1.8 16v and 17'' wheels....performance?

[bcstudent 0]

Any other 1.8 16v owners out there notice that the already slight performance of their Corrado is reduced by fitting 17's (205/40-17)? I was expecting a difference in acceleration due to the increase in rolling radius and subsequent raise in gearing, but I never imagined it would make the car such hard work to drive.

 

Just me or what?!

[scruffydubbers 0]

when i did it on my old 16v i did nt notice that much difference, the only real difference a noticed was with the handling.

 

when comparing the wheels next to each other there was nt a lot of difference between the 205/50/15 and 205/40/17, that i had

[daves16v 1]

17" on my 2L 16v did make a difference, it was slower.

 

When side by side the 17" stood about an inch higher then the 15".

 

I've got 16" on now, it's better.

[vr6storm 0]

i'll move this to "tuning and mods" :wink: ..................better suited to there than "event announcements" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink:

[Mike Edwards 0]

If they're different diameter with the tyres on, you've got the wrong size tyres.

 

17" wheels tend to be heavier - partly offset by lighter tyres.

 

But it depends on the particular wheel. OZ polaris are a LOT heavier size for size thatn OZ Superleggera for example.

[bcstudent 0]

LOL...event announcements....my bad!

 

Can't say I've noticed a difference in handling as it was pretty damn tasty to start with. I do, however, notice the large step between 2nd and 3rd gear ratios now where I didn't really before. In order to have any chance of falling into the power in 3rd, I have to thrash the nutz off the poor car in 2nd....and after the relaxed character of my previous cars (all Mk.2 Golf GTi) I hate doing that. :roll:

 

Despite the fact that the car looks soooo much better, I think the 17s may have to go. :(

[flusted 0]

I noticed it bigtime. Heres a few calculations:

 

17inch wheel+ 2x40mm=overal diameter=approx 20inches

16inch wheel+ 2x45mm=overall diameter=approx 18 and a half inches

15inch wheel+ 2x50mm=overal diameter=approx 19inhces

mm is for profile,and you have to times it by 2 as theres 40mm at the top and 40mm at bottom

 

I think this is correct unless anyone else can shoot me down :|

If im right the 17ins wheels give approx 1inch bigger overall

 

I couldnt put smaller than 17s on my car cos i think it would look pants! so il sacrafice the loss in power :lol:

[flusted 0]

if i am wrong,dont bitch as i didnt go to shoocl,scohol, school!!!!!!! :lol:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Corrados do their best work with 15s, no question.....but the only snag is when you've tightened up the chassis considerably with ARBs and springs, dampers, new bushes etc you can really feel the tyre sidewall flex of the 15s. Not so bad with 205x50s though. It's the only remaining weakness of an otherwise dead stiff and tight setup. 16s and 17s with their thinner sidewalls give a better turn-in and less flex during serious cornering antics.......but at the cost of ride comfort.

 

Acceleration won't be affected if you get the rolling radius right but the extra unsprung weight will make itself apparent during mid corner bumps. So you need to pick wheels that are very light if going up 2 sizes.

 

The G60 RMs and VR speedlines are very light wheels but I was surprised to find the 17" Audi TT comp wheels are barely any heavier, and that's what you're aiming for.

[vr6storm 0]

 

The G60 RMs and VR speedlines are very light wheels but I was surprised to find the 17" Audi TT comp wheels are barely any heavier, and that's what you're aiming for.

 

ahhhh but given that the only TT-comp(not sure if they're available tbh) wheels available in 4-stud are really replica's........would they actually weigh the same????

[Kevin Bacon 5]

No mate. Replicas don't use the same quality metal as the real deal and will be heavier as a consequence.

 

If you're going to upgrade wheels on a VW, do it properly with the real deal or not at all in my humble one. The Corrado/A3/A2 chassis is ancient and fickle as Feck with the 15s, let alone bigger rollers. So stick to the good brands and you can't go wrong, as mentioned earlier, OZs are light and a quality brand, for example.

[Henny 0]

I noticed it bigtime. Heres a few calculations:

 

17inch wheel+ 2x40mm=overal diameter=approx 20inches

16inch wheel+ 2x45mm=overall diameter=approx 18 and a half inches

15inch wheel+ 2x50mm=overal diameter=approx 19inhces

mm is for profile,and you have to times it by 2 as theres 40mm at the top and 40mm at bottom

 

I think this is correct unless anyone else can shoot me down :|

If im right the 17ins wheels give approx 1inch bigger overall

 

I couldnt put smaller than 17s on my car cos i think it would look pants! so il sacrafice the loss in power :lol:

 

Sorry mate, this doesn't work...

 

on a 205 45 16 tyre:

205 = width in mm

45 = percentage of width that the sidewall height is

16 = inside diameter of the tyre in inches....

So your figures are not accurate...

[Mike Edwards 0]

Just to stir things a little further:

 

16x7 Superleggeras fitted with 205/45/16 Toyo Proxes are an amazing 2/3rds the weight of my G60s original 15x6.5 BBS RMS fitted with Pirelli P6000 205/50/15.

 

They are the same diameter to within a couple of mm.

[RobyD 0]

I've had 2 different sets of 17s on my 1.8 16v - first set were some wolfraces which seemed to be made out of lead and slowed down the car quite noticelably! Then went back to 15s and now i've got some 17" BBSs and could hardly notice any difference in acceleration.

 

If you get a quality make wheel like BBS,OZ and Speedline etc which are designed to be light, the difference should be minimal IMO

[dr_mat 0]

As already pointed out in a previous thread, even if the rolling radius remains the same, and the new larger diameter wheel weighs the same as the previous smaller one, the performance will be reduced. Same weight, sure, but it's further from the centre of the wheel, which means you need to use more precious engine power rotating the wheels instead of pushing the car along the road.

To get no reduction in performance, you need to buy wheels that are 15/17 times the original weight - i.e. 88% the original weight. 8)

[Blair 0]

I wrote a spreadsheet a few years ago for this sort of thing - it doesn't account for weight, but will let you enter your reference wheel/tyre sizes (width, profile and wheel diameter), then for every other combination you enter it will give you the delta to the rolling radius & the circumference and also give you this delta as a percentage.

 

If anyone thinks they'd find it useful, get in touch (or is there an upload/download area I can stick it in?)

 

For example - taking the 1.8 16V as basis, the standard wheel/tyre size was 185/55r15 out of the factory.

 

If you stick 205/50r15 tyres on it, you're looking at an increase in RR of 0.8mm - ie. well within the realms of mere tyre wear.

 

If you stick 205/40r17s on, you're looking at an extra 5.6mm on the RR (or 1.9%).

 

 

As mentioned, it WON'T take the weight of the wheel into account, but will give you a rough idea.

 

HTH :)

[PhatVR6 0]

forget the calcs on tyre sizes.

 

the simple facts are that the 1.8 16v is a gutless peice of sh1te, and most roads cars come out of the factory with horrible gear ratios too.

 

wheels are not going to fix it......

[Blair 0]

wheels are not going to fix it......

Yeah, but at least you can avoid making it any worse!

 

the simple facts are that the 1.8 16v is a gutless peice of sh1te

Gutless maybe...but the rest of it is remarkably similar to mine & yours ;)

[Bally 0]

Like Roby said stick with lightweight rims...

[vr6storm 0]

forget the calcs on tyre sizes.

 

the simple facts are that the 1.8 16v is a gutless peice of sh1te, and most roads cars come out of the factory with horrible gear ratios too.

 

wheels are not going to fix it......

 

bit harsh there.........bear in mind the engine has been on the go from the mid-80's so is near enough a 20yo design..........ok a 1.8 16v C (standard that is :wink: ) isn't going to give too many VR or G60 owners much problems at a traffic light grand-prix etc but theystill have decent performance for their engine size

[bigbob 0]

phat vr6 you have just made yourself sound like a bigger to55er than you already were