UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Jeff GTi wrote:205x45x15 is the right size as this is what they fit to their own 16 inch alloys as on my gti

i do assume that was a typo and it was supposed to read 205x45x16?

there's a very small range of tyres, obviously going up in wheel size will make a small amount of difference because you can't always match the sizes perfectly

tdi sport VW size: 195x55x15

16's: 205x45x16 (0.8% out)
16's: 195x50x16 (1.0% out)
17's: 205x40x17 (0.1% out)

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

anything within 1% of VW sizes is OK to use.

yeah sorry typo mistake there

205 x 45 x 16 mate

david burton wrote:there's a very small range of tyres, obviously going up in wheel size will make a small amount of difference because you can't always match the sizes perfectly

tdi sport VW size: 195x55x15

16's: 205x45x16 (0.8% out)
16's: 195x50x16 (1.0% out)
17's: 205x40x17 (0.1% out)

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

anything within 1% of VW sizes is OK to use.

and VW had the cheek to tell me 17's with 205/40/17's would put my speedo way out and rub even without lowering. and that i wouldn't get away with lowering on 17's. Shows how much they know at my local VW! Good job i didn't listen to them.

do u think 17's look too big on a polo?

david burton wrote:

195/45/16, 195/40/16, or 205/40/16s

all those sizes are too small ideally and will put your speedo out. as a couple of others have said you want the 205 x 45 x 16s as a first choice.

Sure it will put speedo out, but its still little and it won't show you're doing 30mph when your actually doing 36mph - which is what higher profiles than VW recommended tyres sizes do.

The so-called 'vw recommended' tyre sizes are all listed on the inside of the petrol cap. If your planning to lower it, I wouldn't recommend 205/45/16s.

why not al?

im running my gti turbo - 50 mm front and - 55 mm rear on standard gti monzas in 16 inch flavour with 205 x 45 x 16's

they keep the handling sweet, are not too hard, quite comfy in fact and dont rub at all

195x40x16s are almost 6% out and over an inch smaller in diameter.

when lowering I actually went for the same diameter on purpose not only for the speedo but because the smaller tyre would be even worse on speed bumps and so on as the car would be another 15mm closer to the ground with the same arch gap. I need the clearance on the sills and so on.

the only saving grace is the 195s are smaller width so you might be able to put the tyre further in the arch. however I have no problems on the 205s at all. I'd rather have the speedo accurate that reading 5mph too little at an indicated 70mph.

david burton wrote:195x40x16s are almost 6% out and over an inch smaller in diameter.

I'm assuming you based these on as 195/55/15 tyres as being 'stock tyres'?

A 1.4 SE's stock tyre would be 185/60/14 so...

195/40/16 are actually 2.6% underreading.
195/45/16 have a 0.7% overreading.
205/45/16 have a 2.3% overreading.

with the 205/40/17 tyre its a 3.2% overreading.
with the 'recommended VW' 215/35/17 a 0.8% overreading.

I'm amazed the difference between 14inch and 15inch wheels and tyre sizes from VW is 3% in circumference! that's crazy! that really skews the results as you've pointed out.

if the 185x60x14 is stock on 14's then in fact 195x50x15s is nearer (0.3%)

do they change the speedos between models? if not then VW obviously set it up to be calibrated between the 14 and 15 inch setup.

I wonder what my spare is, size wise.

plus I'm amazed they recommend 215s on 17 inch rims. they'd stick out of the rim but I guess VW fitment on a 17 is probably 40 offset or something. anyone clarify?

looks like i have started a debate lol

http://www.tigerstyle.co.uk/poloforum/v ... hp?t=30505

buy the TT's - they suit the 9n3 really well!

sorry to be a pain guys but what size tyres would i need if i were to get 17's?

lol look above

either 205x40x17s (I can vouch for these) or the 215x35x17s which I would be wary of if you were lowering the car.

i used 215x40x17 on my 17" tt comps but they rubbed a fair bit on bumps with mine down on coilies