17" wheels

probably be a firmer ride, especially with v low profile tyres, handling may seem a bit better - less roll possibly

acceleration will be slightly slower, but again maybe not hat noticeable.

17s with springs or coilovers would be v harsh i would think, best bet is to wait for someone with 17is to answer. stupid me! :rolleyes:
 
Its brilliant-buy mine!
No seriously i have lowering springs aswell and the ride is quite a bit harsher,with standard springs i dont really know.
i believe the acceleration is slighty slower but not by much,but it does go round corners very well.
 
I have 17's and lowering springs.

I will add the car can take bends very easily but by god the ride can be rough. Especially with the shite roads in ireland. But when I hit the duel carrageway its such a smooth drive.

the weight shouldnt affect the gti too much, cant say the same for mine tho :P
 
Personally I think that puting 17's on a Gti slows it down with the extra weight. Fair play there's more rubber on the road and it'll feel harder if you've got lower profile tyres but most 17's are a lot heavier than the standard Gti wheels. It's more than the engine's designed to try and turn and it'll be bumpy on poor road surfaces.
I've got 205/50/15 tyres on my wheels and i'd say that it's better than having 17's with low profile tyre's for UK roads. It depends what you want out of your car, looks or driveability I suppose. For maximum handling i'd put 205/50/15 Toyo R888's on your standard rims that's what i'm planning to do with my wheels.
 
Rob-Gti said:
Personally I think that puting 17's on a Gti slows it down with the extra weight. Fair play there's more rubber on the road and it'll feel harder if you've got lower profile tyres but most 17's are a lot heavier than the standard Gti wheels. It's more than the engine's designed to try and turn and it'll be bumpy on poor road surfaces.
I've got 205/50/15 tyres on my wheels and i'd say that it's better than having 17's with low profile tyre's for UK roads. It depends what you want out of your car, looks or driveability I suppose. For maximum handling i'd put 205/50/15 Toyo R888's on your standard rims that's what i'm planning to do with my wheels.
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Mine weigh less than a feather:D,Is there really a big weight difference overall ??
 
niro06 said:
Mine weigh less than a feather:D,Is there really a big weight difference overall ??
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Not a massive difference but the way I see it if the Almera was gonna be a better car with 17's on or even 16's then Nissan would have put them on as standard.
Even Autech with the N1 just put lighter wheels on and different tyre's not bigger wheels.
Saying that though the Almera does look loads better with bigger wheels on.
 
surely it's not weight that's the thing slowing it down - think about it, a passenger doesn't even slow a GTi down that much.

with bigger wheels it will accelerate slower though, but will have higher top speed. smaller wheels= quicker acceleration, lower top speed.
 
Just my 2p, GTi's werent meant to have 17s on them. I've experienced 2 gti's which have had 1st 17" wheels and then standard alloys after and the 15"s win every time. The ride is harsher, the car is slower to accelerate, and it handles worse (disembowels you with every jolt). I can see why you'd put them on from an aesthetic point of view but practically, I think they're pants.
 
that's why i think 16s are perfect compromise! ;) in my totally unbiased opinion :lol:

tbh, from an aesthetic POV, 18s can look the best, but god i bet they're horrendous - never mind the mortgage for the tyres
 
Corbs said:
I always thought 16" tyres were the most expensive out of 13-18".
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oh i dunno, wouldn't think so. My toyo t1-r 's were bout £50 each i think, just under/over. didn't think that was bad. They're 195/45 though, i think 40 profile are uber expensive
 
craiGTi said:
surely it's not weight that's the thing slowing it down - think about it, a passenger doesn't even slow a GTi down that much.

with bigger wheels it will accelerate slower though, but will have higher top speed. smaller wheels= quicker acceleration, lower top speed.
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its unsprung weight, unsprung weight makes a big difference on acceleration and handling.
A standard tyre is 195/55/15, and most 17"s have 205/40/17, that means that the 17"s actually have a smaller rolling radius.

your passengers must be light, my lass is only something like 8 stone and you dont really notice the difference in any car, but most of my mates are 13 stone + and you can feel the difference even in my tubby
 
...adding extra rotating mass makes a massive difference. Fitting lighter wheels is the same principle as a lighter flywheel.

It`ll ruin handling and reduce power getting to the wheels fitting 17s. Tyre weight between makes varies dramatically aswell, so this should be considered.
 
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