If it of any use, the latest Auto Express survey, (in the physical printed magazine) put its sister car Seat Arona 40th, and one of the low scoring parts was ride.  There were 2 quotes from the public against each model, and one basically said, mine came with 18 inch wheels, makes the ride far too rough on UK roads which are of poor quality.

 

The Kamiq was introduced bit later than Arona, but is virtually identical underneath, and suffers from the same unsuitable 18 inch wheels as standard (the VW T-cross also has same problem).

 

Hopefully the low score and blunt comments about 18 inch wheels not working in UK due to deteriorating roads might actually get noticed in VW group UK headquarters.  Although as @roottoot says they seem to prefer style over practicality when choosing wheels for UK market.  They don’t do it in other European markets like Germany or Ireland where 16 inch or 17 inch are the standard spec.

 

 

I have to say that I tried both Arona FR and Kamiq Monte Carlo on 18’s. The Kamiq had a  far superior ride whereas the Arona was quite hard. The floor pan is not the same, the Kamiq has about a 4 inch longer wheelbase, which may make a difference. Just my observation.

 

Even if they are the identical weight and fitted with identical springs and dampers they can be different how they ride.

Then the same car with tyres of the same size but different brands or tyres with more or less compliant sidewalls can make a difference.    PS when comparing cars remember to check the tyre pressures the car is handed over at.  Reviews / journalist / bloggers seldom if ever do.  Certainly not at a car launch.   Too happy just being paid to do a job just not that well. 

Edited 18 July, 20223 yr by roottoot

17 hours ago, GrumpyOldWesty said:

I have to say that I tried both Arona FR and Kamiq Monte Carlo on 18’s. The Kamiq had a  far superior ride whereas the Arona was quite hard. The floor pan is not the same, the Kamiq has about a 4 inch longer wheelbase, which may make a difference. Just my observation.

 

According to wikipedia, the Seat Arona has a wheelbase of 2,566mm and the Skoda Kamiq has a wheelbase of 2,651mm.

 

So the Kamiq has a wheelbase 85mm longer than the Arona.

Nearer 3" than 4" then.

 

The difference between Ooo & Ahhh as the actress told the Bishop!

On 08/07/2022 at 14:26, Yetiflute said:

I did that (16 inch with Cross Climate 2 tyres) as soon as I acquired my Kamiq SEL in April this year. Didn’t run it long enough on original 18 inch wheels to make any proper comparison but what I have got feels excellent re noise and comfort. I chose alloys similar pattern to original. Will be interested to hear your comparison.

 

I have noticed a big improvement in tyre noise and comfort with 32 psi pressures all round. I've dropped them to 32 psi this morning to try for a few weeks. I chose black alloys as i hoped they wouldn't need cleaning as often as the Braga alloys.

Finally I’ve made decision to try 17” rims despite possible lose ride comfort Unfortunately I couldn't find lightweight ones for reasonable price Thats why it will be heavy used rims from Audi A1 - R17 7,5J ET34

I have just switched back from my 16 inch winter wheels to the 18 inch car came with, on resurfaced roads can't tell difference, but the 18s are lot more rumbly on most country roads and don't ride the imperfections as well.

 

Photo of my Arona with 16 inch wheels on (rims are Borbet Y which fit perfectly with same bolts, no adaptors).   Second photo is for comparison to 18 inch summer tyres

 

 

On 03/05/2023 at 20:22, Allesandu said:

Finally I’ve made decision to try 17” rims despite possible lose ride comfort Unfortunately I couldn't find lightweight ones for reasonable price Thats why it will be heavy used rims from Audi A1 - R17 7,5J ET34

 

The Audi A1 MK1 uses 215/40R17 on it's 7.5Jx17 rims.

 

The Kamiq uses 205/55R17 on it's 6.5Jx17 rims.

 

Using 205/55R17 on 7.5J rims instead of much narrower rims such as 6J or 6.5J will make the ride noticeably harder.

 

As you can see in the ETRTO chart below, the standard rim width for 205/55R17 is 6.5" (hence highlighted in bold), and the standard rim width for 215/40R17 is 7.5" (hence highlighted in bold). So you would be using a 17" rim on your Kamiq that's made for a very different tyre size.

 

ETRTO approved rim widths

205/55R17 5.5-6.5-7.5

215/40R17 7.0-7.5-8.5
 

Edited 6 May, 20233 yr by Carlston

Audi A1 185 ps Euro 5 from 2010 used 215/40 R 17 as the sister cars with the same engines / gearboxes did, VW Polo GTI & Seat Ibiza Cupra.

The Fabia vRS twincharger got 205/40 R 17s'. 

There were even A1's on 225/35 R 18. 

 

Then Mk3 Fabia got 215/40 R 17 tyres as one of the choices. 

 

An A1 kerb weight is a different weight from a Kamiq.  Audi 1,090 to 1,165 kg.

Kamiq 1,229 to 1,302 kg. 

1 hour ago, toot said:

Audi A1 185 ps Euro 5 from 2010 used 215/40 R 17 as the sister cars with the same engines / gearboxes did, VW Polo GTI & Seat Ibiza Cupra.

The Fabia vRS twincharger got 205/40 R 17s'.

 

The Fabia MK2 was a dinosaur, because it was based on the Polo MK4 and wasn't replace by the Polo MK5 based Fabia MK3 until 2014, even though the Polo MK5 came out in 2009.

 

That's why it was using the Polo MK4 sized 205/40R17 tyres, instead of the Polo MK5 215/40R17 sized tyres.

 

The Audi A1 that came out in 2010 was based on the Polo MK5, so naturally was using the Polo MK5 sized 215/40R17 tyres, ie. cars based on the Polo MK5 got slightly bigger outside diameter tyres than cars based on the Polo MK4.

 

Edited 6 May, 20233 yr by Carlston

@Carlstonso now you have the PQ24 & PQ25 Platform Scores on the doors, what 17" wheel width were they using 2010-2014? 

What wheels did the Skoda Rapid get in the were 17" tyres?

Edited 6 May, 20233 yr by toot

35 minutes ago, toot said:

@Carlstonso now you have the PQ24 & PQ25 Platform Scores on the doors, what 17" wheel width were they using 2010-2014? 

What did the Skoda Rapid get in the were 17" tyres?

 

The Fabia MK2 used 7J rims for its 205/40R17 tyre size.

 

The Polo MK5 used 7J rims for its 215/40R17 tyre size.

 

The Rapid used 7J rims for its 215/40R17 tyre size.

 

The Audi A1 used 7.5J rims for its 215/40R17 tyre size.

 

Edited 6 May, 20233 yr by Carlston

My new used rims

 

3 hours ago, Allesandu said:

My new used rims

 

It looks like this is the OEM part number.

 

8X0601025BR 8Z8

Aluminium rim 7.5Jx17 ET34 5/100

https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/audi/RDW/A1/792/6/601/601070

 

A 7.5J rim is quite wide for a 205/55R17 tyre size. As you can see below, a 7.5J rim is the maximum width for a 205/55R17 tyre size.

 

ETRTO approved rim widths

205/55 5.5-6.5-7.5
 

Edited 8 May, 20233 yr by Carlston

1 hour ago, Carlston said:

A 7.5J rim is quite wide for a 205/55R17 tyre size. As you can see below, a 7.5J rim is the maximum width for a 205/55R17 tyre size.

Installed tyre size is 215/55R17