18" vs 19" wheels ride and handling

[symonh2000]

Hi all, my car came to me with 19" santiago alloys, and whilst I do like them I do prefer the look of the classic Austin/Monza type.

I was just wondering really, what are the handling difference between the two on the car? On previous cars I have found that smaller wheels and slightly taller tyres tend to improve the ride and handling, and because more of the wheel mass is towards the wheel centre the acceleration is slightly better also.

Does that hold true on the Golf?

I think my non-actived damped car rides very well considering it is on 19" wheels to start with.

Many Thanks.

[Ceefeesh]

My car too had 19” Santiagos when I bought it. I found them harsh and a bit ‘buzzy’ on some surfaces. I felt they made the ride a bit bumpy and ‘thumpy’ over rougher surfaces. In terms of handling I thought both sizes were good and I never found either wanting; both were competent and capable, for me the handling was never a factor in deciding for one over the other.

I fitted genuine 18 Milton Keynes/Austins in place of the Santiagos and I do prefer the ride they give. However, my car did not have DCC and that may have negated my impression of the 19s. 

[willni]

18's will ride better and handle better, 19's are purely for aesthetic reasons in my opinion the 19's should have had a larger sidewall say 40/45 instead of 35.

Play about with the air pressures though, I recently dropped my car from 39psi to 36 psi all-round and it drives much nicer, 7.5's say to use 41psi but it's pretty hard.

[joe6]

I use 36psi on my 7.5 which is on 18s. I read that the 41psi was to help pass emissions regulations and ruins the ride. Not tried that pressure myself.

[symonh2000]

Thanks for the help guys. I am currently running 40psi all round as the plate on the door suggests.

The ride is good if a bit fidgety. I was wary of dropping the pressures due to the greater likelyhood of pot hole damage to the wheels.

The tyres I have I don't think are that great, it came with a nearly new set of the older style Pirelli Pzero and I find them poor in the wet compared to Goodyear and Michelin.

I was thinking that it wouldn't be too hard to sell the current wheels and get a different set with new tyres on if I wanted to.

[MKgti]

Definitely changing tyres would improve.
I had factory stock Pirelli p zero,  changed them to Michelin pilot sport 4s, wow what a difference! Better ride, grip and handling. I have 19" Brescia's and 38psi

[Watts]

Definitely changing tyres would improve.
I had factory stock Pirelli p zero,  changed them to Michelin pilot sport 4s, wow what a difference! Better ride, grip and handling. I have 19" Brescia's and 38psi

I have P-Zeros too, fronts down to 4mm so will rotate soon. Annoyingly they are lasting a little too well as over 20k miles now but I'm too tight to bin them until they get to 3mm all round. Looking forward to getting PS4S tyres as the last set I had on my previous car were exactly as you describe.

My car data says 36PSI for light luggage for all four tyres. Feels about right.

[willni]

I have P-Zeros too, fronts down to 4mm so will rotate soon. Annoyingly they are lasting a little too well as over 20k miles now but I'm too tight to bin them until they get to 3mm all round. Looking forward to getting PS4S tyres as the last set I had on my previous car were exactly as you describe.

My car data says 36PSI for light luggage for all four tyres. Feels about right.

I'm considering moving from the PS4S when they're done to the PS5's, they get a very good review but at this stage they'll probably release the PS5S before then.

[symonh2000]

I am thinking of getting the Goodyear assymetric 6 once they become available in the correct size. I was very happy with the previous generations of these on my previous cars.

They are a bit cheaper than the Michelins but seem to perform at the same level.

I have 3 nearly new Pzeros that is the problem, plus one which is about half worn that is 5 years old. The car came to me like this.

[mcmaddy]

I am thinking of getting the Goodyear assymetric 6 once they become available in the correct size. I was very happy with the previous generations of these on my previous cars.

They are a bit cheaper than the Michelins but seem to perform at the same level.

I have 3 nearly new Pzeros that is the problem, plus one which is about half worn that is 5 years old. The car came to me like this.

The Goodyear Asy6 are a more sporty tyre than the Michelins. Michelins are very soft in the sidewalls and give a soft floaty steering feel.