VW Polo : Tyre & wheel upgrade thread

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by Epic

Can anyone share their experience on 16" rims and whether it is recommended on Mumbai roads?

If the existing rims aren't giving you any trouble, I would just stick with them.

The ride on the polo is already on the stiff side, the 16's make it more so. If you don't have an issue with a stiff ride, then go ahead with the 16's. I didn't feel a big steering upgrade with the 16's.

[Epic]

Originally Posted by VellVector

If the existing rims aren't giving you any trouble, I would just stick with them.

The ride on the polo is already on the stiff side, the 16's make it more so. If you don't have an issue with a stiff ride, then go ahead with the 16's. I didn't feel a big steering upgrade with the 16's.

Which rims and tires are you using? I am finding it pretty hard to find a good set of rims as per specs 16"X7", 100 PCD, 5 Holes. Tires I plan on are Continental MC5 195/55/R16.

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by Epic

Which rims and tires are you using? I am finding it pretty hard to find a good set of rims as per specs 16"X7", 100 PCD, 5 Holes. Tires I plan on are Continental MC5 195/55/R16.

I am currently using the stock rims with 205/55 R15 MC5's. I have a set of the OEM 16 inch rims. Still debating whether to upsize or not. I am happy with the performance right now.

A friend has a set of OZ rims on his tsi which I have driven a reasonable bit, my feedback is based on his car vs mine on the stock wheel size.

I believe borbet sells a range of rims in India which will fit the polo and are priced reasonably.

[Epic]

Originally Posted by VellVector

I am currently using the stock rims with 205/55 R15 MC5's. I have a set of the OEM 16 inch rims. Still debating whether to upsize or not. I am happy with the performance right now.

A friend has a set of OZ rims on his tsi which I have driven a reasonable bit, my feedback is based on his car vs mine on the stock wheel size.

I believe borbet sells a range of rims in India which will fit the polo and are priced reasonably.

Even I am currently using the 205/55/R15 MC5 on stock rims and love the ride. But I am bore of the current stock rim design and hence looking at upgrading to 16".

You said you currently have a set of OEM 16" ? Where did you get those from and would you mid sharing the design? I am looking for designs from various brands like OZ, Sparco, MSW, Enkei, Momo, etc. Found some dealers but they have very limited/common designs.

[Ferrariwell]

Originally Posted by Epic

You said you currently have a set of OEM 16" ? Where did you get those from and would you mid sharing the design? I am looking for designs from various brands like OZ, Sparco, MSW, Enkei, Momo, etc. Found some dealers but they have very limited/common designs.

Hi I am currently running on 16'rims on my polo they are a set of enkeis and are close to 5 years old. I bought this car used and have done only about 200kms on this setup and Its quite easy to tell that this setup is much more stiffer compared to our bone stock 2014 vento also you have to slow down quite a bit or at-least I prefer to on bad roads or potholes since the tyre profile is much thinner than the stock setup. The steering is also marginally heavier probably because of the 205 width tyres. That being said on good roads its an absolute treat thanks to the bigger tyres the car just grips and grips even though the tyres are as old as the wheels!! (will be changed soon). I am only a student and use my car only for occasional early morning drives (prefer taking public transport to college) hence the stiffer ride doesn't bother me. Also they look cooler hope this helps.

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by Epic

You said you currently have a set of OEM 16" ? Where did you get those from and would you mid sharing the design?

The rims are from a VW dealer in the UK. They look similar to these but in all silver - https://goo.gl/images/6XsrMh

[Epic]

Originally Posted by Ferrariwell

Hi I am currently running on 16'rims on my polo they are a set of enkeis and are close to 5 years old. I bought this car used and have done only about 200kms on this setup and Its quite easy to tell that this setup is much more stiffer compared to our bone stock 2014 vento also you have to slow down quite a bit or at-least I prefer to on bad roads or potholes since the tyre profile is much thinner than the stock setup. The steering is also marginally heavier probably because of the 205 width tyres. That being said on good roads its an absolute treat thanks to the bigger tyres the car just grips and grips even though the tyres are as old as the wheels!! (will be changed soon). I am only a student and use my car only for occasional early morning drives (prefer taking public transport to college) hence the stiffer ride doesn't bother me. Also they look cooler hope this helps.

I am assuming you are using the Yokohama S-Drive 205/50/R16 tires? If so, that could be the reason for the harsh drive; as so I have been told.

[subrasri]

Hi guys. I took delivery of VW polo gt TSI last weekend - 2017 model. It came with 16" 195/55 Goodyear assurance triple max 87H tyres. I haven't had personal experience using Goodyear tyres before but I read reviews about this particular tyre to be grippy and durable. I do see couple of threads in polo ownership forum where people have switched/thinking to switch Goodyear to yoko/continental mc5. Is it recommended to swap these tyres or can I stick with them? They have rating of threadwear -280, temperature - A, traction - A. Do they get very noisy and harsh in the longer run?

[Ferrariwell]

Originally Posted by Epic

I am assuming you are using the Yokohama S-Drive 205/50/R16 tires? If so, that could be the reason for the harsh drive; as so I have been told.

Yes that is the setup I am running. I was recently shopping for tyres and comparing prices I will most probably go for another set of the same tyres even if the ride is harsh since in my opinion they are the most VFM tyres available for our cars. The previous owner as well reported no problems from these tyres also after being used for 5+ years especially in our road conditions there are absolutely no lumps or cracks what so ever on the tyres they do not even really need to be changed but will do it any way to be on the safer side. Also I feel the road noise is slightly higher with these yokos as compared to stock.

[Rajesh Rawal]

Originally Posted by subrasri

Hi guys. I took delivery of VW polo gt TSI last weekend - 2017 model. It came with 16" 195/55 Goodyear assurance triple max 87H tyres. I haven't had personal experience using Goodyear tyres before but I read reviews about this particular tyre to be grippy and durable. I do see couple of threads in polo ownership forum where people have switched/thinking to switch Goodyear to yoko/continental mc5. Is it recommended to swap these tyres or can I stick with them? They have rating of threadwear -280, temperature - A, traction - A. Do they get very noisy and harsh in the longer run?

Pardon my ignorance but have you bought the gti or the gt tsi ?

I believe the gti comes with the 16" profile while the tsi is 185/60/15 profile

Either ways congrats on the car.

[Epic]

Originally Posted by subrasri

Hi guys. I took delivery of VW polo gt TSI last weekend - 2017 model. It came with 16" 195/55 Goodyear assurance triple max 87H tyres. I haven't had personal experience using Goodyear tyres before but I read reviews about this particular tyre to be grippy and durable. I do see couple of threads in polo ownership forum where people have switched/thinking to switch Goodyear to yoko/continental mc5. Is it recommended to swap these tyres or can I stick with them? They have rating of threadwear -280, temperature - A, traction - A. Do they get very noisy and harsh in the longer run?

Frankly, tires provided by auto companies as stock are mainly meant to last longer which means you can get a good 40k to 42k kms out of them. But this also means that they are of a much harder compound which compromises ride quality to a certain extent and are more noisy and less grippy.

My 2011 Polo 1.6 came with 185/60/R15 JK Vectras as stock and I hated them but I drove them up till 2016 and over 50k kms which was not a wise thing to do. I however did not realize how bad they were until I changed the tires to Continental MC5 in 205/55/R15. The entire ride experience was a heaven and hell difference - girp was better, ride was much much more smoother and tire noise; what tire noise?

I have the Goodyear Eagle NCT 5 on my 2015 Jetta and I hate them too.

My personal advice is to avoid Yokos and look at the Contis in 195/55/R16 and you will not regret it.

Originally Posted by Ferrariwell

Yes that is the setup I am running. I was recently shopping for tyres and comparing prices I will most probably go for another set of the same tyres even if the ride is harsh since in my opinion they are the most VFM tyres available for our cars. The previous owner as well reported no problems from these tyres also after being used for 5+ years especially in our road conditions there are absolutely no lumps or cracks what so ever on the tyres they do not even really need to be changed but will do it any way to be on the safer side. Also I feel the road noise is slightly higher with these yokos as compared to stock.

I do not know how the previous owner used a set of Yoko S-Drives for 5 years!! It also depends on how many kilometers he ran on them. I had a set of 205/55/R15 S-Drives on my Swift and they lasted just 28k kms in 3 years. But regardless, in a period of 5 years these tires must have definitely hardened up. It is not wis to drive on tires of this age even if it has enough of tread. Do check out the Continental MC5 in 195/55/R16 (unfortunately they are not available in 205/50/R16) and you will not regret it. The new 2017 Polo GT TSI also comes in 16" with this tire size.

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

Pardon my ignorance but have you bought the gti or the gt tsi ?

I believe the gti comes with the 16" profile while the tsi is 185/60/15 profile

Either ways congrats on the car.

The 2017 Polo GT TSI now come with 16" rims in 195/55/R16 tires.

[subrasri]

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

Pardon my ignorance but have you bought the gti or the gt tsi ?



I believe the gti comes with the 16" profile while the tsi is 185/60/15 profile



Either ways congrats on the car.

Thanks Rajesh. It's GT TSI, the 2017 model now comes with 16" alloy wheels (195/55/16). That's the only change in the new model compared to the 2016 model.

Sriram

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by Ketan T

I want to change the tyres of my 2013 1.2 Petrol Polo. Has anyone used Bridgestone Ecopia or Dueler?

I'm fairly certain Duelers are for big SUVs and can't be fitted to your Polo.

[subrasri]

Originally Posted by Epic

My personal advice is to avoid Yokos and look at the Contis in 195/55/R16 and you will not regret it.

Thanks for the suggestion Epic. I'll check out MC5 this weekend.

[Vipin Kumar]

Today I enquired about VW Polo with a dealer in my city. I have been looking for a Trendline. It comes with a 14 rim steel wheel. So, I think of it with an add on of adding 15 VW alloys.

The SA told me that in VW, a single piece alloy costs Rs. 20K. For a set of four, it comes to a whopping 80K! He was asking me to go for Highline itself.

Is this true, or is he pushing the customer to Highline? I do know that the branded alloy would certainly cost more, but can it be by four times more?

Vip.