My name isn't GTI.noob for no reason. I'm confused -- how can upgrading the tires do so much to upgrade the ride? I simply don't understand. As you can probably imagine, I've done precisely zero mods to my '18 GTI so far but was thinking, based on others comments, that wheels, tires, and tint are necessary, at a minimum.
7
Tire upgrade
- Thread starter GTI.noob
- Start date
bdelaney4000
Ready to race!
- Location
- Chester, NH
Tires are your connection with the pavement and can affect traction, noise, comfort, and unsprung weight. Wheels also affect unsprung weight. Both can have drastic affects on the way a vehicle handles. IMO tint is cosmetic and not a requirement. Do a google search on unsprung weight and you'll find a bunch of technical articles the topic.
Crackness1
Ready to race!
- Location
- Sunny Florida
Wheels: lighter / wider wheels increase performance by reducing rotational weight, and allowing for wider tires which increase grip.
Tires: Wider tires and/ or higher performance tires increase performance by adding grip and steering input feel (stiffer sidewalls can increase the connected feeling between the steering wheel and tires) and so on.
Tint: In hot areas especially, this helps your AC be efficient by keeping the inside of your car cooler.
Tires: Wider tires and/ or higher performance tires increase performance by adding grip and steering input feel (stiffer sidewalls can increase the connected feeling between the steering wheel and tires) and so on.
Tint: In hot areas especially, this helps your AC be efficient by keeping the inside of your car cooler.
JC_451
Autocross Champion
- Location
- NJ, one of the nice parts.
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport
Better tires give you more ability to put power down.
You've probably noticed by now it's pretty easy to get the ASR light to come on in the GTI. If you haven't noticed this, you might not notice the difference with better rubber. Depends on how you want to drive.
Push the car hard on the stock tires, see if that's good enough for you. If it is, maybe start somewhere else.
You've probably noticed by now it's pretty easy to get the ASR light to come on in the GTI. If you haven't noticed this, you might not notice the difference with better rubber. Depends on how you want to drive.
Push the car hard on the stock tires, see if that's good enough for you. If it is, maybe start somewhere else.
Define ride.
Haven't seen ASR light yet, but I had to bring it in for service twice during the first 3 weeks of ownership for CEL + EPC lights.
JC_451
Autocross Champion
- Location
- NJ, one of the nice parts.
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport
ASR is the anti-slip regulator, it's not really a warning light, so much as the anti-fun light.
It comes on when you lose traction and the tires start to spin. If you haven't seen it yet, maybe just keep rolling with the stock rubber until it's worn a bit.
It comes on when you lose traction and the tires start to spin. If you haven't seen it yet, maybe just keep rolling with the stock rubber until it's worn a bit.
I appreciate the advice. Can I put old tires on new wheels? I don't even know how that works, I guess I order the wheels and then bring them to a garage to install them and balance everything? Should I go with OEM wheels? Would be nice to show off the red calipers. Is there a consensus wheel preference for the '18 GTIs?
vj123
Autocross Newbie
- Location
- The Detroit
- Car(s)
- 19 & 16 GTI - sold
You might want to understand the effect of these mods first rather than modding it because others are doing it.
For many people stock tires are terrible and they do not put down the power on road. So they swap it for better tires. If you dont have any issues with those tires, why would you want to spend some money on them.
I suggest you spend some time on the Tire Rack web site. There you can compare tire and wheel sizes, wheel weight, pricing, and read the reviews. As stated by others, your goal to improve handling and ride is to reduce wheel weight. Summer specific tires will also improve handing by increasing traction both straight ahead and laterally. All season tires are a compromise, but you can still increase to higher performing all seasons if you don’t want to keep two sets of wheels.
Your choice of brands is up to you of course, but I put a set of Continental Extreme Sport summer tires on Enkei Raijin wheels that I use for the warm months. The wheels are 1/2 inch wider and about 5 lbs lighter than the OEM wheels. The OEM wheels/tires are my winter tires for use here in SW Ohio. Not only is the handling better, but so is the ride and they are quiet. There is a big following for Michelin Pilots out there and lots of good reports about Firestone 500’s. They are at opposite ends of the pricing structure.
If you choose to go beyond wheels/tires, there is a huge aftermarket of parts(springs, shocks, sway bars, chassis stiffeners, etc.) ready to exchange them for your money. The tuning folks have lots of ways to give you waaay more power and torque with just a software upgrade.
Have fun!
I put some Continental Extreme Sport Contacts Max Performance Summer and its been a huge upgrade in terms of putting the power down. The OEMs just spun up and i got a lot of wheel hop. ESC/ASR kicking in. With the Conti's it just puts the power down. Great upgrade, especially if you're running more power than stock. Corner speed / confidence is also greatly increased. Just don't run them in winter !
I have to disagree slightly here. My 2017 Autobahn, full of black leather, cools down great--even at today's 98 degrees.
I was just pondering how amazed I am at how well the A/C works. In all my other cars, I've had to use recirc to get cool. And the automatic systems always turned it on. But in the GTI, Auto climate control doesn't do that--and it doesn't have to. Even with 98 degrees outside, with the temp set at 70 and even after parking all day, it just turns the AC on, uses outside air, and within a minute or two is blowing cold air.
And after awhile, it turns the fan down--and the interior stays comfortable.
Of course tint would make the interior less of an oven after sitting all day, but this car's ability to handle an untinted hot interior is amazing compared to what I've seen from the Japanese.
I used to have tint, but it has its own downsides. I've not put tint on yet because the upside--reducing heat--isn't so important on this car.
How did you even get the OEMs to do this? My GTI just slowly accelerates. It feels like there's no power to even put down.
Wrath And Tears
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Azusa, CA
- Car(s)
- 17 Sport, 99 E36
Manual or S mode with the DSG and ECS in sport mode. You will light the tires up until the still enabled nannies say "No you!".
It all depends on how you drive. If you like driving in a spirited manner, or if you are a straight up gangster street racing fool - you will GREATLY benefit from better tires. Unless they changed something - your GTI probably came with tires that are giving you great MPG, but don't stick to the road well. You'll have a lot more confidence when your tires aren't spinning when you punch it, aren't slipping so much in the wet, or causing you to slide in certain corners.
If you drive like your grandma, then don't worry about changing your tires.
Wheels are simply a matter of taste. Wheels are mostly about looks, unless you are so into tracking your car that you need a specific super light weight wheel.