Took delivery a month ago of a 2500 mile MY17 150 L&K with 19" wheels that I didn't want but had to take.  The reality of using the vehicle matches expectations - A lot of tyre noise, vibration in the cabin and through the wheel on some road surfaces and my wife kerbed one alloy within two weeks of driving it      As you know, tyre choice is limited and my favourite Cross Climates which have served me well previously are unavailable at that size.   Factor in tyre costs and eventual alloy refurb costs due to damage and the subsequent corrosion I may be better off cutting losses and switching while I've still got three perfect alloys and one minor damage one.

 

So, any views on downgrading the alloys, even going onto 17" to improve the noise (The ride is fine thanks to the DCC) and reduce the kerb appeal?

Be prepared for the car to look awful (compared to on 19s)

 

I ran 17” winters over 2015/2016 but changed them the following year, the ride on 17s was only marginally softer than 19s (but with DCC wasn’t an issue anyway, I can count on 1 hand the amount of time it has been in ‘comfort’) so I changed my winters for 19s

 

19” L&K:

 

 

17” winters:

 

 

19” winters:

 

That really is a difference Gizmo. I have the 18" on mine having traded "up" from 17s on the SII. The 17s always looked (IMHO of course) too small for the SII and the 18s don't give any more road noise. I'd never go back to the smaller wheels and would seriously consider 19s next time round having experienced the 18s. Just for comparison...

 

Old one on 17s

 

New one on 18s

Again IMHO the 19s look so much better than even the 18s. If they did Pegasus 19s I suspect they would be on my car right now. 

 

If it's really about noise, a change of tyres is a much cheaper option. I get no perceptible vibration from mine (except that due to the useless British roads of course) but maybe there is a tracking issue if you are finding it worse than in other cars? As for kerbing, the 17s are just as susceptible - the kerb doesn't know how big your wheels are.

i found 17" which looks enough good

AVUS Racing AC-515 Felgen black (7,5x17 E45)

https://www.drive2.com/l/491122983021052184/

 

 

8 minutes ago, MartiniB said:

i found 17" which looks enough good

 

It’s a very personal and subjective opinion, but for me 17’s on a Superb just look lost in the arches, they really need 18’s as a minimum or ideally 19’s.

I agree with Gizmo that 19"s look the business on the S3 Superb. If you have kerbed them get them repaired it doesn't cost much.

Edited 21 April, 20188 yr by TerryMcK

2 hours ago, nodigital said:

Took delivery a month ago of a 2500 mile MY17 150 L&K with 19" wheels that I didn't want but had to take.  The reality of using the vehicle matches expectations - A lot of tyre noise, vibration in the cabin and through the wheel on some road surfaces and my wife kerbed one alloy within two weeks of driving it      As you know, tyre choice is limited and my favourite Cross Climates which have served me well previously are unavailable at that size.   Factor in tyre costs and eventual alloy refurb costs due to damage and the subsequent corrosion I may be better off cutting losses and switching while I've still got three perfect alloys and one minor damage one.

 

So, any views on downgrading the alloys, even going onto 17" to improve the noise (The ride is fine thanks to the DCC) and reduce the kerb appeal?

 

If you end up wanting to change to new 18” Pegasus, remember to order using the “spare” wheel code 3V0071498HHA7 which has a significantly lower list price (Skoda Parts has these for £180 each).

 

I think the 18s look good anyway 

Edited 21 April, 20188 yr by Ivan8192

Personally, I think 18s are the optimal for the Superb III.  17s are that bit too small and with 19s its too much of a compromise for day-to-day comfort.  I love the 18" Pegasus on mine.  One of the reasons I didn't go for an L&K this time was the 19" wheels actually.  I would only have downgraded to 18s.

11 hours ago, Superb170 said:

One of the reasons I didn't go for an L&K this time was the 19" wheels actually.  I would only have downgraded to 18s.

I believe Pegasus 18 is standard on the SIII L&K (or it was on mine - MY17).  19 is an option I think. 

 

Edit: just noticed you are in Ireland - are 19s standard on the L&K there?

Edited 22 April, 20188 yr by BriskodaJeff
Location

In Ireland, 19s are standard on the L&K, 17s are the standard wheel on the Style (SEL), with 18s only an option across the specs.  It’s a bit odd as you either have to upgrade or downgrade to get the 18s.  UK wheel spec is a bit more sensible.

Did it cost more to downgrade to 18s then???

I opted for the 18s on mine, no cost option compared to the 19s. Think it looks just fine on 18s, 17s are a little weedy though.

 

Reason is that I've had cars with the maximum factory alloy size before and they ride as always left me wondering "hmm, bit crashy, 1" smaller rims would inevitably be better", this time sense trumped style and I'm glad I did. 

I have 19in with summer tyres, and 17in for winters - swapped the wheels a couple of weeks ago, and it feels much more composed on the 19in - I was expecting it to feel hard and crashy, and was wondering if I would regret going back to the bigger ones. I can honestly say it is fine, and the difference in looks more than make up for it - it just sits so much better on the bigger wheels, and for that alone I would have put up with a compromised ride, but actually its not that different, maybe DCC irons out the extra softness of the bigger sidewalls on the 17in.

A few pic I have posted before, but will add again showing the difference with both 19in and 17in on the same car at the same time. Taken when swapping the wheels over last autumn.

On 4/21/2018 at 08:38, nodigital said:

Took delivery a month ago of a 2500 mile MY17 150 L&K with 19" wheels that I didn't want but had to take.  The reality of using the vehicle matches expectations - A lot of tyre noise, vibration in the cabin and through the wheel on some road surfaces and my wife kerbed one alloy within two weeks of driving it      As you know, tyre choice is limited and my favourite Cross Climates which have served me well previously are unavailable at that size.   Factor in tyre costs and eventual alloy refurb costs due to damage and the subsequent corrosion I may be better off cutting losses and switching while I've still got three perfect alloys and one minor damage one.

 

So, any views on downgrading the alloys, even going onto 17" to improve the noise (The ride is fine thanks to the DCC) and reduce the kerb appeal?

Well.....if you do downgrade I 'd be interested in buying your 19's .....just thought I'd get in there first!!

On 22/04/2018 at 10:56, markytop said:

I have 19in with summer tyres, and 17in for winters - swapped the wheels a couple of weeks ago, and it feels much more composed on the 19in - I was expecting it to feel hard and crashy, and was wondering if I would regret going back to the bigger ones. I can honestly say it is fine, and the difference in looks more than make up for it - it just sits so much better on the bigger wheels, and for that alone I would have put up with a compromised ride, but actually its not that different, maybe DCC irons out the extra softness of the bigger sidewalls on the 17in.

A few pic I have posted before, but will add again showing the difference with both 19in and 17in on the same car at the same time. Taken when swapping the wheels over last autumn.

 

I have the 19" wheels shown in your pictures, which provide a great comparison.

 

The 17's look very poor compared to the 19's in this case.