ThatMK7GTIguy
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- 25705
- Car(s)
- 2019 Rabbit GTI
I can tell you from my personal experience that the feel of brand new tires is completely different to a set that have a few break-in miles. When I bought the Continental DWS-06 tires that are on mine, I did so immediately after driving a buddies GTI with the same tire and about 500-1000 miles on the set( best guess, they were close to new). They felt significantly lighter in the steering on mine immediately after the change. Checked tire pressure and they were way over inflated (42psi if memory serves me correct) lowered to 37 and they were still light feeling. You have already address the pressure, so wouldn't put to much thought into this. Drove his car again after I had about 1000 miles on my set and they felt virtually the same. What I'm saying is new tires will feel a little different and you will adjust as they adjust to their new home. I do understand that your running 17's vs 18's but it should translate to any size. The tires that you swapped to could also have a very stiff sidewall which would make steering feel lighter. I brought those tires with me off my 2015 onto my 2019 when I traded in as they were basically new. I then added a set of spacers(flush kit) and the steering was stiffened up some as the scrub radius of the tire was changed.