Mk1 Cab What Tyres for a nice comfy ride????????

[goodo]

Hiya Gang,

Time has come for the horrendous excuses for tyres on my cab to be replaced with some nice fresh rubber. The ones on there at the moment have been on there for 3 years plus and standing still for long perids (i.e. they've got really bad flat spots and cause serious vibes at any speeds). My sportline is lowered, and I live in london so there are speedbumps everywhere you can imagine what that does to the poor cabrio owner (scuttle shake is not good for me or the car). So I'm looking for your advice as to what the best (comfiest ) tyre is out there. I'm not particularly bothered about excellent grip, either wet or dry, or longevity, just a nice supple ride. The guy at Micheldever tyres recommended Dunlop Sp200 and Sp01. He said Michelins were also good (these are a bit pricey for me but anyway). So what have you guys got on yours and am I right in thinking the tyre dims are 185 55 R15H (with black centred BBS alloys)?

Would be interested to hear your views before I click.

Goodo

p.s. got a new hood, looks much nicer now.....

[Judderi]

i would go for ones made of rubber. These tend to be more comfortable than wood ones. 

[Dinky]

ive got yoko a539s on mine and i think they are a nice tyre,suit me..not too pricey and a nice grip imo
i reckon everyone has their own taste and budget..maybs this mite have had more views/opinions in the garage section?!
also,hope you have shopped around for prices..like on www.mytyres.co.uk and www.etyres.co.uk cos prices can vary..
pics of the new hood too please

Dinx

[Bronze MK1 Cab]

Mine are 45 profile tyres, they look good, but you do feel the bumps a lot  Reckon you should go with the 50 profile 

[gibby]

I changed mine last year and I always go for Continental but that's just because I know they are good, better the devil and all that. The stock tyre is 185/55/15 but I think they look too skinny, as Bronze says a 45 profile will probably be too harsh and are more expensive. I've put 195/50/15 on mine and they are good enough but I havent got stock suspension on mine and I do feel bumps in the road at times.

I'd say go for 195/50/15s and you should be ok. 

[goodo]

Guys can you explain how a wheel can fit two different tyre sizes. Are the BBS alloys I'm talking about (sportline), good for 195s. How does the whole wheel tyre thing work and what is the best size tyre for the golf cabrio. I'm guessing a lower profile tyre (50 vs 55) ould give a harsher ride? The 195s are cheaper though.....

And fatter 

G

[gibby]

I wondered that myself and never really found out why, but basically the width of the wheel doesn't mean that only one size tyre can fit on there. Some people on the show scene like their tyres to look stretched so they end up putting a 165 width across their wheel even though stock might be 185.  Dont know if I'm making sense here or not so I guess the best bet is to talk to the tyre place and they'll probably explain it.

As I said above I can guarantee that mine were 185/55/15 stock and I've now gone to 195/50/15 and you will be able to go the same way. Another user on here with a Sportline (eyeletboy) is running 195/50/15s on his I think. If you are unsure have a chat with the place that is doing your tyres and they should give you all the information you need. Also, yes a 50 profile will be a harsher ride than a 55 but it all comes down to how you want the car to look and drive and what is the most important to you.  I dont know if they do a 195/55/ tyre and that will be a bigger tyre wall than the 185/55 as the second figure (55) is the percentage of the size of the width, so 55% of 195 will be a larger figure then 55% of 185 if you catch my drift and your cab will look like a 4x4.

If you really want to be clued up on tyres have a look at this site. --> http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html 

Your choices as far as I can gather are stock of 185/55/15 so you will have a skinnier tyre but a comfier ride or 195/50/15 where the tyre width and profile will look better but the ride will be slightly compromised, I also found that going from 185 to 195 meant that my turning circle at low speeds was slightly worse. If you are running stock suspension you might also find that changing your tyre profile means there's more space in your wheel arches, thinking about it there are a few things to think about when just changing the tyre size ! Apologies for long windedess of my reply too. 

I have some before and after pics of me lowering my car and it was on stock tyres of 185/55 so I can post them up if you like just to see the difference and the fact that going to a 195/50 will mean that there is more space in the wheel arches. If you need me to post them let me know, I dont think I took any when I moved to 195/50s though.