Would I have any problems running these tyres on a 7" wide rim on my MK2 vRS being lowered 40mm?

Thinking of the R888s and thought this size would be more beneficial over 205/40/17. Thoughts on this??

Also would the Federal 595 tyres be a cheaper alternative or not in the same league?

Edited 1 April, 201214 yr by VRS-Powered

The 215 will give you more ground contact, but therefore it'll also reduce the ground pressure.

So I'd not like to say if it's better, especially as your car already has less weight hanging out over the front wheels than mine.

I don't know how crazy you plan to go with power, but mine runs on 205 888s and I couldn't use any more grip, other than when first setting off in 1st for about a second where I get a little slip.

Going into 2nd I can only chirp the front tyres with 260(ish)bhp and about 380 lb/ft on a dry day at the pod.

I wonder how much extra drag (and weight) they will cause?

To be honest, for me, I've taken it as far as I want for power unless I come into a bit of cash. I just want to get a few bits sorted that will help bring my times down on the 1/4 mile.

Have you taken into account the bigger rolling radius of the tyre & the effect on the gearing?

http://kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

george

Edited 1 April, 201214 yr by sk4gw

To be honest, for me, I've taken it as far as I want for power unless I come into a bit of cash. I just want to get a few bits sorted that will help bring my times down on the 1/4 mile.

Having not been in your car I don't know how much wheelspin you get.

But I doubt you need the bigger size.

Just changing to 888s in the standard size will make a lot of difference, probably about 0.2 secondsor so on the quarter mile.

As mentioned above, you'll also be increasing the gearing by around 5% which is going to hurt acceleration anyway with the bigger size.

Thanks guys, think I'll go 205 then.

Is there much difference between the 888s and the 595s?

R888s are great tyres, theres no denying that, but they are pretty expensive and dont last that long. The biggest issue with R888s is they are LOUD.

I also found that 205 wide tyres tend to be no cheaper than a set of 215 wide tyres so for the extra grip alone i think its worth it. Keeping the same brand of tyre but going for the wider 215 will give more grip.

The Federal 595RS-R is regarded to have around 90%+ of the grip you get with the R888, but has better wet weather grip. Plus at around £50 per corner cheaper they are an absolute bargaiun. I'll happily sacrifice that 10% of grip and save £200 over the full car!!

I for one will be sticking 215 wide tyres on. You can discuss all day long the merits of staying 205 or going wider, but at the end of the day the Polo GTI, Ibiza Cupra and Audi A1 TSI all use 215 tyres as standard. Skoda have obviously tried to save money and put cheaper thinner tyres on. Tbh that probably goes some way to explaining why its 3 seconds a lap slower on track than the Polo GTI.

R1Rs are available in 17" now. I tried buying them from camskill as they were on offer really cheap, but they are out of stock. Gutted. Federals are my next choice, although im looking at Kumho ectsa V70A and Hankook RS2 Z212 as well.

Have you taken into account the bigger rolling radius of the tyre & the effect on the gearing?

http://kouki.co.uk/u...size-calculator

george

Its such a minimal change that there would be no noticable difference

Tyre Size Diameter Circumference Difference Speedo Fits Wheel Rim

---------- -------- ------------- ---------- ------ --------------

205/40 R17 596 mm 1872 mm 0.00 % 70.00 7x17 to 8.5x17

215/40 R17 604 mm 1898 mm 1.39 % 70.97 7x17 to 8.5x17

yo ucan go to 215/45 if you want although that will put you above the recognised 2.5% difference in rolling circumference. With this tyre at an indicated 70mph your car will be doing 73.55mph. However my GPS and tom tom show that when my car is at an indicated 70mph the GPS speed is around 67mph so it might actually make it moe accurate...

How is your DSG and the chargers behaving on the taller tyres?

I have used 888's for track use in the past.

If you are using as your Daily Driver tyre & wet use, i would suggest you look at Bridgestone Potenza RE 050a,

i seriously like these tyres.

They have been great this week on some fantastic driving roads at nearly 24 degrees of sunshine and they will still be good at 4 degrees celcius this week in rain and sleet.

george

You would be better off going for 215/40 if you want extra width, it's what I'm running on mine (Parada 2)

Don't forget that if you are only doing this for the quarter mile you can drop the front pressures a bit for an increased contact patch too.

I've met many people up there that do this and want to give it a go myself to see the effect...

One guy mentioned this to me at Pod but it was before my last run so will try it next time

Increasing the rear tyre pressures to make them rock hard will lower they're rolling resistance too.

What alloys are you going for? I'm not sure what to go for to keep the budget down. I've seen Fox Racing alloys,FX004 look pretty cool but I cant find much about their weight.

Was thinking of either Calibre Pro 7, not sure on weight (Approx £110 each) :

or Wolfrace Pro Lite @ 7.8KG each (Approx £110 each) :

These are the only two really that I've thought of as they aren't too expensive. Not sure when I do take the plunge whether to go for white to match the car or go for matt black to make the front look a little different to the rear .

I'm now looking at either the Federal 595s (215/40/17) or the Toyo R888 (205/40/17), I will only be buying them for the front so will work out cheaper than doing the whole car. These will only be used to travel and go up the 1/4 mile, I won't be using them as a daily tyre.

Edited 1 April, 201214 yr by VRS-Powered

If you are just putting a pair on the front for going up the 1/4 mile,

I would be tempted then to just buy a cheap set of Halfords rims with tyres,

& scrub/wear them well in, and spin them up before your run.

A set of rubbish tyres well worn down and not needing to be road legal can be surprising good off the line when warm.

Thats what we do for the Crail Thrash & for going Drifting with rear drives.

It gives you a pair of spares as well as the pair you are running,

& no worry about messing up rims when changing tyres.

Paint them if you want.

george

I for one will be sticking 215 wide tyres on. You can discuss all day long the merits of staying 205 or going wider, but at the end of the day the Polo GTI, Ibiza Cupra and Audi A1 TSI all use 215 tyres as standard. Skoda have obviously tried to save money and put cheaper thinner tyres on. Tbh that probably goes some way to explaining why its 3 seconds a lap slower on track than the Polo GTI.

Just because the A1 and GTI's use them as standard will the Fabia be OK? Doesn't look like there's much room to me

Doesnt look like much room!!! Theres a huge space between the wheel and arch.

Plus 215/40 tyres are only 8mm diameter larger than the stock 205/40 tyres and of course 10mm wider. Easily within limits.

The 215/45 tyres might be tighter though as they are around 28mm larger in diameter so potentially an issue if you are lowered.

re the 215's and the other VAG cars with the 1.4 TSi/DSG

I went and ordered a A1 with 185 bhp when they were first available to order (beautiful finished and a comfortable interior)

& i waited for it to be built,

during that time i test drove the lesser A1.

I was so disappointed with the handling that i cancelled the Audi. (it seemed like it was never coming anyway)

I then drove the Seat & the Polo GTi,

& then went looking for a vRS.

I can and have only been able to drive Autos since i lost my right leg when i was 17, i have driven and owned just about every type of Autobox ever built since the 70's, even ones built in the 60's..

If i had bought either the Seat or VW i think i would have put 205 tyres on as they give a better handling IMO,

& are better in the wet.

If you have not driven the Seat, Audi or VW, i suggest you go and blag a roadtest.

Pretend you are looking to change your Skoda.

While on the roadtest maybe Dont tell the salesman how much better the Skoda actually drives on real roads.

They will just tell you all about the Professional Road Testers opinions & published magazine times blah blah blah.

The vRS has IMO been 'sand bagged' a little to stop the more expensive VAG vehicles from looking a little bit expensive and

they dont want a buyer to think they are paying more for less.

george

Edited 2 April, 201214 yr by sk4gw

ive driven all three. Both the GTI and cupra out handle the vRS. Simple as that.

However the Cupra is very harsh IMO, both resist body roll much better than the Fabia. The Polo GTI is the perfect balance between the two, and is much better damped than both the vRS and Cupra. IMO, the vRS drives no where near as well as the GTI on the roads. On track id expect that to be an even larger gap. Probably where that 3 second gap that evo experienced on the Polo GTI vs Fabia vRS.

Ive not driven them on track yet, only my vRS. The soft setup in the Fabia made it great in the wet, but in the dry.....

I went and ordered a A1 with 185 bhp when they were first available to order (beautiful finished and a comfortable interior)

& i waited for it to be built,

during that time i test drove the lesser A1.

I was so disappointed with the handling that i cancelled the Audi. (it seemed like it was never coming anyway)

I almost bought a Focus RS, but i test drove the 1.6TDCI and hated it so i cancelled my order......

That just doesnt make sense to me. Ive not driven the A1 personnaly, but id expect it to drive just as well as the other sporty VAG models with the same platform and i wouldnt compare it to a lesser model!

It makes sense to me because i was just buying a Daily Driver for using where i live which is right beside the best driving roads in Scotland, but which dont have the best surfaces.

eg

http://www.forum.difflock.com/viewtopic.php?t=68860

I own other cars

& as i used to buy and sell and repair them for a living i have always driven anything i fancied over the years.

I am not into badge snobbery, luckily i just drive what i like & what suits me..

Firm seat & comfortable ride, room for an artificial foot & use the left foot without moving the throttle ,

& fast enough to stop some d!ck being up my jacksay tailgating.

A1 would have been perfect because of the seating,

but the ride or handling is not nice as i found out.

Try one and see yourself, you obviously have different requirements and likes from mine.

(the other half really wanted one, & will probably get one at some point, just not yet.)

If i want a track car then that is what i build or buy.

george

Edited 2 April, 201214 yr by sk4gw

So if you had driven a fabia 1.2 SE after your vRS order would you have cancelled your order because you were dissapointed with the handling?

NOt having a pop or anything. I too am not into badge snobbery, but i also understand the fabia isnt exactly the hot hatch of the moment

As i said i wasnt looking for the Hothatch of the moment, but i had the money to buy a A1 and liked the cabin, and thought about waiting for a Quatro, thinking that they were coming soon and would just be an AWD at a bit more money.

(as i now know, that will be a while before there is an affordable auto one)

I could have bought a A3, but then that was not what i wanted the seating and pedals do not suit me,

it was a small car i was buying, last year i was driving an IQ.,

when not driving my Tow Barge.

I had driven a Fabia Auto when they first came out,

thats how i know the seating position suited me.

It was a 122bhp A1 Sportline that i roadtested on 215's, and it was just not to my taste,

& i wanted the Optional softer Suspension on the 185 brake A1 when i ordered it,

& they took the order and then said not available.

I have not driven the A1 since but i will give it a try.

As i said in the first place, i would be putting on the slightly narrower tyres, but then i usually do run Winter tyres.

george

Edited 2 April, 201214 yr by sk4gw

Plus 215/40 tyres are only 8mm diameter larger than the stock 205/40 tyres and of course 10mm wider. Easily within limits.

It was the width I was concerned about. I'll have to look again.