VW Polo : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

[humbleroadster]

Originally Posted by bosporus

Also, does the car feel more planted with them?

Thanks! And sorry for the layman-ish language that I've been using!! Unfortunately it ends there for me!!

What I meant is, the steering is as light as it was with the alnacs. The Bridgestones gave me a slightly heavier feel. This again, I'm not sure if it was due to the tires itself or the size. They were MY 02, 195/60r15, 2012 make. In my opinion, my experience with the Bridgestones wasn't really better as compared to the alnacs, on the polo.

Have done almost 200 kms since I've got the s drives on, so will hold on to the handling part of it. A Pune/ Mumbai trip is due, so should give me a better idea while I'm at it.

With the s drives, the car is definitely more planted (as compared to the alnacs). And the steering feedback is precise. The grip and braking on wet surfaces is impressive, and gives a secure feel overall. So far, I feel these are the tires meant for the polo (size wise). Will update further after this months interstate!

Hope this has helped in some way.
HR.

[Chiro]

Originally Posted by sunilsoft

I have just bought polo highline TDI came with apollo alnacs.I want to keep stock alloys. Would 195/60/R15 Michelin Primacy 3ST make a good option?
Is there any good option of tyres for size 205/55/R15

Hello Sunil, first of all congratulations on your Polo! Its a lovely vehicle and I am sure you will love it more in course of time.
195/60/R15 Michelin Primacy 3ST are a good choice, Michelin are very quiet as compared to the stock tyres and you will a definite improvement in handling.

If you are looking for 205/55/R15, then Yokohama s drive is a very good option

You can also improve the handling by tweaking the VCDS features. I mentioned a link in this a while back

Happy Driving!

Originally Posted by bosporus

Congratulations on your new tyres - I've been considering them too. If you've managed to put some kms on them, could you comment on their handling, cornering & braking performance.

Some feedback on the steering feel as well please - do they feel quick, precise? Also, does the car feel more planted with them?

Could you please elaborate on 'steering is back to being light'? I ask because this is generally considered a bad thing, and usually correlates to lower grip & reduction in feel.

Any comparisons with the Alancs would be great as well. Thanks!

I have been driving them s drives for a couple of k's now. I'm no expert with techinical language, however the car feels more planted and the grip is far better and feedback is more. The steering will feel a bit heavier than stocks, and that helps with my driving preference. Cornering at moderate to high speeds is a breeze now. The car also feels stable going at higher speeds and steering response if perfect.
In addition to this I have made a couple of changes using VCDS, and in turn has resulted in better handling. Hope this helps, happy driving.

[lalittalwar]

Originally Posted by bosporus

If I could bother you a little more: if you had to choose today, between the S-Drives & P3ST, basis grip & feel, which one would you buy? Do ignore the 195/205 difference, and the potential noise from S-drives in your answer.

I would go for S drives today. all said and done, P3STs are good but not really sporty tyres.

I've also heard great things about the Cinturato P7 (you're talking about that one, right, not the normal P7?), and am contemplating those, and the sense one gets from the online reviews is that it's a good mix of the S-drives and the P3ST. And yes, unless one tests on the same car, one doesn't really get a good sense of the tyre.

Yes, its Cinturato P7, but the problem is that they are not available in the right size in 15". So you have to move to 16", while S drives are available in both.

Any thoughts, basis your driving experience, on staying with 15" or going 16"?

if one was to make a decision using brains only, then I would stick with 15" considering gurgaon roads. But the heart wants the looks and the stance, so i may move to 16"

Which suspension are you considering?

currently on the wish list is KW street comfort

[Happysmiles]

Yes, I too got the 205/55/15 S drive and trust me, what a great difference from the stock tyres.

Did almost 500 km city as well as Pune -Mumbai on the polo gt Tsi. The steering feels more planted, road grip much better and overall driving feel so much better.

Stuck to 15" though my heart wanted 16".

[shibujp]

My Yokohoma S Drives (205/55 R15) have done around 35k and are up for replacement.

I am considering going for the same or changing to 205/55 R15 Acceleres. Any feedback on the performance of the Acceleres?

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Ph03nix]

Hi guys. My car has done 48K on stock JK(175/70/R14). I have 14 inch steel rims on my polo.
I was thinking of upgrading to a wider patch, maybe 185/65/R14. Is that a safe option? Does anyone know what's the stock rim width?

[antardaksh]

Originally Posted by Ph03nix

Does anyone know what's the stock rim width?

Hi,

Most likely 14" would be 5J. But you can buy OEM rims from comfortline and upgrade to 15".

Note: Skoda Rapid has 14" tyres with 5J width, hence polo might have same spec.

Regards.

[surgvij]

Hello everyone.. Changed the stock Apollo accelers in my cross polo 1.2 tdi to 205/55/15 size s drives 2 weeks back. The stock Apollo tyres were really good actually and after about 25000 kms had thread left for another 10000kms. But one of them had suffered a side wall puncture and had to be replaced. The spare was 14 inch and could not be used. More over the itch to shift to 205 size was getting a bit too much and hence I decided to change all the tyres.
The cross polo with its oversized bumpers and plastic cladding does look undertyred with the stock tyres and this upgrade does improve it a bit. I now feel moving to 16 inches might have yielded better results.
With wider tyres the car does not feel underpowered neither does the steering feel heavy. My main reason for moving to 205's was to improve the looks of the car and Iam relatively happy with the results.
I personally feel that 205 size is not a overkill for the 1.2 tdi polo. It's a quite safe upgrade.

[gttsian]

Hi fellow-bhpians, Need your valuable advice on changing my stock tires on my new Polo GT TSI. I am looking at plus sizing to 16" or 17" (17" is preferred for the a more sporty looks). I browsed through lot of discussions in this forum, but could not settle down to the correct size. The best options I saw are 215/40 R 17, 215/45 R 16, 195/50 R 16, 195/45 R 17 in the order of my preferences. Being a newbie to the the automotive scene, I would request your inputs to finalize my tires, keeping in mind the handling, breaking, and the availability.

Cheers

[bosporus]

Originally Posted by gttsian

Hi fellow-bhpians, Need your valuable advice on changing my stock tires on my new Polo GT TSI. I am looking at plus sizing to 16" or 17" (17" is preferred for the a more sporty looks). I browsed through lot of discussions in this forum, but could not settle down to the correct size. The best options I saw are 215/40 R 17, 215/45 R 16, 195/50 R 16, 195/45 R 17 in the order of my preferences. Being a newbie to the the automotive scene, I would request your inputs to finalize my tires, keeping in mind the handling, breaking, and the availability.

There's something called theoretically correct sizes, and then there's what's available.

Theoretically, what sizes will fit is easy to figure out - for instance, you can use Car Bibles: The Tyre & Wheel Guide Experts say it's best to stay within 3% variance, and the lower, the better. (As an aside, I'd suggest you read the entire section on tyres to get a real understanding of all issues involved.)

In my mind, the reason to upsize is for better tyre choice - in 15" is either you get outdated, noisy, sports oriented rubber (S-Drives) or all out comfort rubber (P3ST). In 16", you start to get good choices, such as the Pirelli Cinturato P7, but unfortunately, the correct size for the Polo is very difficult to find. In fact, the main issue with upsizing for the Polo / Vento is that few tyres are available in the correct sizes. So, most people stick to the S-Drives, which negates my primary reason for doing this.

Which gets us to why you want to do this? You will get marginally better handling at 16", and marginally even better at 17", but with every upsize, your unladen weight increases(less of an issue with 16 with good alloy choice, more with 17, esp. as you go for wider rubber), so your acceleration, speed & fuel economy suffers. With our roads the way they are, as your sidewall height decreases, your tires (and alloys) are more susceptible to damage. Your riding comfort decreases, though personally, I don't think that is an issue with 16". The aesthetics will, however, really improve.

In short, read & research on the implications, and figure out why you want to do this and then check what's available (which is the real glitch, in my limited knowledge, in this entire agenda). And do share your findings.

[mr_hardcore]

My Feb 2015 Polo Tdi is running on Continental Max contact MC5 205/55/15 and has clocked 22300 kms. Very recently I observed a weird humming sound from the front and on close inspection found that both the front tires have developed cupping towards the inner tread blocks.

Took the car to my regular tire shop and was advised that the shocks needs to be inspected. Can someone please advise what could be the root cause and a solution to it?

[Napo]

Originally Posted by surgvij

But one of them had suffered a side wall puncture and had to be replaced. The spare was 14 inch and could not be used.

I am in the same situation and am little confused on whether i should replace all four or just replace the bad one with a second hand tire. The stock tires have clocked 31500 kms and should run for another 10000 kms without any issues. The challenge is to get one tire from a reliable source. if things doesn't work out i would probably go for Michelin energy xm2 or Bridgestone ER300.

[manish84]

After reading through multiple posts, seems like upgrading from stock Apollo to Michelin 3ST is a good choice for GT TSI. Would a change from R15/185/60 to R15/195/60 have any implication to warranty?

[leprechaun]

Originally Posted by mr_hardcore

My Feb 2015 Polo Tdi is running on Continental Max contact MC5 205/55/15 and has clocked 22300 kms. Very recently I observed a weird humming sound from the front and on close inspection found that both the front tires have developed cupping towards the inner tread blocks.

Took the car to my regular tire shop and was advised that the shocks needs to be inspected. Can someone please advise what could be the root cause and a solution to it?

hey Mr hardcore, this could mean your bearings have gone bad, does the humming get louder with increase in speed? could be because of the 205's on a 6J rim (if you're on the stock estrada alloys), though a lot forums do say it can be fit on a 6J rim, it isn't the ideal width, considering the state of our indian roads :/

[leprechaun]

Originally Posted by manish84

After reading through multiple posts, seems like upgrading from stock Apollo to Michelin 3ST is a good choice for GT TSI. Would a change from R15/185/60 to R15/195/60 have any implication to warranty?

Hi Manish! I just got my new gt tdi delivered yesterday, got the tyres changed to the p3st's! Now I feel like I can hear the diesel engine more, the tyres are that silent. And IMO the service guys wouldn't even notice the change in the tyres, unless something goes wrong, which shouldn't happen because of the 195/60's. Go for it.