ride comfort - going from 18" 235-45 to 17" or 16". Has anyone done it?

[lukk]

Hi , 

 

I am considering changing the alloys and tyres on my Superb MK3 in order to get a smoother softer ride I am considering going to 17" or 16" from my current 18". Has anyone done it and could let know how visibly the ride comfort was increased? I have 18" 235-45 Goodyear tyres - what tyre height should I aim for? (that's the second bit in "235-45"). I presume the width of 235 should be preserved?

[Gizmo]

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/365644-s3-winter-wheel-brake-sizes/

 

I have used 17", 18" and 19" winter tyres on my 190 L&K (factory fit 19's)
OK I also had DCC, but there was very little difference in comfort, sure the smaller diameter tyres are cheaper, but then they also look 'lost' in the arches IMO.

[j caff]

1 hour ago, lukk said:

Hi , 

 

I am considering changing the alloys and tyres on my Superb MK3 in order to get a smoother softer ride I am considering going to 17" or 16" from my current 18". Has anyone done it and could let know how visibly the ride comfort was increased? I have 18" 235-45 Goodyear tyres - what tyre height should I aim for? (that's the second bit in "235-45"). I presume the width of 235 should be preserved?

I have your size wheels and tyres on my car and the road noise is terrible compared to my 2019 superb that had 16" wheels. You could try using one of those tyre comparison sites, they give great info. 

[lukk]

thanks

1 hour ago, j caff said:

I have your size wheels and tyres on my car and the road noise is terrible compared to my 2019 superb that had 16" wheels. You could try using one of those tyre comparison sites, they give great info. 

 thanks, as for the road noise I sound proofed my car myself and now it's really good. It might be worth spending a day or too doing it and a few hundred euros to get the effect, was really worth it. but yes on 18 inches without sound insulation on coarse irish roads the car was unbearably loud

2 hours ago, Gizmo said:

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/365644-s3-winter-wheel-brake-sizes/

 

I have used 17", 18" and 19" winter tyres on my 190 L&K (factory fit 19's)
OK I also had DCC, but there was very little difference in comfort, sure the smaller diameter tyres are cheaper, but then they also look 'lost' in the arches IMO.

is it possible that you L&K has active suspension? Which would much better than what standard Superbs have? I agree on the much worse look

[Gizmo]

1 minute ago, lukk said:

is it possible that you L&K has active suspension? Which would much better than what standard Superbs have? I agree on the much worse look

Yes that's the DCC part I mentioned.

Haven't been in a MK3 without DCC so can't comment on how much it improves the ride, but I was comparing the same setting on all wheel size and there really wasn't much between them, hence why I eventually went onto 19" winters as well.

 

[Carlston]

The best ride on standard tyres and rims will be 215/60R16 tyres fitted to 6.5Jx16 ET41 5/112 57.1 rims.

 

However, if you fit the 215/60R16 tyres to slightly narrower 6Jx16 ET43 5/112 57.1 rims from the Karoq, you should be able to fit these in the spare wheel well with the carpet flush.

 

The slightly narrower 6J rim will also help improve the ride comfort further.

 

6Jx16 ET43 5/112 57.1 steel rim (from the Karoq)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=1302234084152546416&rimCode=ALCAR6665

 

6.5Jx16 ET41 5/112 57.1 steel rim (from the Superb MK3)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=1037328747869009008&rimCode=ALCAR8426

 

Edited 16 December, 2022 by Carlston

[MrRich]

I run 17 inch for during winter with all season tyres fitted, ride is a lot softer and more compliant than the 18 inch rims with Primacy 4 tyres.  Turn in isn't as good though but expect that's both combination of tread pattern and tyre compound rather than just additional sidewall flex.

[SurreyJohn]

There are two elements to a softer ride:

1) The wheel and tyre size, by reducing the rims, can have deeper sidewall tyres, really want 60 aspect (or at least no lower than 55 aspect)

2) The choice of tyres, as a general rule anything called Eco or sport is firmer, you want a touring tyre, or better still an all season tyre which will be softer in winter temperatures.

 

Try and get tyres with the weight rating as close as possible to the specification.  example if 91 is required, then must be equal or higher, but if get too high eg 98 or tyres are XL (extra load) then sidewalls will be stiffer than optimised for comfort.  But if you regularly heavily load car then picking stronger tyres might be sensible.

 

[j caff]

Mine has DCC and road noise is the same on every setting. 

[lmb]

I went form this:

 

 

to this:

 

Main reason for the change was I needed a set of winter tires and I was tired of damaging my 18" - 3 times in less than 2 years. So I ended up with 3 set of wheels - 18" alloys, 16" alloys for the summer and 16" steel for winter.

 

Comfort was maybe a bit better but I did not notice a major difference. Definetally car was not as stable in on tiwsty roads but it never was a champion in that department.

 

Now as I wait for my new SIII to arrive I checked my options but unfortunatelly I will not be able to downsize as I believe nothing smaller than 18" won't fit (it's 280 L&K). I just did some quick calculations and it looks like 225/40R18 side wall was 89mm, whereas 205/55R16  is 112mm. But in case of 235/45R18 sidewall is 107mm and 215/60R16 is 130mm - so a pretty big balloon. Probably 17" are the safest bet for you.

Edited 18 December, 2022 by Gizmo
Non Freedom advertising

[mike21sport]

Hi Guys

My Sportline come on 19'' 45 profile, looked great but the ride was stiff. This winter I'm on 17'' alloys wearing Continental Contact All Season. Softer quieter ride. 17'' was the smallest wheel option when new so I was happy with hub and brake caliper clearances etc. Black wheels look 'less lost' in the wheel arch as the tyres help (also black 😄) and of course match the black sports trim

Photos below (I just need to decide if I put the summer 19''s back on next year, however................On balance we have more winter and rain than summer sun ?)

[Carlston]

50 minutes ago, lmb said:

Now as I wait for my new SIII to arrive I checked my options but unfortunately I will not be able to downsize as I believe nothing smaller than 18" won't fit (it's 280 L&K).

 

17" rims clear the front brake calipers on 340x30mm front brake discs. There aren't any Skodas that need 18" rims.

 

[mike21sport]

17'' 

[komoornik]

I went from stock 18" to 16", also got a bit lowered tire pressure (2.2 bar) - ride quality is superb.

 

I also get a great fuel economy most likely due to the tires being narrower.

[numskull]

We’ve had Conti All Season fitted for a couple of weeks now and the reduction in road noise is remarkable, albeit the original P6’s are notoriously noisy. 

[mike21sport]

Even worse on the SportLine Plus, P7 rubberbands !!

[MarkyTDI]

I've got a 2017 280 SEL with DCC and run 19" Bridgestone Potenzas and also a set of 17" with Michelin Cross Climates. I love the look of the car on 19" wheels but breath a little sigh of relief at the improved ride and reduced noise when I go onto the 17" wheels in winter. Fuel economy is also a tiny bit better on 17s though handling isnt quite as sharp with understeer more likely on turn-in. Being the SEL I also like the low key look on the 17s, it definitelty adds to the sleeper nature of the car. 

 

I still swap back to the 19s in spring as there is nearly £700 of tyres there and I may as well use them up. If I was going to run one set on the 280 I'd probaly go for 18" as a compromise between the two. Another factor is the 19" wheels are very prone to distortion, three of mine were wonky when I bought it.

 

[lukk]

On 16/12/2022 at 20:15, SurreyJohn said:

There are two elements to a softer ride:

1) The wheel and tyre size, by reducing the rims, can have deeper sidewall tyres, really want 60 aspect (or at least no lower than 55 aspect)

2) The choice of tyres, as a general rule anything called Eco or sport is firmer, you want a touring tyre, or better still an all season tyre which will be softer in winter temperatures.

 

Try and get tyres with the weight rating as close as possible to the specification.  example if 91 is required, then must be equal or higher, but if get too high eg 98 or tyres are XL (extra load) then sidewalls will be stiffer than optimised for comfort.  But if you regularly heavily load car then picking stronger tyres might be sensible.

 

could I just leave my 18 inch rims and go for 245 / 60 instead of 245/45? Would this make the ride softer? I am less concerned about road noise as alread soundproofed the car. 

Does the width of the tyre affect the ride comfort if aspec is kept at 60 on, e.g.  225 vs 245 tyres?

[lukk]

On 17/12/2022 at 21:26, komoornik said:

I went from stock 18" to 16", also got a bit lowered tire pressure (2.2 bar) - ride quality is superb.

 

I also get a great fuel economy most likely due to the tires being narrower.

would you know what tyres you went from / to  by width / aspect ratio /?    (e.g. 245/45/R18 to XXX/XX/R16)

BTW all 16 alloys I see are very ugly. did you move to steel rims?

[komoornik]

I went from stock 18" to slighly smaller diameter 205/60/16.

 

And i went for eGolf aero rims.

[MarkyTDI]

8 hours ago, lukk said:

could I just leave my 18 inch rims and go for 245 / 60 instead of 245/45? Would this make the ride softer? I am less concerned about road noise as alread soundproofed the car. 

Does the width of the tyre affect the ride comfort if aspec is kept at 60 on, e.g.  225 vs 245 tyres?

When I bought my 17" rims (off a Tiguan) they had 215/65/17 tyres instead of the 215/55/17s for the Superb. When I test fitted them out of curiosity they barely fitted in the arches even with the steering dead ahead and the rears almost touched the mudflaps despite only being about 6.5% larger diameter than standard. 245/60/18 is about 12% larger diameter than standard and pretty much the size used on say a Landrover Discovery 3.

 

All of the standard sizes (215/60/16, 215/55/17, 235/45/18, 235/40/19) essentially have the same diameter within a couple of mm. Even when people go for 245/35/20 rims its only about 1.5% bigger than standard.

 

 

[lukk]

3 hours ago, MarkyTDI said:

When I bought my 17" rims (off a Tiguan) they had 215/65/17 tyres instead of the 215/55/17s for the Superb. When I test fitted them out of curiosity they barely fitted in the arches even with the steering dead ahead and the rears almost touched the mudflaps despite only being about 6.5% larger diameter than standard. 245/60/18 is about 12% larger diameter than standard and pretty much the size used on say a Landrover Discovery 3.

 

All of the standard sizes (215/60/16, 215/55/17, 235/45/18, 235/40/19) essentially have the same diameter within a couple of mm. Even when people go for 245/35/20 rims its only about 1.5% bigger than standard.

 

 

that's very useful to know. Quick question - I won't need to do anything to my brakes if I get the 16 inch rims, is this correct?

[Carlston]

3 hours ago, lukk said:

that's very useful to know. Quick question - I won't need to do anything to my brakes if I get the 16 inch rims, is this correct?

 

All Superb MK3 cars except for the 280HP/272HP 4x4 cars use 312x25mm front brake discs.

 

The big 340x30mm front brake discs used on the Superb MK3 280HP/272HP 4x4 cars are matched with ventilated 310x22mm rear brake discs. So if you have solid 300x12mm rear brake discs, the front brake discs will be 16" rim compatible, ie. 312x25mm front brake discs.

 

310x22mm ventilated rear brake discs (used in combination with 340x30mm front brake discs) 

Skoda Superb MK3 1.6TDI

– Generation: III B8 (3V) [2015 .. 2019]  

– Market: EUDM 

– Power: 118 hp | 88 kW | 120 PS 

– Engine: 1.6L, DCXA, I4, Diesel

– Options: Active, Ambition, GreenLine, Style

– Center Bore: 57.1 mm 

– PCD: 5x112 

– Wheel Fasteners: Lug bolts 

– Wheel Tightening Torque: 140 Nm

– Thread Size: M14 x 1.5 

– Trim Production: [2015 .. 2018]

Tire	Rim
215/60R16 95V	6.5Jx16 ET41	2.3 / 2.1
215/55ZR17 94W	6.5Jx17 ET41	2.3 / 2.1
215/55ZR17 94W	7Jx17 ET40	2.3 / 2.1
235/45ZR18 94W	8Jx18 ET44	2.5 / 2.3

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/skoda/superb/2017/#trim-16tdi-eudm-118

 

Edited 19 December, 2022 by Carlston

[lukk]

21 minutes ago, Carlston said:

 

All Superb MK3 cars except for the 280HP/272HP 4x4 cars use 312x25mm front brake discs.

 

The big 340x30mm front brake discs used on the Superb MK3 280HP/272HP 4x4 cars are matched with ventilated 310x22mm rear brake discs. So if you have solid 300x12mm rear brake discs, the front brake discs will be 16" rim compatible, ie. 312x25mm front brake discs.

 

310x22mm ventilated rear brake discs (used in combination with 340x30mm front brake discs) 

Skoda Superb MK3 1.6TDI

– Generation: III B8 (3V) [2015 .. 2019]  

– Market: EUDM 

– Power: 118 hp | 88 kW | 120 PS 

– Engine: 1.6L, DCXA, I4, Diesel

– Options: Active, Ambition, GreenLine, Style

– Center Bore: 57.1 mm 

– PCD: 5x112 

– Wheel Fasteners: Lug bolts 

– Wheel Tightening Torque: 140 Nm

– Thread Size: M14 x 1.5 

– Trim Production: [2015 .. 2018]

Tire	Rim
215/60R16 95V	6.5Jx16 ET41	2.3 / 2.1
215/55ZR17 94W	6.5Jx17 ET41	2.3 / 2.1
215/55ZR17 94W	7Jx17 ET40	2.3 / 2.1
235/45ZR18 94W	8Jx18 ET44	2.5 / 2.3

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/skoda/superb/2017/#trim-16tdi-eudm-118

many thanks, mine is a 1.6tdi hence not running into an issue here

[j caff]

https://tiresize.com/comparison/

This site is perfect for comparing different tyre sizes.