Wheel change to 16" from 18" TDI 170 2010

[Zednine]

Just got home from changing 18" (Rainsports 2) to 16" wheels with Michelin Crossclimate 2's. IT's SO MUCH BETTER!

 

Granted on a track the 18"s would be better - but on the road - wow!

 

Quieter, much less harsh vibes + tyres way cheaper.

 

I thought the 18s were a little to "twitchy" and they droned like heck on any but the smoothest surfaces.

 

Yep looks like a taxi but I dont care.

 

Recommended!

 

[softscoop]

Couldn't agree more. 

 

Going from 18 to 16" wheels is a massive upgrade in how the car feels on the road.

 

At the end of the day the superb is a big barge for comfort, not a sports car. Why they thought 18 was ever a good idea I don't really know 

[fabia88]

Hi, 

I am considering a similar swap, just wondering where did you get your wheels from?

[Zednine]

mytyres.co.uk 

Item No.: ALCAR9535 Item: Felge: ALCAR null black 6.0 x 16.0 (LK 5.0/112.0, 57.0, ET 50.0) Quantity: 4 unit price net: 34.00 GBP (40.80 GBP gross)

 

Interim amount net:			136.00 GBP
Transport and delivery costs net:			0.00 GBP

 

Total amount net: + 20 % VAT:			136.00 GBP 27.20 GBP
Total sum:			163.20 GBP

Item No.: R-440226 Item: Michelin CrossClimate 2 205/55 R16 91H (AS) Quantity: 4 unit price net: 66.58 GBP (79.89 GBP gross)

 

Interim amount net:			266.30 GBP
Transport and delivery costs net:			0.00 GBP

 

Total amount net: + 20 % VAT:			266.30 GBP 53.26 GBP
Total sum:			319.56 GBP

[Zednine]

I had no issues at all. took a couple of weeks to get here. 

Hope this helps

 

[Carlston]

1 hour ago, Zednine said:

mytyres.co.uk 

Item No.: ALCAR9535 Item: Felge: ALCAR null black 6.0 x 16.0 (LK 5.0/112.0, 57.0, ET 50.0) Quantity: 4 unit price net: 34.00 GBP (40.80 GBP gross)

 

Interim amount net:			136.00 GBP
Transport and delivery costs net:			0.00 GBP

 

Total amount net: + 20 % VAT:			136.00 GBP 27.20 GBP
Total sum:			163.20 GBP

Item No.: R-440226 Item: Michelin CrossClimate 2 205/55 R16 91H (AS) Quantity: 4 unit price net: 66.58 GBP (79.89 GBP gross)

 

Interim amount net:			266.30 GBP
Transport and delivery costs net:			0.00 GBP

 

Total amount net: + 20 % VAT:			266.30 GBP 53.26 GBP
Total sum:			319.56 GBP

 

No wonder your ride is so good...you went for the narrower 6Jx16 ET50 winter rims instead of fitting the 205/55R16 tyres to the wider 7Jx16 ET45 standard rims.

 

Fitting tyres to narrower rims makes the sidewalls flex more easily and therefore gives a better ride.

[Zednine]

Indeed. I had hoped so. I live up a mile long farm track which is pretty rough and we get a lot of snow here as well - I'm hoping they will cut through the snow better. I didnt feel any undue flex on a slightly more spirited drive home luckily. It did handle the track so much smoother. 

It has "Softened" the turn in a bit but without feeling at all under tyred. No increase in understeer. 

Will try to remember to post follow ups later if any issues occur. 

If conditions get bad enough then I have a Yeti to fall back on. Only time I got the Yeti stuck was a couple of feet of snow and the car rafted up on it. 

 

 

[fabia88]

Thanks very much for all the information, when it comes time to change my tyres this is something I'll definitely be doing. I agree that for a car that's meant to be comfort focused the ride is a little crashy, and unsettled. 

[bigjohn]

On 23/11/2021 at 17:24, Zednine said:

 

 

Quieter, much less harsh vibes + tyres way cheaper.

 

 

 

 

You also get more miles out of them - I've generally been getting 35k miles + out of a set of 205/55 r16's, My current favourites are Michelin Crossclimates - good in most conditions inc ice/snow & v hot but fabulous in the wet. They were also a lot quieter than the original Continentals.

[Derbyshirebod]

Are the rolling diameters pretty much the same between the 18" and 16" tyres? Or do you need to use something like VCDS to updated the tyre diameter in the ECU?

[softscoop]

Going from 225/40/18 to 205/55/16 is only 0.8% difference in the overall diameter. 

 

No need to change anything in vcds.

[superbdreams]

I stopped changing back to the 18" for summer  some years back now and have no intention of ever doing so again.

I have gone from replacing 4 tyres one year and two the next year to less than half that and the 16" are cheaper too.

I miss the look of the sirrus alloys and wish i could find 16" alloys that looked the same but that's life.

[softscoop]

I fitted a set of Dover 16s from a mk7 Golf onto mine.

 

I think they quite suit the Superb.

 

[Derbyshirebod]

9 hours ago, softscoop said:

Going from 225/40/18 to 205/55/16 is only 0.8% difference in the overall diameter. 

 

No need to change anything in vcds.

I bet the 205/55/162 tyres are cheaper than the 18". Very popular size one of sons has that size Ford Focus and the other has the same size on his BMW 320d. I had the same size on my Seat Toledo.

 

[Derbyshirebod]

6 hours ago, softscoop said:

I fitted a set of Dover 16s from a mk7 Golf onto mine.

 

I think they quite suit the Superb.

 

Did you buy new Skoda centre caps or take them of the 18" wheels?

[softscoop]

I bought some Skoda ones from eBay. The caps from the 18" wheels are 55mm where as these are 65mm.

[Derbyshirebod]

3 minutes ago, softscoop said:

I bought some Skoda ones from eBay. The caps from the 18" wheels are 55mm where as these are 65mm.

So you've also had to buy wheel spigot rings ?

[Carlston]

55 minutes ago, Derbyshirebod said:

So you've also had to buy wheel spigot rings ?

 

The hub centre bore of Golf MK7 rims and Superb rims is 57.1mm.

 

The hub centre bore on the rim is where it fits onto the hub.

 

The decorative centre cap has two diameters. An outside diameter and an inside diameter. Neither of these two diameters are likely to be the same as the hub centre bore.

 

Edited 17 December, 2021 by Carlston

[softscoop]

That's right, the wheel fitment is exactly the same, it's just the plastic caps that are different.

[Derbyshirebod]

Okay so the wheel center bore size that locates the wheel to the hubs is the same at Ø 55m. What you meant is there is a counter bore on the outside of the wheels so the cap outer diameter is larger than the center bore.

 

i was thinking I'd have to be using some of these if I change my wheel size.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163723944215?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item261eb52117:g:KLUAAOSw6Ulcj4PK&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACsPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSLY2M1Gjmuwt9c03vWNfiRmwDXXFazv3Usr5ktFSJF1Fj4CLNfrwiFrVIHVxjq0Yv%2FQnsQ7M4iAeeFs9k5tChSF%2BsBxIlLCnPKkaCalm0a5HkrTsv%2Fig1qQA%2BK624L8F39pzs431xAwfBeReDm32ZFeHPGEHAeT2eylF7lk0rC8G2iYNwcuz6kCilLq2lOcjXhKZQe0%2Bf1V3pOhzds0bOeofGVDgpcMH4xspm6fTy0HnNYCGD7WrkVQoKPHLUmNMG6%2Fw7nkaDYsvkh5OXQwT%2FOaQ%2FnAJTaA82UiFKkmsvtWzCuGDwfIGeeakO2VmsrYk6Acclxg%2FaWaKK2542vNjlI5wAKokuGdrFdrdWXL8ioBBqtjOqlkwKUYt4PSJLH%2FkKM%2F7YJIo2XgLXQOmOfPRnDNhska7rTdRO%2BL6SnbmN1Ig%2FGQagjOakA0ChkHHkr%2FMndKOmbuFFAUjaKLfm9%2BvWPeef09zbvfvSaHabwyIeziL7MjRBu7wVAPyCVsbrSyAa69%2FiBz3atZKb0FacpHo6NS9UVHk8YtHQyWJ7juoSaGU%2BhVMJxG%2B%2FedMLFk%2FK10WgWbCu26a%2F%2BuzXoF3bvdL%2BqIohoEQ0R7Yl9AodL%2BVyBSy5zJh8DYs660dIOTVLwggkfT3h%2Bs8JUDl8BoJR816zcLmKEDYFc9KLAutfH%2BZVSSyf247pin7aZIAUp2SIBihDzDRHzXkmMUuEkuX%2BhDWAkthcJh1uYVwVZQI8d2XUv77JxCFiSxP2DFHpMiilzvyLkPkIF%2F2KJl29IBGUueLlajyzUouhIHf4Bl6GIB%2F%2B%2BYa3K9BP7slTsds3wjd7d7426MsEFGaDQZsSi7VxwmApT42ACGpG38BcyWuEnuNryxM%3D|clp%3A2334524|tkp%3ABFBM5O3Jmblf

[Carlston]

19 minutes ago, Derbyshirebod said:

Okay so the wheel center bore size that locates the wheel to the hubs is the same at Ø 55m. What you meant is there is a counter bore on the outside of the wheels so the cap outer diameter is larger than the center bore.

 

i was thinking I'd have to be using some of these if I change my wheel size.

 

Spigot rings won't be needed if the centre bore is 57.1mm.

 

Fortunately, most cars in the VW group fit rims with this centre bore including all Skodas from the Citigo to the Kodiaq. However, there's other things to consider when using rims from a different car including the number of wheel bolts and the PCD. For example, the Citigo only has 4 wheel bolts so won't fit the Superb which needs five wheel bolts...and the Fabia uses a 5/100 PCD so won't fit bigger 5/112 PCD Skoda cars. PCD means Pitch Circle Diameter or sometimes referred to as BCD (Bolt Circle Diameter).

 

Some larger cars in the VW group such as the latest Audi A6 and the VW Touareg use bigger centre bores. You can check by searching each car on wheel-size.com

 

Edited 17 December, 2021 by Carlston

[Derbyshirebod]

You also have to think about ET, wheel offset. I bought some aftermarket BBS alloys for my last car a Seat Toledo which also a 5 stud 112 PCD . I had to use 10mm spacers on the front wheels to stop the wheels catching the brake calipers ! 

[Derbyshirebod]

I've just bought some 16" Golf wheels today with 205/55 tyres that are hardly worn for £150. All my 225/45 17" tyres need pumping every couple of weeks so the tyres need removing and the rims cleaned and repainted.

 

Edited 22 January, 2022 by Derbyshirebod
Better photo

[Nackuk]

A great thing to do. Yeah the 18th Ed look better but the ride with these is just great 😁

[Zednine]

A quick update, Snow performance is brilliant! This is the best upgrade I have done to a car. These tyre also resist aquaplaning really well, I can feel no difference to dry grip - I dont go fast these days, but the ride is so much better. Occasional rumble on certain surfaces but way better most of the time. Couple of jobs left to do, Drivers side heated seat not working and boot hatch lifters to overhaul they work but are slow and getting noisy. Will do it soon followinh the posted guide on here.

 

Simply put - It's Superb... (Heh heh)!