UK roads are a joke

[Golf_GT_TDI]

Roads are terrible, staying with 16's on my car I'd love 18's but there really is no point with the roads in the state they are these days!

[Edi35]

Roads are terrible, staying with 16's on my car I'd love 18's but there really is no point with the roads in the state they are these days!

18's are no problem,  GTI's even ride well enough, so unless you have a bad back there is no excuse not to make the most of your Golf

[mkviken]

The problem with the 18s is the weight. They're a really heavy wheel and the suspension has a hard time controlling that much mass.

The positive thing though is their big spoke design makes them very strong. Not heard of any bent monza 2's where as 18 focus ST rims are notorious for getting buckled on bad roads

[Golf_GT_TDI]

18's are no problem,  GTI's even ride well enough, so unless you have a bad back there is no excuse not to make the most of your Golf

Quite fancy R32 alloys but the roads are so bad, also a lot are country lanes/dirt tracks round here, had lowered cars etc before but it was a nightmare most of the time, I'd also need a steel sump guard if lowering.

[Edi35]

The problem with the 18s is the weight. They're a really heavy wheel and the suspension has a hard time controlling that much mass.

The positive thing though is their big spoke design makes them very strong. Not heard of any bent monza 2's where as 18 focus ST rims are notorious for getting buckled on bad roads

I just don't buy into this the ED30, ED35 and R are speced with 18's as std and 19's are optional on the current models and I have not experienced any issues with unsprung weight with my road driving.

It might be a different story on the track and then the need to modify to get the best out of the car which is understandable.

[mkviken]

i test drove 4 GTI's - 2 with very basic spec, manual and 17"s

2 were tarted up, DSG, leather and 18"s etc

the 17"s definitely handle better and to me the car felt lighter on its feet. i still went for the 18"s though as they look a lot better


if i can be bothered i might change to some light wheels log OZ ultraleggera or something. there 5kg a corner lighter than monza shadows.

[MBCGTI]

I dont get why people dont just club together and keep driving the roads like it and then go to the council with a bill for a new paint job on the front bumper.  It does my head in why we are paying so much road tax these days and yet the roads are such a bad state.

What annoys me is cars that dont have to pay road tax, it just shows that the money isnt going to repairing roads.  I mean these cars are still using the UK roads and still causing damage to the roads so where do they pay it back??

[p3asa]

I dont get why people dont just club together and keep driving the roads like it and then go to the council with a bill for a new paint job on the front bumper.  It does my head in why we are paying so much road tax these days and yet the roads are such a bad state.

What annoys me is cars that dont have to pay road tax, it just shows that the money isnt going to repairing roads.  I mean these cars are still using the UK roads and still causing damage to the roads so where do they pay it back??

I burst an alloy and tyre by hitting a pot hole many years ago. I was raging and went to see my local MP.

That was my opening line about paying road tax and the state of the roads to which he replied, road tax had nothing to do with the state of the roads. None of the money from road tax went back into the local councils. The state of the roads was out a completely different budget. So the fact some cars don't pay road tax has no bearing at all on the roads.

[MBCGTI]

I dont get why people dont just club together and keep driving the roads like it and then go to the council with a bill for a new paint job on the front bumper.  It does my head in why we are paying so much road tax these days and yet the roads are such a bad state.

What annoys me is cars that dont have to pay road tax, it just shows that the money isnt going to repairing roads.  I mean these cars are still using the UK roads and still causing damage to the roads so where do they pay it back??

I burst an alloy and tyre by hitting a pot hole many years ago. I was raging and went to see my local MP.

That was my opening line about paying road tax and the state of the roads to which he replied, road tax had nothing to do with the state of the roads. None of the money from road tax went back into the local councils. The state of the roads was out a completely different budget. So the fact some cars don't pay road tax has no bearing at all on the roads.

Had no idea, just assumed that road tax helped to pay the cost of repair!!

[p3asa]

Had no idea, just assumed that road tax helped to pay the cost of repair!!

I think most people do assume that and rightly so but its their local council they want to berate about it.

http://www.potholes.co.uk/

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

Has some useful info. I managed to get my money back for a new alloy and tyre but it was a drawn out process that I'd hate to go through again.