Hi. Contemplating speccing a new Superb L&K 150ps Tdi with the 19” wheel option but how much (if any) reduction in ride quality should I expect if I do that. My current Superb as the 18” Pegasus. Do the 19” wheels give any significant advantage other than the sporty look?

 

No benefit other than looks... they do look MUCH better on 19’s though IMO (especially the L&K)

 

Ride quality is still good and better than a MKII on 18’s

Its not the wheel size but the tyre profile. To keep the circumference the same bigger wheels inevitably have smaller sidewalls an this pretty much guarantees a harsher ride and more noise.

 

We had a Kia Ceed with 17" 45 profile tyres. Ride seemed OK until we put on a set of 16" 55 profile winter tyres. The car rode way better and was also much quieter. Should add that the 16" tyres were XL rated so were actually stiffer than a normal 16" tyre.

 

Wifes current Notes uses 16" 55 profiles tyres in summer and 15" 65 profile in winter. Again, the 15" are XL rated and have a much better ride and less noise.

 

Bigger tyres are normally more expensive than the smaller ones (unless the smaller ones are an oddball size).

 

So to answer your question, bigger wheels have no known advantages on planet earth other than increasing the manufactures profits.

Thanks Gizmo. Was flirting swapping the Superb for a Karoq for a while but after a test drive in a Karoq Edition this morning it made me realise just what a fantastic car the Superb is, a very hard act to follow. I agree on the looks of the 19” wheels on the L&K by the way, just don’t want to ruin the ride quality..

Edited 11 February, 20188 yr by Rifleman

Not quite true skidpan, as bigger wheels not only look better they can also accommodate the bigger brakes... so the car can stop quicker.

 

Yes profile has a lot to do with it as does the load index and pressures, that said on my S3 I have the factory 19’s and find the comfort very good (far better than our Yeti on 17’s) I ran 17” winter tyres last year and the comfort was only marginally better, so much so that for this year I have fitted 19” (SportLine) winters (and have not regretted the decision) 

 

I had the same thoughts when I tested the Kodiaq edition (on 19’s) it was nice and certainly better than the Yeti, but not as good as my S3... it’s going to be a hard act to follow when the time comes to change it.

Afraid I can't tell you as I opted for 18s to maximise ride comfort, afraid that I would regret 19s and have no real (cheap) way of changing if I did. They still look good and are, by almost any other standards, fairly low profile.

 

Running a car (S204 on 18s) a few years ago on the biggest wheel option available cost me about £1,000 in damaged tyres, wheels and realignment over three years (Buckinghamshire's wonderful "roads" also to blame!) and I swore I would never again be a slave to fashion and go for the biggest, blingiest wheel option.

 

Even so, there are more than a few occasions where the ride could be doing with a bit more compliance, even on relatively smooth and well-maintained continental roads, and more sidewall would definitely help. If we were at all sensible animals we would all have 16" wheels, but of course it's not as simple as that

Rifleman, ask yourself one question first: what will a naturally slightly harsher ride be like on the roads I know & use most?

 

That’s where your answer lies.

 

For what it’s worth, when I bought my (outgoing) Octavia, I tested a model with lower profile tyres and did it on roads I know. I bought one with smaller wheels/taller tyres as a result.

Edited 11 February, 20188 yr by MorrisOx

19 minutes ago, MorrisOx said:

Rifleman, ask yourself one question first: what will a naturally slightly harsher ride be like on the roads I know & use most?

 

That’s where your answer lies.

 

For what it’s worth, when I bought my (outgoing) Octavia, I tested a model with lower profile tyres and did it on roads I know. I bought one with smaller wheels/taller tyres as a result.

I'll have a search around for local dealers  who have a used Superb with the 19" wheels that I can test drive. No chance of them having them on a new demonstrator as they are a cost option...

 

You spend far more time inside the car than staring at it from the outside. 

1 hour ago, Gizmo said:

Not quite true skidpan, as bigger wheels not only look better they can also accommodate the bigger brakes... so the car can stop quicker.

 

Bigger wheels can indeed accommodate bigger brakes but with the correct parts you can still make the car stop quicker without resorting to bigger wheels. On my sports car (13" wheels) the discs were tiny and the calipers had tiny pads. Fitted bigger discs from another motor (not sure which one) and race calipers intended for a Civic Tyre R on custom mounts which used Volvo 240 pads. The pad area was doubled, the braking difference was amazing and they still fit inside 13" wheels (just).

 

Don't forget that F1 cars still use 13" wheels and manage to stop pretty well.

I would suggest that you dump the tractor engine and get a decent motor if you want to enhance the ride

59 minutes ago, Rifleman said:

I'll have a search around for local dealers  who have a used Superb with the 19" wheels that I can test drive. No chance of them having them on a new demonstrator as they are a cost option...

 

 

Might  be worth looking for a dealer with a Sportline. That should give you at least some idea what a more uncompromising set-up might be like (though the Sportline rides on slightly lower, stiffer suspension as well).

1 hour ago, MorrisOx said:

For what it’s worth, when I bought my (outgoing) Octavia, I tested a model with lower profile tyres and did it on roads I know. I bought one with smaller wheels/taller tyres as a result.

 

When we tried an Octavia a few years ago (probably 2011) the middle trim had 15" wheels as standard, the higher spec had 16" wheels. The first car we tried had the 15" wheels, no idea about the ride because the road roar was loud to the point of distraction. The second was on 16" wheels and was  a fair bit quieter and rode fine (as cars with 205 55 16 tyres normally do).

 

Hate loud cars, hate hard riding cars. Walked away from the Octavia because of the noise.

I have a 280 L & K on 19" wheels which I added as an optional extra.  I purely went for looks if I am honest.  I test drove a 280 L & K with standard 18" wheels and 19" on a Sportline.  Didn't seem much in the ride quality if anything at all.  The ride is great whatever size of wheel you go for.  I tested both cars at motorway speeds on the M25 on a concrete section.  About the same.

 

Very happy with the 19" wheels.  Wouldn't change them back to 18" although I would like to get some 18" winter wheels.

8 minutes ago, skidpan said:

 

When we tried an Octavia a few years ago (probably 2011) the middle trim had 15" wheels as standard, the higher spec had 16" wheels. The first car we tried had the 15" wheels, no idea about the ride because the road roar was loud to the point of distraction. The second was on 16" wheels and was  a fair bit quieter and rode fine (as cars with 205 55 16 tyres normally do).

 

Hate loud cars, hate hard riding cars. Walked away from the Octavia because of the noise.

 

The current gen Octavia (2013 onwards) is significantly better than its predecessor on both counts, and the standard rims now are 16-inch. That said, its full potential is compromised by 1) a torsion beam back axle on mainstream models, 2) limited sound deadening, 3) a stiffer set up on nearly all the models that have independent suspension all-round (the exception is the Scout, which has indy suspension and long-travel springs). VW simply doesn’t allow the Octavia to be as good as it could be, so it is still less refined/more bumpy than I’d like...hence me trading mine in for a Superb.

Edited 11 February, 20188 yr by MorrisOx

5 minutes ago, MorrisOx said:

 

The current gen Octavia (2013 onwards) is significantly better than its predecessor on both counts, and the standard rims now are 16-inch.

 

Before we ordered the Superb in November 2016 we tried yet another pair of Octavias hoping they were better than the ones we tried in 2011. They were better but not significantly so. Compared to my 2013 Leon 1.4 TSi (with beam axle MQB chassis) both were just plain loud with the estate being much worse.

 

We had been more than happy with the Leon (16" wheels) for over 3 years and as soon as we tried the Superb it was game, set and match, ordered next day. 

 

Why is the Leon so good when in my experience the Octavia is so bad on the same tyres and chassis.

1 hour ago, skidpan said:

On my sports car ...

 

Don't forget that F1 cars still use 13" wheels and manage to stop pretty well.

 

The weight of the car has more of an impact than the brake size.

 

F1 are limited to 13 wheels by the FIA regulations, not by choice, they also only need to last a few hundred miles so can be made out of carbon

 

I was very sceptical about going up to 19” as my MKII Superb had 18’s and the ride could be too firm at times, the suspension on the S3 is so much better though that even by going up to 19” the comfort is actually better.

 

ATEOTD we are all different and have different requirement and budget which is why different trim levels and options are available.

 

If only decent 18 or19” tyres were cheaper. And I keep reading about short life.

I went for the SEL so get 18”. I would have happily downgraded to 17” except I object to not getting a discount for doing so.

if paired with DCC, there is almost no difference between the 18s and 19s.

before buying i test drove a 280ps with 19s and a 220ps with 18s.  there was hardly any difference, when using either Sport, Normal or Comfort drive modes.

 

i'm not sure how much off a difference there is without DCC.

13 hours ago, skidpan said:

 

Before we ordered the Superb in November 2016 we tried yet another pair of Octavias hoping they were better than the ones we tried in 2011. They were better but not significantly so. Compared to my 2013 Leon 1.4 TSi (with beam axle MQB chassis) both were just plain loud with the estate being much worse.

 

We had been more than happy with the Leon (16" wheels) for over 3 years and as soon as we tried the Superb it was game, set and match, ordered next day. 

 

Why is the Leon so good when in my experience the Octavia is so bad on the same tyres and chassis.

 

Who knows? All I can say is that my Octavia has been ok but no more than that and after 3 years I’ve had enough of the noise and bumps from its torsion beam back axle. Fair few complaints on the Octavia forum about noise-related issue - boominess in particular does seem to be a problem.

Got 19" on ours and very happy with the ride. Soaks up the bumps nicely in my opinion. 

1 hour ago, STREE said:

Got 19" on ours and very happy with the ride. Soaks up the bumps nicely in my opinion. 

+1 The 18"s must be extremely plush as my Sportline with 19's and 15mm lower suspension rides remarkably well.  No complaints here. 

10 hours ago, penguin17 said:

+1 The 18"s must be extremely plush as my Sportline with 19's and 15mm lower suspension rides remarkably well.  No complaints here. 

 

wat springs did u use?

and do u have DCC?  if so, no issues i'm assuming even after being lowered?

 

i quite fancy a 15 mm drop like this.....

 

7 hours ago, JR RS said:

 

wat springs did u use?

and do u have DCC?  if so, no issues i'm assuming even after being lowered?

 

i quite fancy a 15 mm drop like this.....

 

I think they are talking about the 15mm lower the Sportline is over the other Superb models as opposed to an aftermarket 15mm drop.

8 hours ago, JR RS said:

 

wat springs did u use?

and do u have DCC?  if so, no issues i'm assuming even after being lowered?

 

 

 As above I was referring to the standard spec of the Sportline.  It does sit quite close to those pictures.