Just switched from 18"s to 16"s

[superblack]

As my Superb has covered 93K and is 6 years old, the Themistos are looking rather sad as the lacquer is peeling and they have met a few kerbs. So looked at options; replacement / refurbishment or change size. By coincidence a set of old Audi 16" alloys of the correct spec. appeared on Ebay, so purchased thinking they would be good for winter use but by the time they arrived my front tyres were on the limit so checked tyre prices. Did not realise 16"s were so much cheaper so ordered some Dunlop sport blue response and what a difference, ride is much more comfortable and fuel economy is up 10% just with fronts fitted. Looked a bit stupid with Themistos on rear for a while until those wore out, but now 16"s on all four corners! Painted them with Plastidip matt black as car is black to moderate the appearance of the smaller wheels which I think has worked. Now dont need to clean /  polish them either and can switch to winter tyres at lower cost. A very satisfying and cost effective mod providing you are not into max size alloys. Only down side is space the stack of 4 Themistos takes!

[Noddy90]

The size of my 18" wheels compensates for my small penis.  I'd feel less of a man with 16" wheels.

[Wile7]

I'm sitting on 19's so better keep my mouth shut But I like the aesthetic and TBH comfort etc. is ok.

Superblack - glad to hear you are pleased with the outcome. I confess that I run 15's on my caterham and handling much improved over the 16's I had on.

Dave

[Scott78]

Any pics of the 16" rims?

I have themistos that are looking rough around the edges. Trying to decide whether to shell out for a full refurb or make do with a diy paint job. Or buy some alloy gators?

Cheers

[Gizmo]

Any pics of the 16" rims?

 

This is what mine looked like:

 

16” genuine Audi (made by BBS) winters:

 

 

On it’s older Audi 16” winter wheels:

[Danny 57]

They may be more comfortable but they do look lost (to me) in those wheel arches.

[Superb170]

They may be more comfortable but they do look lost (to me) in those wheel arches.

I have to agree there. Perhaps 17s are a good compromise aesthetically - also cheaper and perhaps quieter than 18s and I can you the rubber lasts a hell of a lot longer than 18s !

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[Nathanio]

Personally I don't get the comments on 18" wheels and tyres. I've come from a Seat Toledo with 15" moon tyres through an Octavia estate with 17" tyres to the superb with 18". Yes, the the ride is marginally harder but not that bad and overall feels nicely tied down. The rude overall is better than the Toledo and wives old C'eed with 16" tyres.

I had a C4 grand Picasso hire car recently with 15" tyres and that was unbearable. Roly poly handling with lots of mid corner tyre wall rolling.

17" possibly are a good compromise but I don't think the difference is vast in cost. I used to pay £78-80 for Hankook v12 evo in 225/45/17 and just paid £88 for Goodyear F1A2 in 18". I think the efficient grip s in 16" worked out to around £72 a corner in 205/55/16.

Maybe I'm just not old enough to notice! 31 years young here and drives a Skoda land barge!

[Scott78]

This is what mine looked like:

 

16” genuine Audi (made by BBS) winters:

 

 

On it’s older Audi 16” winter wheels:

Liking the audi rims in the first pic!

[Sparkly]

I run 17" at the minute.

Via Tyre Leader and Camskill you have a tonne of premium tyres at £50-60 a corner in 225/45/17, serious motivation to stay at 17" and ride comfort is currently to my mind far more down to typical skoda cheap and notsocheerful OEM springs and dampers rather than sidewall depth etc. I look forward to swapping out for some updated springs and in particular better dampers.

With that said for aesthetics I am looking for a reasonable priced set of 18" for daily driving so I can save my Triffids for trackdays

[peterposh]

When you're in the car on the motorway the 16 s are much better, quieter smoother and a more comfortable ride

[peterposh]

I replaced the tyres for £55 each , hankooks i couldn't believe it " much cheapness"

[silver1011]

It's the fuel economy that puts me off 18's.

 

Increased rolling resistance and the weight of those bigger wheels x4 has a noticeable effect.

[Gizmo]

I could still get 50mpg out of a remapped 170 on 18’s, OK when the winters (16”) went on the consumption improved very slightly, but only by a handful of mpg.

 

On a MKII Superb the ride quality is almost the same whether it ran on 16” winters (so they were 0.2 bar higher than std) or 18” Continentals. 

[silver1011]

The issue with the wheels are that they are unsprung weight.

 

Assuming all Superb's utilise the same suspension then the suspension on a car wearing 18's is working harder than that of a car on 16's.

 

Given that the Superb rides as well as it does on 18's is testament to the great set-up that Skoda have achieved but going for smaller wheels will be making life easier for the suspension.

 

Propelling and stopping higher unsprung weight and the higher inertia that bigger wheels bring will also effect fuel consumption.

 

The OP mentioned a 10% improvement, which for me is a significant number when covering 30K / year.

 

No doubt 18's are far more cosmetically pleasing though!

[silver1011]

I remember one of the few bits of negative press that the Superb got was how it performed in the infamous Elk Test.

 

The low profile tyres on the 18" Thermisto's didn't fare too well, they were taken of the market for a while in Sweden...

 

 

I think an increase in the recommended tyre pressures fixed the issue very quickly after the issue was raised.

[Hun1]

Guys, not to be a snob but if u can afford a Superb MY 2010 and + , why couldn't you afford to pay a bit extra for a pair of tires (normally i change them in the front every second year)?

 

Comfort wise i totally agree that driving on baloon tires will give u a smooth ride.  For me (with two small children age 1 and 3) there was no question changing my Trifid 17" to 19" (if roads in Sweden would be better even 20") summertime, looking now for a nice pair of 18" Skoda/VW/Audi for winter to replace my old 18" Zeniths from my previous Octavia RS..

 

the Superbs got big wheel arches, they need to be filled with less air (lowered) and lots of ALUMINIUM..  

[Sparkly]

Guys, not to be a snob but if u can afford a Superb MY 2010 and + , why couldn't you afford to pay a bit extra for a pair of tires (normally i change them in the front every second year)?

Comfort wise i totally agree that driving on baloon tires will give u a smooth ride. For me (with two small children age 1 and 3) there was no question changing my Trifid 17" to 19" (if roads in Sweden would be better even 20") summertime, looking now for a nice pair of 18" Skoda/VW/Audi for winter to replace my old 18" Zeniths from my previous Octavia RS..

the Superbs got big wheel arches, they need to be filled with less air (lowered) and lots of ALUMINIUM..

.

I have the means and do spend plenty on my car, beyond just tyres albeit I always advocate quality rubber, so any money saved there is money I can spend elsewhere. I don't really follow your points at all.

As for ride quality large or small alloys, there are so many variables that it is nowhere near as simple as big wheel bad small wheel good for ride quality

[Hun1]

.

I have the means and do spend plenty on my car, beyond just tyres albeit I always advocate quality rubber, so any money saved there is money I can spend elsewhere. I don't really follow your points at all.

As for ride quality large or small alloys, there are so many variables that it is nowhere near as simple as big wheel bad small wheel good for ride quality

Agree w U, i was thinking more in terms of aesthetics.. and my point was that cost wise there is no big difference but appearance wise it is.  And speeking of ride quality, has it been discussed here which (big) tires has the best comfort sound wise.. I searched the net for some quiet 19 tires w.o. any big success... 

[ChickenGeorge]

I have a 2012 Superb elegance and I love the car, hate the ride. I was looking to change the wheels for something more comfortable with a better ride, not worried about the looks so much as the comfort

but I wondered about upsetting the speedo readings and/or the tyre inflation warning. Is there a recommended type of 16" alloy for the superb? Also is there any chance of selling the originals, 18" with nearly new Continentals 225 by 40,

two brand new, two part worn?

[Gizmo]

I have a 2012 Superb elegance and I love the car, hate the ride. I was looking to change the wheels for something more comfortable with a better ride, not worried about the looks so much as the comfort

but I wondered about upsetting the speedo readings and/or the tyre inflation warning. Is there a recommended type of 16" alloy for the superb? Also is there any chance of selling the originals, 18" with nearly new Continentals 225 by 40,

two brand new, two part worn?

 

Welcome

 

If you fit 205/55/16” tyres then the speedo will not be effected (this is the OE size for the Superb)

 

as for selling your 18’s, join freedom and providing they are priced realistically then I’m sure they will sell on here.

[SkodaTC]

My 5 year old Thermistos look absolutely awful.  The delacquerification (new word) is widespread on all four wheels.  Can't honestly believe I've been that rough on them.

[Superb170]

. delacquerification (new word).

Nice word [emoji1][emoji1]

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[vegit8]

As a Yeti owner this subject caused much discussion on that forum a few years ago, a (very) small number of us actually managed to get our factory orders changed from 17's to 16's. The lesser models run quite well on these but dealers were unable to change the order from their end - It's not an option they would cry.

 

3 years later - I have loved my Yeti on 16's (summer and winter rubber) - Given a choice the winter Hankooks would be my all year preference, better handling and quieter than the conti's.

 

Anyhow, we are now considering a change to a Superb, I certainly don't like the idea of 18's, where we live there are deep potholes and the risk of pinching a tyre is huge.

I will keep my spare set of 16's with winter rubber, and see what can be done if we go for a new Superb.

 

I could swap the summer 16's from the yeti on purchase to the Superb, but a yeti on 18's would be just silly!!

[Stinker]

My 5 year old Thermistos look absolutely awful.  The delacquerification (new word) is widespread on all four wheels.  Can't honestly believe I've been that rough on them.

Don't you mean "delacquerificationess"?