less grip in the limit for the first couple of weeks after changing.

 

The ride quality is almost the same between the summer and winter tyres, the 16s are very slightly more comfortable on chewed up back roads. The steering is slightly lighter at low speeds on the narrower tyres too.

 

A further benefit of higher profile tyres is improved fuel economy.