Just thinking about what effect changing from my current 215/55/17 Crossclimate 2's to 215/65/17s might have to the driving characteristics of my car.

My calculations are that the overall diameter will increase from 26.3" to 28" and for a mile travelled the revolutions required would decrease from 767 to 721. A reduction/saving of ~6%.

Would there be a noticeable difference in stability when cornering and would there be a noticeable softening of the ride?

Lastly, is it legal to do this as the 215/65/17 is not one of the standard size fitments?

A 6% change could result in your speedo under-reading as they normally over-read by around 5%, which might not be desirable.

The normally suggested maximum change is 2%.

Edited 18 March18 Mar by PetrolDave

According to online calculators you gain about 3/4" ride height (and loose 3/4" wheel arch gap) so about 3/4" more sidewall.

How much difference this might make depends on your car, the tyres and your driving style, you'd be best to ask another 2016 Superb III 1.6TDi owner that's done that swap or similar with same make and model of tyres or as close as possible.

As it's not a standard size for your model you might want to check with your insurance that they don't class it as a modification or other, I can't think it's illegal as such.

Many owners to get a better ride and get a little more sidewall for our potholed 3rd-world roads would reduce the wheel size to the 16", which had 215/60 r16 (if internet is correct).

HTH.

Changing from the standard 215/55R17 to 215/65R17 is far too big an increase.

The speedo will under-read, there might be rubbing especially the front on full-lock, and the gearing will be too high...especially first gear for pulling away and top gear.

If you want a better ride, first make sure you've chosen tyres will soft and flexible sidewaalls such as good all-season tyres...and that the tyres aren't over-specified...so something like 215/55R17 94V rather than 215/55R17 98W XL. Choosing W-speed rating if you only need V-speed rating and XL (eXtra Load) rather than SL (Standard Load) will make the sidewalls stiffer and therefore the ride harder.

Choosing a narrower 6.5" rim width for the 215/55R17 will also make the ride softer compared to fitting this tyre size to a wider rim such as 7" or 7.5".

Perhaps look at 215/60R17 fitted to a 6.5" rim width, or 215/65R16 fitted to a 6.5J rim width. One benefit, is that these two tyre sizes tend to be a bit cheaper than 215/55R17.

Edited 19 March19 Mar by Carlston

Hi.

If you have any issues with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

Different take on this - manufacturers have approval on type vehicles for a whole host of tyre sizes (E.G. a vRS can have 225/40R18 or 225/35R19). I would think that if you are putting a tyre size on not approved, then you may have some issues re insurance, as this isn't a "non-standard alloy wheel" job.

That aside, as @Carlston says, going from 55 to 65 is far too large - starting in first gear on a hill will be like starting in second, and if you hit a big pothole you could run into some issues. Going to a narrower rim (or indeed a wider rim for a larger sidewall) might be the answer, as could dropping down a wheel size.

Thanks for all the replies. It will be a while before my current tyres are due a change but was just wondering what options I might have when the time comes.

I think a move up to a 65 is at bit OTT but I'd consider maybe a 60. Comfort & quietness are my primary requirements, performance is secondary and the Cross Climates deliver on all fronts in my opinion.

9 hours ago, OccyVRS said:

starting in first gear on a hill will be like starting in second

That would be no bad thing with a DSG 7. 1st gear is a joke unless crawling in traffic.

I must admit concentrating on the tyre and wheel figures and being more used to cars with manual four gear box I never gave overall gearing a thought, I'm more used to cars where the use of first gear can be only for a very short time or optional.

ETA: I missed Gammyleg's last post, looks like a similar experience unless I'm confusing opposites as I can often do.

Edited 19 March19 Mar by nta16
ETA:

Another thought I forgot, you also want to check availability and price of a size of tyre generally and specifically if you have a particular make and model of tyre in mind. I've no idea about these overlarge tyre sizes, I saw a video only the other day why VW went to 17" wheels years back (buying power to lower cost) now of course 17" wheels are viewed as small by most people.

19 hours ago, Gammyleg said:

215/55/17

225/55r17 tested on several Superbs Mk3/Mk3.FL, perfect choice

I've did it as above and 225/55 on the Superb seem a very reasonable choice. No probs. Obviously I cannot compare with 215/55 as last time I used that size was on a different car, a gazillion years ago.

Also very very important to pay attention to what Carlston wrote above about stiffness provided by different speed/weight ratings. Most people stop at the size and/or thread type, but the key is in the carcass of the tire itself!

Unfortunately the move by several manufacturers is to push for a hard/heavy tire, even when there was no need because either the model/car does not have the power to run them, or the overall weight to justify them.

And finally, only real experience can tell if one tire is 'stiffer' than another ... I see sometimes this mentioned in reviews, but seldom.

Just to add to this - you might/will find that the same tyre has different properties, depending if it's a 'regular' version, or an OE one for XYZ manufacturer. Simple version is that BMW OE PS4 are available in run flat form, but there are a surprisingly large number of other differences.

https://www.carthrottle.com/news/oe-tyres-vs-shelf-heres-how-different-same-tyre-can-be

Vi Bilagare recently did a test when it was cool 10c (a temperature much higher than many mornings in UK) and found OE tyres were poor at these lower temperatures. I think they are suggesting get standard spec tyres instead.

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyre-Tests/2025-Vi-Bilagare-Summer-EV-Tyre-Test.htm

Always worth remembering that tyres are generally harder when cold, so buying all season tyres instead of summer will usually give more comfortable ride (except when hot in mid summer)

When what are now called summer tyres were just called tyres it was put that they lost there performance from 10c more recently I had seen this figure to be 7c.

But I could well believe 10c, in a test though you'd want to know what poor means and in comparison to what.

Are there tests to see at what temperature all-seasons lose their performance and in comparison to 'summer' tyres, I'm not against all-season tyres at all but I imagine less caution is often taken by drivers in warmer weather than cooler or cold weather.

Of course whatever tyres in whatever weather the driver should drive within the conditions of the weather and how the tyres behave in those conditions.

Always worth remembering that tyres are generally harder when cold, so buying all season tyres instead of summer will usually give more comfortable ride (except when hot in mid summer)

This is dependant on the brand/tire type, however, is not a rule. Unfortunately is hard to assess so clear info is not available,easily, only experience.

In mine for example, the Dunlop Sportmaxxx are "soft (also sidewall)" tires, which is good and bad.

I'm not against all-season tyres at all but I imagine less caution is often taken by drivers in warmer weather than cooler or cold weather.

I am not "against" all-seasons, but I am wary of mounting all-year tires on a high-perfomance car, especially after a couple of season cycles, and thus stick to the double set.

But then, where I live we got a "real" winter, with extremely slippery and snowy conditions.

An all-season is bound to fail earlier, and failure when talking tires often offsets the price of the rubber itself 🙃

Yes it's horses for courses.

Gammyleg's Superb is a 1.6 TDI, all things are relative of course but 1.6 TDI in a big heavy (over heavy VW) doesn't strike me as a performance vehicle and I've not seen Gammyleg mention he's for spirited driving in it (but perhaps he is).

If there wasn't the silly over wide (215) and big wheels (17") that fashion dictates things might be a little more even for the tyres all year round in middling weather conditions that I guess is usual for Kent.

In the middle of the country here were I am you can easily drive around on summer tyres (that we used to just call tyres) all year round, obviously RWD BMWs and Mercs have more fun or can be a liability to be behind in laying snow depending on the driver. My 145/80 r13 summer tyres on my car were fine all year round and in laying snow. 😁

Edited 24 March24 Mar by nta16
spelling

4 minutes ago, nta16 said:

Gammyleg's Superb is a 1.6 TDI, all things are relative of course but 1.6 TDI in a big heavy (over heavy VW) doesn't strike me as a performance vehicle and I've not seen Gammyleg mention he's for spirited driving in it (but perhaps he is).

Yes, it is a bit of a heavy lump for a 1.6 but performance was not high on my list of requirements when I bought it. Economy, cheap insurance and road tax were key drivers plus reliability. For the most part all of those have been met.

Just a shame my DSG has proved to be a disappointment.

...and for the most part I do drive very sedately. 😀

@leolito you may already know this but in case not, for quoting part of a post, you can highlight it, then you should see (I hope) a black box with ["Quote selection], click on the black box and you get the quoted section in your post box. E.G. -

2 hours ago, leolito said:

but I am wary of mounting all-year tires on a high-perfomance car,

HTH.

Thanks, sometimes I have problems with 'quoting' and pre-view of messages 😉

10 hours ago, nta16 said:

Gammyleg's Superb is a 1.6 TDI, all things are relative of course but 1.6 TDI in a big heavy (over heavy VW) doesn't strike me as a performance vehicle and I've not seen Gammyleg mention he's for spirited driving in it (but perhaps he is).

Here is a test and it works! 😁

Yeah, I was mostly referring to myself and mine 280, but I still remain of the opinion that using all-year tires their wear should be more carefully monitored.

I tend to consider the reliability of tires on their most critical moment, which in my case is, of course, winter driving, thus I would not want a tire that can be more prone to fail in that moment ...that's it

Temperature plays a huge role in the behaviour of tyre compounds. An all-season/winter tyre will be a firmer compound that provides a bit less grip, but maintains this grip throughout a wide range of temperatures. A UHP/summer tyre will be a softer compound that provides more grip, but maintains this grip within a much narrower, and warmer, spread of temperatures. In the cold, this softer compound hardens up, reducing grip, ride quality, etc.

If you're not interested in performance (dare I say that in a 1.6 Superb I'd hope you aren't!) then some all season tyres will offer better grip in colder weather and better NVH (unless they have a very grippy tread pattern). UHP tyres also wear much faster and in general offer less efficiency (and more grip).

I live on the south coast of England, and run UHP summer tyres all year round. It's icy for about two days a year here, and on those days I just take it easy. OP lives in Kent, not somewhere with proper winters - and besides, I've driven in foot-deep snow with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S on, without real issue. Heck, I've even been in a track prepped Clio RS in the ice running semi-slicks - not the best experience mind.

It's a 1.6 Superb not a tuned M3 and OP isn't driving through snow drifts, or 45°C deserts. Do get a brand (rather than some Linglongs) but for your use, anything from Michelin, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Conti, Falken, Avon, Goodyear, Hankoo or Yoko will do. Black Circles is a good place to compare prices. Your location, car and driving style doesn't warrant anything special with regard to specific winter or summer tyres.