Hi everyone, 

I hope that you are all well.

I just boughy my first ever car (SKODA Octavia 1.5 TSI ACT SE DSG Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr) today so please bear with me

 

The car has 16' alloy wheels and one of my friend who drives a Superb insisting (he is just trying to help me) for me to change the rims to 17' but I really like the look of 18'. I saw it on another 2015 Octavia and fall in love.

 

I have been watching videos to understand the pros and cons of increasing the sizes of the rims but couldn't come a conclusion. 

 

Would the comfort and performance changes be drastic?

Thanks a lot for your help in advance!

Welcome.

 

Sensible if you are wanting to spend for the stylee / looks rather than just practicality of the wheels and tyres on the car do the job they are required to.

 

Maybe if the tyres are needing replaced sooner or later so money needs spending could be the time to splash the cash on wheels and tyres of a different size.

 

Maybe you could sell your wheels and tyres on Briskoda and even find bigger wheels / tyres that someone else is selling after going smaller on their car.

(The circumference / rolling radius will be much the same.)

Comfort might depend on what you think, where you drive, what tyres you fit, etc.

Just my opinion, but one of the specifics when choosing my 2nd Skoda, was to have 16" wheels ! I had a Scout before, with low profile tyres, 17" wheels and the ride was extremely uncomfortable, especially with today's road conditions. 

 

Larger wheels = lower profile tyres = harder ride.

 

Depends if your priority is aesthetics or comfort.

One of the reasons I chose my current Ocatvia was for it's 16" wheels, mainly for comfort & less pothole damage. If you prefer looks over comfort with a firmer ride then go for larger alloys. 

My last two cars have had 18" wheels and I won't have them again.  Poor roads, pot holes, kerbs and comfort mean my next car will be 16" rims or smaller 

 

Gaz

 

It's a personal thing. If you are not used to the car and you are new to driving (first car etc) then maybe stick to the 16s. They will be more forgiving and better on fuel. Toots idea to change the wheels at a more convenient time might be good too.

 

For what it's worth tyre reviews in YouTube did a test with the golf with different wheel sizes and found the 17s to be the best compromise for comfort and performance. 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want 18s give it a go ,got 18s on my vrs no issues had 19s on my rcz no issues ,i prefer 18s to 19s because its about 50 quid a tyre less pound notes ,if your on crappy pot hole roads just go a tad slower ,alot of new cars now come with silly wheel sizes just so they look nice ,but bigger wheels do look nicer imo .

Octavia 1.5 TSI ACT DSG SE suspension a bit different from that of a vRS but then maybe just the difference of Ooo & Ahhh!

Iss aahh such a big thing tho ,alot of new motors now come with 18s or 19s now and 1.2 engines that couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding ,its all about how they look ,you never know till you give it try .

Edited 30 June, 20232 yr by Mickvrs220

@tootI put 18s on my Octavia that had torsion beam rear end like the 1.5. Granted it was lowered and with B6 shocks but it wasn't that bad.

Thanks a lot for your help and advice. Appriciated a lot!

I haven't got the car yet as it will be transferred on Monday but I will be using the current tires as long as they are safe to do so as @tootsuggested of course and then might replace them. 

I watched the videos alongside a ton of other videos and I was wondering if my logic is (partly) correct. 

The stock tires are 205/55R16 and as far as I understand from the descriptions the tire sidewall height is (205 mm x 55% ) 112,7 mm whereas for 255/50/R18 is 112,5 mm (255 mm x 50%).

Both of these numbers look so close and I was wondering if their shock absorbency levels are also similar therefore their pot hole resistances (behaviors towards the potholes).

I think that the only way to see it to try and experience it... (might be a costly experiment though  )

17 minutes ago, GokhanD said:

The stock tires are 205/55R16 and as far as I understand from the descriptions the tire sidewall height is (205 mm x 55% ) 112,7 mm whereas for 255/50/R18 is 112,5 mm (255 mm x 50%).

These numbers are correct, but a direct replacement 18" tyre for a 205/55R16 will have a sidewall height of 113mm - 25 mm or 88mm. The important point that you haven't seemed to understand is that you keep the rolling diameter the same (within a few mm either way) so if you increase the wheel diameter by 2", you have to decrease the sidewall height by 25mm.

@GokhanD

Examples.

Bottom comparison why your example was not close..

 

Edited 1 July, 20232 yr by toot

The stock 18 size is 225/40/18. Much lower profile than the 205/55/16. Hence why people are saying that they are a harder ride. That size you are looking at is way out of the realms of usable on the Octavia. Won't fit the wheel wells and the drivetrain will struggle.

10 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

These numbers are correct, but a direct replacement 18" tyre for a 205/55R16 will have a sidewall height of 113mm - 25 mm or 88mm. The important point that you haven't seemed to understand is that you keep the rolling diameter the same (within a few mm either way) so if you increase the wheel diameter by 2", you have to decrease the sidewall height by 25mm.

Thanks a lot for the all answers and help again.

It seems like I mistakenly assumed that increasing the rolling diameter only would result the speedometer misguiding you a little bit and it can somehow be fixed in a garage or something.

@Paws4Thot, @tootand @MarkyG82 thanks a lot againfor the detailed explanations. 

79.7% of Briskoda posts from members changing their wheel/tyre combinations to larger sizes do it because they like the look.

 

81.3% of professional car reviewers say that the higher spec larger wheeled versions of a particular model ride worse than the cheaper smaller wheeled version.

 

87.2% of statistics are made up on the spot.

60% of the time it works every time.

Mine came with 18's, kerbed them in the first week (first time in decades). Changed for 16's. Sale of 18's covered the cost of the 16. Never regretted it, better ride, lower noise(might be the tyres of course) haven't kerbed them in 4 years. With beam axle I was never going to notice a difference in handling😄. Which I did notice moving from IRS. 

Edited 3 July, 20232 yr by GreenMachine1.6
clarification

On my 2014 14 tsi, I used my old mk2 Vrs 18" alloys with 225/40 18 Continental all season contacts. The ride is a bit firmer. All seasons are a tad jelly in the current extra hot days. But most of the year they are great. I do appriciate the extra grip from the wider tyres. The only thing i did, which is something i have never done in the past is use spacers. Just 12mm hubcentric one with the correct lenght bolts. It makes the car look visably lower , without using lowering springs. Also the slightly wider track improves the handling a bit. I'm more than happy with the set up, less compromises than the usual uprating suspension route woes ...especially for a non-vrs version.