Can anyone explain to me the point of low profile tyres? You see some which look like a rubber band around the wheels. Consequently the ride is harder than travelling in a wheel barrow. I note that one VRS driver in one of these forums raised the stiff ride in the back of his new car making passengers sick.- not surprising! Is it just for aesthetic value because it seems to me that drivers are sacrificing comfort for fashion. I know some people like the ride firm but I would not buy a VRS (and I wanted too) because of that.

It seems that tyre walls have got more rigid to cater for low profile tyres and there is no give at all in them at all if they are low profile. Reminds me of those dreadful cross plies we had years back.May as well be riding on cart wheels!!

Can someone explain please!

Edited 23 March, 201016 yr by morganic

Can anyone explain to me the point of low profile tyres? You see some which look like a rubber band around the wheels. Consequently the ride is harder than travelling in a wheel barrow. I note that one VRS driver in one of these forums raised the stiff ride in the back of his new car making passengers sick.- not surprising! Is it just for aesthetic value because it seems to me that drivers are sacrificing comfort for fashion. I know some people like the ride firm but I would not buy a VRS (and I wanted too) because of that.

It seems that tyre walls have got more rigid to cater for low profile tyres and there is no give at all in them at all if they are low profile. Reminds me of those dreadful cross plies we had years back.May as well be riding on cart wheels!!

Can someone explain please!

Lower profile tyres generally result in better handling (but yes normally a harsher ride.) This is because there is less flex in the tyre wall thus making the cars suspension do more work which it what you want around corners etc as ARB help you out

My (Fabia)vRS has 17inch Wolfrace Riga Alloys with 205/40 tyres (215/40 tomorrow!) combined with Apex -40mm and standard shocks and it rides surprisingly well Its actually has a smoother ride then my old 2.0 Furby on Eibach and Koni adjust ables

Edited 23 March, 201016 yr by Thirdtimeluck

Can anyone explain to me the point of low profile tyres? You see some which look like a rubber band around the wheels.

I dont understand whats your point in the first place. If you drive around with larger alloys you need low profile tyres to have the same wheel diameter.

So its not the question why having low profile tyres. Its the question 15, 16, 17....inches...

Edited 23 March, 201016 yr by digidoctor

I dont understand whats your point in the first place. If you drive around with larger alloys you need low profile tyres to have the same wheel diameter.

So its not the question why having low profile tyres. Its the question 15, 16, 17....inches...

I understand the need for low profile tyres with larger wheels. Okay then why do you need larger alloy wheels? Back in the fifties we had large wheels on cars-VWs were 15" and some Fords 16" but we did not have some of the ridiculously low profile tyres that we have now! I think it more about looks than anything.

Tyre wall flex (or lack of it) is a key element of handling performance in my opinon. However, for comfort reasons I would never go lower than 40 profile on a rim my size. If they would clear the front brakes, I would much rather run 16" alloys with 45 profile tyres.

Its to do with slip angles. Which change the way the car turns into corners. But there is a limit towhat is good. I find the VRS has the balance about right.

I gotta say I agree with the OP a bit. I got an SE spec 123D over the M Sport as the Run Flat Tyres (rock hard sidewalls make a choppy ride) mean the M Sport was like a space hopper on acid! The slightly more compliant SE suspension means that cross country I reckon that it is as quick as the M Sport. Perhaps on an ultra smooth surface or a track the M Sport would be better, but in the real world it’s just too hard. I recently drove an A4 on 19” ultra low profile tyres and it’s ride was very nervous, it tramlined and was quite noisy. A similar car on 18” wheels and slightly bigger sidewalls seemed to be a much better match to British roads imho

F1 cars have enormous sidewalls and run very very low pressures in them, but they are a rather special construction. I feel sure that if it wasn’t for the aesthetics, we would have great handling comfy tyres with big sidewalls. The only thing is they would look a bit pants

I had an Ibiza FR which had sport suspension, and had 205/40/17 all round. Handling was great, but the ride was rougher than a badgers arse.

I've got an Octy II with Pegasus wheels and Sports Suspension at the moment, 225/45/17 and the ride is MUCH better, but still handles pretty well but obviously not quite as nimble as its predecessor

Next up will be a vRS, I believe this rides on 225/40/18 ? Should be interesting comparison

The main advantage with low profile tyres is the reduced side wall flexing when cornering . This enables the tread to maintain full width contact with the road with more even contact pressure across the tyre width. .

High pofile tyres walls will distort in extreme cornering leading to wall flexing which reduces the width of contact .

In the extreme case of a tyre having say a 5% profile there would be very little side wall deflection but it would be an uncomfortable ride to say the least ( elastic bands ?).

The higher profiles have the advantage of balloons in that the tyre will deflect when encountering bumps whilst the lower profiles have less tyre height to absorb the bumps.

Normal low profiles of say 65% to 40% of the tyre width give reasonable steering response with a reasonable comfortable ride . Anything lower than 40% is very dependant on the suspension to give a reasonable ride.

In summary low profiles will give improved road holding during cornering whilst higher profiles will give a more comfortable ride with all shades between.

F1 cars have enormous sidewalls and run very very low pressures in them, but they are a rather special construction.

F1 cars are limited by regs - if they were not I suspect the'd have rubber bands

Can anyone explain to me the point of low profile tyres? You see some which look like a rubber band around the wheels. Consequently the ride is harder than travelling in a wheel barrow. I note that one VRS driver in one of these forums raised the stiff ride in the back of his new car making passengers sick.- not surprising! Is it just for aesthetic value because it seems to me that drivers are sacrificing comfort for fashion. I know some people like the ride firm but I would not buy a VRS (and I wanted too) because of that.

It seems that tyre walls have got more rigid to cater for low profile tyres and there is no give at all in them at all if they are low profile. Reminds me of those dreadful cross plies we had years back.May as well be riding on cart wheels!!

Can someone explain please!

I'm amazed to hear you didn't buy a VRS because of the firm ride!

If I have a complaint with the VRS it's that it's too soft! It's really got a lovely ride quality, not jarring or over-firm at all.

If it was my only car I'd change the suspension for the eibach sports kit for better control, however, I also have a Golf GTI Mk5 which has a great ride/handling balance & a VX220 for keen driving (at the expense of comfort)...so I'll leave the VRS alone for that soft ride on those longer journey's...I must be getting old!

Having tried a VRS last Saturday I was really impressed with how good the ride was compared to my Elegance with 16" alloys. It's firmer through the bends, but still amazingly compliant over the bumps. Driving an Octy with 15" wheels is a revelation though - the body is so stiff and the tyres so compliant that you really only see the bumps going under the car and can't feel them at all. I wouldn't like to try cornering hard on that one though.

F1 cars are limited by regs - if they were not I suspect the'd have rubber bands

I agree, but my point is they can make low pressure, huge sidewall tyres go round bends at over 4G without collapsing. Pretty clever innit.

Looks better, braaaaap!

And the back of my Dad's Mondeo I feel sick due to suspension, and it's very softly sprung

F1 cars are limited by regs - if they were not I suspect the'd have rubber bands

There is also basically no movement in the suspension on a F1 car, and they rely on the tyre side wall. That is why the tyre pressures are so critical.

For me, hard suspension and very low profile tyres are destroying cars ride quality. It isn’t the bump absorption I have a problem with, even though many cars crash horribly over small faults in the road, it’s the jittery ride these things give. Nice lightweight cars can get away with these things as their low sprung weight gives the engineers a chance to put a bit of ride quality into the mix even though the car feels firmly sprung (a la Lotus). But cars are so heavy these days in order to control the leaden beasts they put very firm suspension and some pretty strict dampers on them, then they stick big wheels with ULP tyres on it coz the design department says it will sell more cars and you have a recipe for overly firm, jittery cars that are no faster cross country (at least on typical UK backroads) than if they backed it all off a little and designed some quality ride comfort back into the car. Suspension systems are nowadays full of active systems on the better riding cars and often high performance cars are stuffed to the gills with this electronic flim-flam. No wonder cars are so expensive.

When I sold cars for a living I worked at Bauer Millet and we sold Rolls Royce and Bentleys, amongst other stuff. The ride quality was just that……..quality. Admittedly the cornering of the older vehicles was a bit like a cow on an ice rink, but they could sure remind you what you missed in a modern car.

My mk2 Escort Rally car rides loads better than my FL VRS Estate. Light 13" wheels do wonders for the unsprung weight

I find the Vrs ride is about right, even on my local 3rd world road surfaces. I read somewhere that the roads are equally atrocious in the Czech republic, so they are built with poor roads in mind.

If you think the Vrs is bad, try a BMW with runflats as others have said. I used to have one & would never consider a car fitted with them again!!

I think really big wheels and low profile tyres look gak!

Tiny diameter wheels with high profile tyres look so much cooler to me. Like these front tyres:

For me, hard suspension and very low profile tyres are destroying cars ride quality. It isn’t the bump absorption I have a problem with, even though many cars crash horribly over small faults in the road, it’s the jittery ride these things give. Nice lightweight cars can get away with these things as their low sprung weight gives the engineers a chance to put a bit of ride quality into the mix even though the car feels firmly sprung (a la Lotus). But cars are so heavy these days in order to control the leaden beasts they put very firm suspension and some pretty strict dampers on them, then they stick big wheels with ULP tyres on it coz the design department says it will sell more cars and you have a recipe for overly firm, jittery cars that are no faster cross country (at least on typical UK backroads) than if they backed it all off a little and designed some quality ride comfort back into the car. Suspension systems are nowadays full of active systems on the better riding cars and often high performance cars are stuffed to the gills with this electronic flim-flam. No wonder cars are so expensive.

When I sold cars for a living I worked at Bauer Millet and we sold Rolls Royce and Bentleys, amongst other stuff. The ride quality was just that……..quality. Admittedly the cornering of the older vehicles was a bit like a cow on an ice rink, but they could sure remind you what you missed in a modern car.

Hi Amanda,

Sorry to say but your comments are not accurate. It's much easier to get a better ride with a heavy car as it's ratio of sprung to unsprung weight is greater...that's part of the reason Rolls & Bentleys ride so well...they weigh tons!

Lotus are masters at ride & handling, but they are still hard compared to say a VRS. My VX was a Lotus until it left Hethel..then it turned into a Vauxhall...it's SO much harder riding than a VRS you wouldn't believe it!

As you're a BMW driver you're probably suffering with run-flat tyres...it's no surprize that they don't fit them to the M series models!

I think really big wheels and low profile tyres look gak!

Tiny diameter wheels with high profile tyres look so much cooler to me. Like these front tyres:

Love the berg cup arch's and the 1.8T under the bonnet!!

Hi Amanda,

Sorry to say but your comments are not accurate. It's much easier to get a better ride with a heavy car as it's ratio of sprung to unsprung weight is greater...that's part of the reason Rolls & Bentleys ride so well...they weigh tons!

Lotus are masters at ride & handling, but they are still hard compared to say a VRS. My VX was a Lotus until it left Hethel..then it turned into a Vauxhall...it's SO much harder riding than a VRS you wouldn't believe it!

As you're a BMW driver you're probably suffering with run-flat tyres...it's no surprize that they don't fit them to the M series models!

Sorry but I think your comments are not accurate When I bought my 123D the M versions had run flats and were horrendous.

As for the weight issue. I was referring to sporting cars (ones with ULP tyres) which, often very heavy, have very hard springs and dampers to cope with the lardy bodyweight. Old RR are not as heavy as you think. My little 123D weighs almost the same as a 3,0tdi Quattro A4!!! And that’s no lightweight either. Many cars weighing tons have poor ride, usually because of suspension design (I’m not even starting on some air-suspension models).

I have been very pleased with the ride of the vrs - seems to have achieved a good balance between handling and comfort, its quite firm but doesn't seem to react too badly to poor road surfaces. My previous (not a Skoda) car had very smart looking wide low profile run-flats and the ride was so bloomin' awful that I barely noticed when I had a flat at 70 on a motorway - yes the run flats helped in the extreme but most of the time it just crashed and banged over every surface imperfection to the extent I couldn't care less how it handled - by contrast my vrs has excellent compromise and I would certainly think again if you were initially concerned about a potentially harsh ride. In the meantime just try to persuade councils to restore some smooth surfaces to our road network.

if anyone is thinking of putting stupidly low profile tyres on a octy dont. i put my alloys off my rx-7 last week just to see how they would look. they looked great but 235/25/19 are extremly rough and back breaking they never lasted long till they were back on the rex. got 235/40/17's now much better and alot smoother.

I wonder if the reputed ride quality of the Skoda Yeti is due to testing on less smooth Czech roads than the glassy surfaced Bavarian variety? My driving in Germany is a bit limited, but in the northern sector between Denmark and Lubeck, the roads were very smooth in profile, if a little non-stick:) Even in Bavaria, the roads seem to have a top layer of fine surfaced bitumen, very unlike our limestone aggregate finish. Our roads in contrast are still like Chestertons "The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road. A reeling road, a rolling road, that rambles round the shire," etc.