I want to fit smaller wheels to improve comfort and fuel economy, and found VW Passat wheels for sale at a nice price. I was wondering if anyone has tried fitting 7J wheels with 15" diameter? Outside diameter will fit for sure. The only question is if the inside of the rim will contact suspension or steering arms at full lock.

Here's some simulations i did on "Will it fit?":

Biggest OE wheel (7.5Jx17 ET49) vs 7Jx15 ET37:

Most inset and widest OE 16" wheel (6.5Jx16 ET48) vs 7Jx15 ET37:

Pokiest OE 6Jx15 ET41 wheel vs 7Jx15 ET37:

Most inset OE 6Jx15 ET45 wheels vs 7Jx15 ET37:

The 15" wheels on the Octavia MK3 are 195/65R15 6Jx15 ET43 5/112 57.1

Fitting a 195/65 to a rim wider than 6" will make the ride harder, and the rim will be far more vulnerable to kerbing damage because the tyre's sidewalls won't bulge out from the rim as much.

On the Octavia MK3, 15" rims won't clear the front brake calipers if the front brake discs are bigger than 288x25mm...and you will probably find that an Octavia MK3 with an engine more powerful than 110kW/150PS has front brake discs bigger than 288x25mm...although do check the car's build codes to be sure.

As you can see in the ETRTO chart below, 195/65 can be fitted to a rim width between 5.5" and 7.0" with 6.0" being the standard rim width for this tyre size...and hence highlighted in bold.

ETRTO approved rim widths for passenger car tyres

195/65 5.5-6.0-7.0

Edited 19 August, 202519 Aug by Carlston

15 hours ago, Carlston said:

15" rims won't clear the front brake calipers if the front brake discs are bigger than 288x25mm

Thanks, i'll check the brakes. Engine is 1.0TSI so i might be on the smaller ones.

15 hours ago, Carlston said:

Fitting a 195/65 to a rim wider than 6" will make the ride harder

I'm expecting the ride to be quite a bit softer since i'll be changing from 225/45 tires on 7Jx17 wheels (OE alloy Trius 17" wheels). Or maybe equal stiffness with the 195's at higher pressures, which should result in meaningful fuel savings. The sidewall height difference is around 2,6cm

Going to 205 tyres on the 17" rims might just give the same fuel saving of maybe 1 MPG if that & saves the cost of new wheels.

& there might be more comfort.

Or if happy buying wheels and tyres going 16" wheels and 205 tyres but fitting All Seasons.

Can't comment on the original "will it fit" question cos I haven't tried those sizes. I agree with your opinion that the lower profile tyres are a pain - uncomfortable ride, worse for aquaplaning, expensive tyres. My Octavia MK3 1.6 diesel SEL 2017 is on 205/55 R16 as standard and I'd recommend this as a decent compromise (I run all-season tyres - good all round but a little noisy).

There are loads of Octavia and Golf 16 inch wheels around and they're so common the tyres are reasonably priced. Just my suggestion !!

On 19/08/2025 at 20:21, Carlston said:

The 15" wheels on the Octavia MK3 are 195/65R15 6Jx15 ET43 5/112 57.1

Fitting a 195/65 to a rim wider than 6" will make the ride harder, and the rim will be far more vulnerable to kerbing damage because the tyre's sidewalls won't bulge out from the rim as much.

On the Octavia MK3, 15" rims won't clear the front brake calipers if the front brake discs are bigger than 288x25mm...and you will probably find that an Octavia MK3 with an engine more powerful than 110kW/150PS has front brake discs bigger than 288x25mm...although do check the car's build codes to be sure.

As you can see in the ETRTO chart below, 195/65 can be fitted to a rim width between 5.5" and 7.0" with 6.0" being the standard rim width for this tyre size...and hence highlighted in bold.

ETRTO approved rim widths for passenger car tyres

195/65 5.5-6.0-7.0

I measured my brake rotors at ≈29cm, i'm guessing they are 288mm, so will a 15" ET47 steel wheel fit?

18 hours ago, c_radicallis said:

I measured my brake rotors at ≈29cm, i'm guessing they are 288mm, so will a 15" ET47 steel wheel fit?

The Octavia MK3 1.0TSI doesn't use front brake discs bigger than 288x25mm, so 15" rims will fit...including the non-standard 6Jx15 ET47 5/112 57.1 although 6Jx15 ET43 5/112 57.1 is the standard size for the Octavia MK3.

Edited 4 September, 20254 Sep by Carlston

Thanks a lot man.

I'll likely buy a set of 6Jx15 ET47 5/112 57.1 since the used market has a lot on offer and I've been able to negociate some down to 40€