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Ride quality on 17 inch wheels?

mszczyrek

New member
Location
Lublin
Hi guys, I wanted to get Your advice.

I'm ordering a Mk7 1.4 which comes on 16 inch wheels as standard, and I'm tempted to upgrade to 17's. I'm a bit worried about ride quality though, we don't have the best roads around here... I would be geatfull if You could share Your opinions on the ride quality of the 17inch/sport suspension setup.

TIA,
Michael
 

vwman

Go Kart Champion
Location
UK
Hi guys, I wanted to get Your advice.

I'm ordering a Mk7 1.4 which comes on 16 inch wheels as standard, and I'm tempted to upgrade to 17's. I'm a bit worried about ride quality though, we don't have the best roads around here... I would be geatfull if You could share Your opinions on the ride quality of the 17inch/sport suspension setup.

TIA,
Michael
I find the ride quality fine on the 17"s with sports suspension .
When I have 16" winter wheels / tyres on I notice a more ' comfortable ' ride but not so a directive drive myself.
 

paddypool

Ready to race!
Location
Ireland
Hi guys, I wanted to get Your advice.

I'm ordering a Mk7 1.4 which comes on 16 inch wheels as standard, and I'm tempted to upgrade to 17's. I'm a bit worried about ride quality though, we don't have the best roads around here... I would be geatfull if You could share Your opinions on the ride quality of the 17inch/sport suspension setup.

TIA,
Michael

Depends what your used to...I'm in the same boat roadwise....obviously 17'' look better but it very much depends on the roads you'll be on, so you have to be practical....My brother & myself test drove a GT MK 7 with the standard sports suspension & 17's at the weekend on perfect roads, & to be honest we both felt nauseas during the ride:eek: i think it was the rigidity of the suspensions rather than the 17's....
 

vwman

Go Kart Champion
Location
UK
All I can say is I had to take a passenger over the weekend who has a reputation for being car sick.
They were absolutely fine despite being driven round windy country roads & stretches of motorway for three hours
The ride was so comfortable they nodded off !
 

SpoonMk7

New member
Location
Northern NJ
My opinion, 17 is a perfect medium to looks and ride comfort.

16 inch rides much softer with higher profiles.
18 inch rides harsher with low profiles, not to mention easily dented by pot holes.
 

Boost1

Ready to race!
I have 1.4 TSi SE with 17 inch wheels and sports suspension. The ride is exceptional compared to my last couple of cars with low profile tyres and sports suspension, really comfortable, handles the massive potholes in my road with ease.
 

le0n1

Ready to race!
Location
Norway
If you are worried about the ride quality on 17", is it not better to drop the sportsuspension?

My car has the 18" Durban Wheels and Dynamic Chassis Control. In sport it sporty enough and in comfort it's very comfertable:)
 

mszczyrek

New member
Location
Lublin
Dynamic chassis control is another 1000euro, and I'm worried about reliability on poor roads. It seems that majority of owners are quite content with 17/sport suspension so I may go with that.
 

le0n1

Ready to race!
Location
Norway
I am sure that's a good Choice to, all the testdrives I have read are positive:)
 

lesvw123

Ready to race!
Location
england
my car came with 17" and the ride was very good i am now running 19" its a little harder ride but i am quite comfortable with it as is my grandchild no sickness yet
there not good on potholes but i tend to try and steer around them as best as i can
 

Cannondale

New member
Location
Durham
Coming from a Passat I fine my SE on 16" is quiet firm, I guess it will get a little softer witha few more miles.

Apart from looks I can see no real advantage going to 17" I did concider the 17" wheel option but pleased I didnt now as I drive 3000 miles a month and comfort over looks for me.

Richard...
 

FRVRNGN

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
California USA
Hi guys, I wanted to get Your advice.

I'm ordering a Mk7 1.4 which comes on 16 inch wheels as standard, and I'm tempted to upgrade to 17's. I'm a bit worried about ride quality though, we don't have the best roads around here... I would be geatfull if You could share Your opinions on the ride quality of the 17inch/sport suspension setup.

TIA,
Michael
Your ride quality will be affected by 17" wheels and lower profile tires. Whether or not that is something you can tolerate is entirely up to you.

17" wheels are mostly for looks. There is very minimal performance gain moving from 16" to 17" wheels. In fact, larger wheels and tires typically mean increased weight and rotational mass which degrades overall performance. (lightweight* aftermarket 17" wheels notwithstanding)

17" tires cost more than 16". The money you spend on an 'average' 17" tire can instead be spent on a 'good' 16" tire. (and tires are at least 50% of the ride quality/performance equation)


My advice to you? If you are AT ALL uncertain about losing performance/quality with 17" wheels, then stick with 16". There is nothing preventing you from upgrading to lightweight 17" wheels and tires later.

*"lightweight" 17" wheels are typically 18lbs per wheel or less
 

mcmaddy

Ready to race!
Location
Sunderland UK
Very little if any weight difference between 16" and 17" alloys for Joe public. If you were using it as a track car then yes lightweight alloys would be the best. As for tyres being more expensive it depends where you look and what brand you like. Bare in mind though that not all mk7's have the same suspension set up. I've got the 19” alloys on a r line tiguan at the moment and I find the ride superb and on my previous jetta sport and mk5 golf GT TDI I had the 17" classics. The ride was excellent along with better road holding and that was with older suspension than a mk7!
 

FRVRNGN

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
California USA
Very little if any weight difference between 16" and 17" alloys for Joe public. If you were using it as a track car then yes lightweight alloys would be the best. As for tyres being more expensive it depends where you look and what brand you like. Bare in mind though that not all mk7's have the same suspension set up. I've got the 19” alloys on a r line tiguan at the moment and I find the ride superb and on my previous jetta sport and mk5 golf GT TDI I had the 17" classics. The ride was excellent along with better road holding and that was with older suspension than a mk7!
Even with minimal weight increases, the 17" wheel puts more of the mass farther away from the hub and rotational mass is increased. Be aware that adding any weight can and will affect acceleration and fuel economy. (even if it's only a small impact it can still be enough for Joe Public to notice and potentially be disappointed by)

Comparing like for like (same brand, same model) 16" tires will always be less expensive than 17". This is the only cost comparison that truly matters.

It's unclear what point(s) you are making about your 3 cars but the exclamation point sure makes it look serious.
 
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