[Ascari]

Forgot about the different width.I have 16” fitted and they don’t look that wide,I’ve had no clearance issues and l must say that the ride and handling on our terrible roads is much better.I’m running on Bridgestone turanzas and and they are superb.

Yep the roads in UK are worse now than we have in Spain. I never thought i would ever that!! EU money has funded the roads here Nationally and local councils don't have to fund the roads. You guys voted out so roads funded by central government in Westminster or by councils. Re tyres.... I'm happy on 195s. Perfectly adequate for all the conditions here.Good steering feel and hardly any under-steer if you run 2.6 at the rear and 2.4 front. This unsettles the rear a bit,but better to have a loose rear than a washing-out front.Front wear rate not great though.

 

[Ascari]

There appears to be a perception that the EG's are ditchfinders, - having owned many many cars over hundreds of thousands of miles I find them pretty good, not as good as the very best but not far off, yes I've had a blow out after hitting a crater but that's down to the stupidly low profile and fact it was a crater not a pothole, since then I've avoided most of the worst potholes but have still hit a few with no consequences. When it comes to replacement time I may consider fitting 205's because of the greater choice and more modern tyre tech - the EG's have been on the market for some time so you can't really expect them to compete with the very best but i won't be ditching (see what I did there...) them early

I concur with you Vaultboy. If you hit a kerb hard parking you might get a bulge in any car with any tyre.The answer is to park a little slower and take care not to smack the sidewall or the wheel's diamond-cut edges. My Gti is 4yo in April. The EG's have been fine..No bulges,blowouts in 13,500ks. Admittedly i use the car away from towns and kerbs. Spanish roads have holes, but so far have managed to avoid. I also like the 195's against the 205's but i don't want to resurrect that discussion again..

 

[Ascari]

Just an update on the wheels the I ordered. I now have a matching set (remember one was a different shade - replaced). I ordered 4 tyres but blackcircles only sent the garage 2 tyres! 2 more are on the way, so all will be well.(never previously had any issue with blackcircles, always been very good). It's going to be a couple of weeks as I'm busy.

I went for Pilotsport 5. (205 x 40 R17). Visually they look good on the wheel (2 fitted). I know frostiless mentioned that they might look a little stretched on a 7" wide wheel and that's a fair point, but the ps5 has a chuncky sidewall so I've got away with it. The sidewall overhangs the tyre.
I'm looking forward to getting these on, I think this bad Karna is due to me calling the efficient groups "ditchfinders"🤣 - Joke.

AT999 you did well going up half a J to 7inch. Good decision. The 205 needs a 7J rim to keep the contact-patch 100% central to stop overlap.👋

 

[Ascari]

Really enjoy reading others' reports on mech work and the effects of mods
[/QUO

Ditto me Aitch. I have an open-question to all of you who have modded tyre and wheel sizes or not! I run standard, as prefer a narrower wheel and tyre as it make the chassis more ajustable to either gas application or lifting-off mid-corner. Do any of you at say 8-10k miles notice both FRONT tyre's insides and outersides wearing excessively, leaving the middle of the tyre looking healthy and with more tread? The insides due to the negative camber factory settings when cornered hard. Ditto the outsides through cornering hard and the tyre's contact patch rolling-over. This would be worse logically running a standard 6.5J rim with a 205 on,but i'm running 195s so puzzling. I have been using 2.4/2.2 bar since new,the factory "comfort setting". I'm thinking that maybe the factory have it right at their recommended 2.7/2.5??...but this makes the car unsettled and skittish. Before somebody asks, i have used both a Laser chassis set-up floor check and a conventional analogue set-up and the readings are correct. Thoughts please.....

 

[Ascari]

Hi Ascari,

Even wear at 8k miles on 195 OEM front tyres (comfort settings). Tread depth approx 3mm, but on coilovers for most of that time.
Cheers

Thanks AT999. Would you mind telling me how much time do you spend driving on fast A/B roads (non-dual carriageways) cornering at 140-150ks speed?(90mph) I know not so easy in UK due to modern Police speed control methods but here easier. I'm thinking my problem is high speed cornering in long corners which are the norm here.

 

[Ascari]

My tyre wear is low speed b ends (sub 60mph) taken quickly. These days I leave the faster bends to others😀

Sensible man! I'll grow up one day too! So i'm probably on the right track re long fast corners causing excessive front tyre wear! 🙁

 

[Ascari]

I try to keep well under 88mph in mine just incase, you know.. 1976

1976??

 

[Ascari]

205/40/17 PS5’s

they transform the ride and handling.

Geoff_UK.....Ride i totally agree 101%, but handling nope! A 195 cover on a 6.5J rim is superior to a 205 on a 6.5J rim. Too much overlap and flex unless you run crazy pressures. I have no experience on UK roads with a Gti,but in Spain on the road and Track i have sampled both.

 

[Ascari]

Yeah, I think Ascari is making the, erm, narrower point about tyre width rather than particular brands/treads/compounds.

tsi17 nope actually! I know i'm not going to be popular with this statement...but i have no issues with the GYs dry or wet. Front tyre wear bad but that's me. Almost illegal at 13k kilometers, but pads hardly touched. Also no wall-bulges from potholes and Spanish roads do have them.The ride and steering are better now with 2 new fronts, but not as good as if a 205 was on. But handling and cornering on the 195s is no worse than with a 205.The car is definitely more ajustable on corner entry with 195s and the narrower cover consumes less exit speed as scrubs less than with the 205. Guess very few will agree with all this!

 

[Ascari]

Shocking! wash your mouth out, apparently they really are ditchfinders, weird as I haven't found any ditches on mine yet but will keep trying

Ha..Ha! very good comment! Maybe you don't turn the wheel too much then to go thru corners to create understeer. 90% of drivers use much too much lock hence they find a ditch!