tyre size

[lee005]

Hi i have the standard 15" alloy wheels on my VW polo 1.4 2009 with 185/60/15 tyres, can i up my tyre size to 195/55 without changing the 15" alloys ?

[iichel]

It's a 1.3% difference in circumference. That's not too bad, but 185/60 R15 would be ideal.

[SRGTD]

Interested to know why you’re thinking of changing your tyre size. As iichel has said, there will be a difference in circumference, and this will result in a slight speedo reading error.

[lee005]

I just feel like the car lacks grip on the tyres I have on there, I feel like the back is loose and skips away at times, it may not be the tyres doing that but I still need new ones.

[iichel]

Maybe it could be worthwhile to check your tire pressures and treadwear. A good tire should not easily lose grip. What is the current tire fitted? Make and type?

[SRGTD]

What brand of tyres do you currently have? Some of the budget brand tyres aren’t renowned for having good grip and road holding characteristics. That’s why they’re sometimes referred to as ‘ditch finders’!

[lee005]

I have a set of falkens on there at the minute, they came with the car, not sure what type of falken.

What do people recommend I get, I intend to replace all 4 at once.

[SRGTD]

Might be worth reading the discussion thread at the link below;

https://uk-polos.net/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=71825

Forum member Polonut was recently looking for suggestions on tyres (also 185/60 R15’s) for their Polo. In my opinion, I’d say you can’t go far wrong with Michelin or Continental.

[RUM4MO]

lee005, one thing to bear in mind, though it might not be an issue with your car's wheels, is, for every width of wheel there is an advised/tolerated range width of tyre, you would need to check up on that before rushing in and changing your tyre size as that is a lot more important to your safety than the slight increase/decrease in circumference of the wheels/tyres combo after any change.

[lee005]

The only reason I thought 195/55/15 might be ok was that option appeared inside the petrol flap.

[RUM4MO]

Maybe, but used with which supplied wheels? 195/55 tyres are quite a cost jump up from 185/60 though maybe that is not an issue, VW Polo of old used to come fitted with 195/55 15 and some with 195/50 15 though I think that small change was due to a diminishing selection of tyres in the original size - certainly with my wife's 2002 Polo 9N when I went to replace all the tyres for the second time, "her" size had been dropped by the brand/version of tyre that that car came out of the factory with!

You will find the rim width of your alloy wheels somewhere on them along with the VW part number.

Edit:- I seem to remember considering buying 195/55 winter tyres to fit to the VW alloys that I bought for my wife's August 2015 Polo - then went down the Captain Sensible route and bought narrower 185/60, if I had bought 195/55 winter tyres it would have been down to "the look" over the "performance"!

The VW alloys that I use on my wife's Polo in winter have 6" wide rims, and that I seem to remember would tolerate the use of 195/55 tyres.

[Polonut]

Having run both size tyres mentioned above, I would say there is virtually no difference in performance, BUT, there is a most notable difference in road noise.
My 2016 Polo Match has 185x60x15 tyres (continental) and certainly does not lack grip. Fronts will soon be changed to Michelin Cross Climates if available in 185x60x15.

[wolfie]

Following a quick google, here's a couple of bits of useful information to help choose the correct tyre/rim combination.

1. Little table of the acceptable tyre to rim size
https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/char ... size-chart

2. Tyre size/equivalence calculator
https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?wheel1 ... 5mm&sr=0mm

As has been said, you need to have a look at what size your rim width and ET is of your current wheel and start from there.

185/60/15 to 195/55/15 looks like a fairly sensible upgrade if you have 6J rims .
The larger width 195 has a slightly smaller circumference (1.2%) so would mean your speedo would read a little low (When speedometer reads 60 km/h actual speed will be 57.3 km/h)


While I wouldn't put any of the "Uber-cheap" tyres on. Many mid-range tyres are plenty good enough for normal driving. (I've heard a few folk say they like Nexen) I drove for years on crossply and didn't find a single ditch. Even with mid-range tyres they will still have info on road noise if you have a little dig. A few years back I swapped from Pirelli to Uniroyal and they were way, way better in the wet. So extra cost doesn't always mean better performance.


My Polo runs 215/45/16 and yet the spare is a 195/50 as it's nigh on the same diameter