upgrading to 19inch VRS wheels

[DavidOwens75]

Hi can somebody advise if these will just replace my 16 inch standards on my estate. Any adjustment required on the brakes and is the clearance enough as my suspension is standard. More importantly will theses just fit on the same shaft I the centre of the wheel. 

 

Advice would be appreciated before I part with £

Edited 21 June, 2018 by DavidOwens75

[SashaGrace]

They will. Everything is the same, stud pattern etc. The issue is the other way around, vRSes like mine that have the 340mm brakes won’t take 16 inch wheels for example as they don't fit over the brakes. I’ve just fitted a set of 19 inch xtremes to my vRS, just bolt on

[logiclee]

Just might look a bit odd with standard suspension and the big wheel arch gap above the ultra low profile tyres and big wheel.

[SashaGrace]

To give you an idea of how the 19’s look on the vRS with standard suspension (15mm lower than the rest of the Octy range)...

 

[JohnnyType2]

and how it looks on 40mm lower than standard...

[KenONeill]

@DavidOwens75 s/up/down - Seriously, the only thing that 19" wheels will definitely do is give you a harder ride. They may also give you poorer acceleration, braking and fuel economy, and issues with hydroplaning and/or in icy conditions. Wheel styling is entirely subjective, but I don't like the look of the wheels in the pics above.

[ahenners]

Also be prepared for ridiculously more expensive tyres! I love the 19" Xtremes but even the tyre cost compared to my 18" Geminis is not insignificant.

[juan27]

1 hour ago, KenONeill said:

@DavidOwens75 s/up/down - Seriously, the only thing that 19" wheels will definitely do is give you a harder ride. They may also give you poorer acceleration, braking and fuel economy, and issues with hydroplaning and/or in icy conditions. Wheel styling is entirely subjective, but I don't like the look of the wheels in the pics above.

 

Never had any issues with hydroplaning or icy conditions with the 19s on my VRS.   As they are much the same overall circumference (including the tyres) and not much wider (225 v 205) than the smallest tyres fitted to the current Octavia I'd don't think fuel economy and acceleration will be much worse, and I can't see how braking would be made worse, what's your thinking behind that?   

 

You are absolutely right however that the ride will be quite a lot worse.  And the point made about tyre cost is a good one., although many fit cheaper 235s rather than original spec 225s 

 

Not sure I would fit 19s to a standard Octy, to be frank I'd probably have had 18s on my 245 given the choice, but each to their own and all that. 

Edited 22 June, 2018 by juan27

[logiclee]

Also remember in this case the 19's will be going on a torsion beam vehicle and not an independently suspended VRS.

 

I find 17's about the maximum that is OK on a torsion beam Octy. The L&K with 18's is very crashy. 19's would be two steps too far for me.

 

Lee

[SashaGrace]

I find the ride on the Xtreme’s better than the Gemini's, in fact it is considerably better despite being the extra inch bigger. I’d imagine you’d notice the ride to be worse when the car is a non vRS as the rear torsion beam isn’t as clever as the independent rear suspension. When I bought my car I booked to see 2 Elegance’s and 2 vRS’s and luck would have it that both of those Elegance’s had the 18 inch Golus alloy wheels. The ride was bad on the first one to the point I didn’t bother driving the second. Conversely I have since driven a standard Octy with 17 inch wheels and I was quite happy with it so I would suggest that that size is OK, but for me I noticed a poor ride on the 18 inchers paired with the torsion beam. 225/35/19 tyres are an odd size but if you go for 235/35/19 there’s more choice for tyres. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there, my P Zero’s have nearly 5mm of tread left

Edited 22 June, 2018 by SashaGrace

[KenONeill]

@juan27 - OK, this does involve a presumption on my part that as wheel diameter rises, so does the mass of the wheel+tyre combination. That may not be true for every wheel style even with a given make and model of tyre.

 

Having said that, the energy of a given wheel+tyre at a given rotational speed is proportional to its mass, and that means more energy to be stored, dissipated or moved when accelerating, braking, turning and negotiating bumps and holes. Ye cannae change th' laws o' physics!

[KenONeill]

@SashaGrace I trust you to report your experience accurately. You've left out the factor of tyre make and model though.

[SashaGrace]

That’s true, it would be interesting to see how my car feels when the P Zero’s wear out and PS4’s replace them to match the 18’s on the Gemini’s. The Xtreme’s are a lighter wheel than the Gemini's and I believe are constructed differently. Although they have a reputation for being like chocolate if you hit one sadly.

[SkodaVRS1963]

As others have said, expect a rougher (much rougher) ride and Mickey Mouse money when you replace.

 

My Focus ST is running on 19s and my wife (God bless her) has nothing but bad things to say when we go anywhere (she seems to believe that her Fiesta diesel on 16s should feel the same as when she's a passenger in the Focus).  "My back hurts"........"hey ho love, we did Bath to Penzance about two hours quicker than if we'd tried it in your car"

 

Cheapest *decent* tyres I can find (as in, I've actually heard of the manufacturer) for replacement is £135 per corner

[Jaco2k]

BTW, adding here that don't go with the stock 225/35/19 but instead choose 235/35/19, which will also give you a little bit extra sidewall.

[JohnnyType2]

On 22/06/2018 at 21:24, Jaco2k said:

BTW, adding here that don't go with the stock 225/35/19 but instead choose 235/35/19, which will also give you a little bit extra sidewall.

whats the difference? i thought 35 was the sidewall?

 

ok ken show us which wheels you are rocking so i can pass judgement
 

[gman1967]

3 hours ago, JohnnyType2 said:

whats the difference? i thought 35 was the sidewall?

 

ok ken show us which wheels you are rocking so i can pass judgement
 

It's on account of the fact that the "35" is a percentage value of the width. So in real numbers, as width increases, so does the height of the sidewall thus a 235 section tyre will have a marginally larger (higher) sidewall than a 225 section.