Zenith wheels ideal tyre size for comfort

[Pete23]

Having a bit of a dilemma, currently running 15" alloys with winter tyres originally from Czech Republic, also have a set of 17" Zeniths, both sets with tyres on the last leg. Do I get good everyday budget runners on the 15" and sell the 17" or can I get tyres comfortable enough for long everyday runs on UK roads on the 17" and sell the 15"??

Many thanks for any input and personal experience.

[Jevpls]

I have the same car as you with 15''s. I don't see any reason why should I get 16''s or even 17''s. Basically the only benefit is the look in case it's important for you (I prefer the look of 15''s rather than 18''s). Theoretically you should have better handling in curves with larger rims but I doubt that it's that important unless you are a rally driver. At least I'm able to drive fine with my 15''s.

Disadvantages of using 17''s:

1) tyres cost significantly more;

2) worse acceleration and fuel economy;

3) the larger the alloy, the less rubber you get. In a pothole it's a greater chance to damage your alloy rim and it makes driving less comfortable;

4) heavier alloys are worse for your car's suspension.

 

That's my opinion. I guess that most of Briskoda members will disagree

Edited 25 February, 2016 by Jevpls

[dudgers]

I switched to 17 last year,awfull.Now back on 15,much more comfortable.

[philbes]

My car has 225/40-18s and I wish it didn't. My winter 225/45-17s are a slight improvement. My last car, a 202 Civic Type-S had 205/55-16s which gave perfectly adequate road-holding and handling and a damn sight better ride than my current car.

Unfortunately all new cars, except the basic models, are being fitted with larger and larger wheels and tyres - in my opinion, style over engineering.

[Jevpls]

Unfortunately all new cars, except the basic models, are being fitted with larger and larger wheels and tyres - in my opinion, style over engineering.

 

I agree. High performance cars probably need larger wheels just because they are high performance cars. Do these simple passenger cars really need that? A friend of mine bought an Opel (Vauxhall) Astra recently. They offered him 17''s but he was able to buy one with 16'' wheels. It's a 115 hp petrol car - why there is any need for these 16''s?

[Pete23]

Thanks for all the input, it pretty much answers the question. The roads in Essex are not that great and my dog hates bumpy rides. Also my good old skoda is a everyday runner and work horse (1000km/week) and as its currently doing around 70mpg I cant ask for a better car. 15" and lot off rubber it is then. Thanks!

[Jevpls]

I understand your decision but I still don't understand how do you manage to get 70 mpg (that's basically 3,4 l/100 km). On my  most economical rides I get ~4 l//100 km (that's what my computer says and probably it's closer to 4,5 l/100km what's ~52 mpg in real life).

[Pete23]

Apologies, conversion mistake, I'm doing 4,6-4,8 l per 100km 61 ish mph I think, basically 1070 - 1100 km out of a tank..my mk1 2003 1.9tdi was as good and I have given it to my younger brother as a wedding gift at 360k (km) and it is still running as strong as ever..

[xman]

my mk1 2003 1.9tdi was as good and I have given it to my younger brother as a wedding gift at 360k (km) and it is still running as strong as ever..

 

Glad I don't have you as my older brother. I don't think I could handle such generosity!!  

[Pete23]

lol, it is still worth over 2k back in Czech so not too shabby and about 2k more than his old car .)  ..better than a washing machine or an ironing board heh

[duro]

I have standard 16" alloys on my car (Turanza OEM tyres) and I bought a set of 2nd hand 15" steel rims to use with winter tyres. Currently they seem to provide the same degree of comfort but I've to say that the winter tyres are wooden Turkish ones that I got with the wheels (noisy and really scary in the wet; I plan to change at least the front ones with decent Conti's).

I have experienced the differences in ride quality depending on wheel size on the various Yaris we had.

The old 1st series I had was on 14" and was quite comfy.

Wife's current 2nd series rides on 15" (OEM because of "Luxury" variant) and I find it too harsh.

My son's 2nd series 1.8 wears 17" and is as hard as a wooden board. Even he, the young warrior, sometimes complains about that (but he'll never swap them with lesser wheels, obviously).

I think each car should wear a wheel size proportioned to its size and weight. Small hatches shouldn't go beyond 14" and mid-sized family cars like the Octavia shouldn't go beyond 16". Unless you want max roadholding performances in high-spec cars (see VRS) and be prepared to withstand harsh riding.

Oh, and obviously for every inch of extra diameter there's a premium to pay.

[labman1001]

I have to agree the cars these days are fitted with larger wheels purely for cosmetic reasons but as pointed out this leads to massive increase in tyre prices ....

My car has 17" wheels that require 225/45/17 W rated tyres in a car that peaks out at under 130mph so why does it require such expensive and over rated tyres when it would cope just as well, if not better, on 15" wheels with 195/65/15 H rated tyres at a fraction of the cost

[brad1.8T]

On my 2007 Octy sedan I've run:

16x6.5" with 205/55r16

16x7.5" with 225/55r16

17x8"  with 225/45r17

17x7.5 with 225/50r17

and currently 18x7.5 with 225/40r18

 

My ideal combo would be 17x8 or 7.5 with 235/45r17