17`s versus 18`s

[encee]

I`m a newbie who is (excitedly) getting ready to pick up his first GTI on Monday. It`s an `05 model, and currently has the standard 17`s fitted.

Has anyone any thoughts on preference for the 17`s or 18`s in relation to ride quality, handling etc..........

IMHO the 18`s look the best, but are they necessarily better for the car ?

[jonny_d]

obviously the 18's look better full stop. but in terms of ride quality i'm guessing 17's as theyre what are standrd on the car. i dont own one unfortunately but ive got a mk4 and have just put 18" mille miglia cup 3's on it and the ride has changed quite a bit for the worse

[encee]

obviously the 18's look better full stop. but in terms of ride quality i'm guessing 17's as theyre what are standrd on the car. i dont own one unfortunately but ive got a mk4 and have just put 18" mille miglia cup 3's on it and the ride has changed quite a bit for the worse

Thanks for that Jon, you`re a gent. I think I`m going to stick with the 17`s for now, as the ride and handling with them on is out of this world !

[gg]

 

hi encee,
best feeling ever driving out showroom in gti! As for tyres i went for the 18's and the ride is surprisingly smoothe(apart from sharp speed bumps). The handling is amazing though. But the real plus as u mentioned is the incredible profile they give the car. The huge rims glare from miles away in streetlight and side by side demolish the standard look of the 17's. However its a personal thing and i just love the bling!
gg

[golfpro]

in my humble opinion the 18s just fill the arches a bit better and give it a more manly stance (no offence ladies) Id go for the 18s if it was me, the tyres bein a little wider should help handelin if anything

[Ali-Jay]

Hi again encee, slight correction to golfproÂ’s previous post, both wheels have 225's on them but the 17's are 45 profile whereas the 18's are 40 profile. I'm sure there must be some affect on ride quality, but I think it's pretty minimal & it doesn't spoil the ride for me. However as golfpro says 18's fill the wheels arches a little better making it look a tad more purposeful IMO - that's the reason I went for them anyway.

One thing that isn't apparent from some of the photos of the two different wheels is that each have different types of finish. The 17's have a uniform silver coating (paint or powder coating) where as the 18's are polished & clear lacquered on their outer face with charcoal grey metallic finish (paint or powder coating) in the cut outs & bolt recesses.

HereÂ’s a close up pic of the18Â’s;

[>>Mart<<]

the 18s do look better eventhough i think they still look a bit small 

the r32 style ones on her mk5 look pretty good the handling seems better and as for road noise its hardly noticable i think it just depends what compound of tyre you get put on ie softer is better
as for tyre size its running 215/40/18
ride quality is hardly different either

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/gallery/displayimage.php?album=random&cat=21581&pos=-479

[charri42]

I am looking at a mk5 gti and have managed to drive cars with both 17 and 18 inches. It was hard to tell if there was any major difference, both rode well, but crashed a bit on slower poor quality roads. I really don't think you could tell the difference, or if so, only very mild.

The only negative I see for the 18" (aside from initial cost and tyre cost) is the laquered finish. Which looks great new, but ALWAYS has problems later with water damage / peeling / needing refurb etc. But I assume they would be replaced under warranty? so what the hell!

[fcukruss]

why stop at 18`s

on ebay there are a set of rs6 wheels/tyres £595.


now were talking bling!!!!!!!


russ

[Magblixt]

I just traded my 17" in for a set of 18". The ride is not worse (at least not much). What does get worse is the road noise though. But people getting the 18" are sure to happily live with that downside, considering the improved handling and the superb head-turning looks!