View Full Version : 17" Wheels
Richie D
25-05-2005, 08:54
Hello Chaps,
I'd like to get a few opinions on whether or not the 17" wheels are a good option to go for. I'll be having the Atlea 2.0TDI sport for 3 years covering aroud 35k a year and i'm concerned that the ride quality may get a bit tiresome. I've driven an Altea on standard 16's which seemed pretty supple around town and on some 'A' roads. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Cheers
Rich :thumbup:
Rich,
I can't comment on the ride as i haven't been in an Altea with 17's. I think Tell reckons it is a harder ride. With the mileage you quote you will notice a difference in cost of running it on 17's. Expect only 15 thousand miles on the fronts as against the 18,500 i have got out of my sixteens plus a price difference of between £20.00 to £40.00 extra per tyre for the 17's.
If money isn't an issue the 17's do look better. :)
Paul
I find it a harder ride but you do get use to it. I also had my tyre pressures up too high as it turned out which made a difference [I know I should have checked them sooner]. Saying that it's still hard but then the test car on 16" was hard, I remember how that picked out the manhole covers. Unless I get to drive both now I'd prefer not to comment too much. It's said and reported that the sports will be hard and is hard for a car, so going to 17" just makes it a bit more hard. I did come from a nice Citroen number with soft suspension, rear wheel steer etc. The seating position was too low on that and that's what I find now going back to conventional cars
On a flat motorway it's wonderful to drive, as we're all say. The seats are very conformable so you don't get backache, so all of that of the past of arriving at places and being unable to stand up has gone:).
Richie D
25-05-2005, 19:09
The last five cars i've had were Golfs of varying guises all of which are relativly soft, apart from a mk3 16v, so i'm used to comfey rather than sporty. After the test drive of the Altea I found the seats to give excellent support no problems there. I think my mind is made up now 17's will have to do :D
That was my feeling Rich... I did have the opportunity to change the order when the first dealer closed down but I stuck to my original decision. I'm sure your enjoy it. I'm off on an 10 day treck or so with mine to central europe starting tonight, so that will be good. Temperatures are up to 32'C by the weekend so the aircon will come in handy:).
loadswine
26-05-2005, 21:53
I've got 17s on mine and don't find the ride too harsh. I do about 17k a year and a lot of that is round town over speed humps and other horrible items stuck in the roads around here. The car takes the humps in its stride and is never uncomfortable over them. I was concerned about this before I bought the car, but I needn't have worried.
One thing I notice from the test drives I had, is that there seems to be slightly less wheelspin if you pull away swiftly, than with 16" equipped cars,( DSG box makes it all too easy!)
hibitdat
28-05-2005, 00:06
I have only driven Sport's with 16s like mine (which over many of the south's very poor road surfaces is too harsh!) but have read a couple of reviews of the new Golf Plus (aka VW Altea) and they have all said the ride suffers badly with the 17s. Incidently, both mags said they prefer the Altea to the Golf Plus as well! Only other point against the 17s I can think of (aside from purchase and replacement cost) is the need to remember to advise your insurance company, and the outside chance they may load the premium a tiny bit.
I have only driven Sport's with 16s like mine (which over many of the south's very poor road surfaces is too harsh!) but have read a couple of reviews of the new Golf Plus (aka VW Altea) and they have all said the ride suffers badly with the 17s. Incidently, both mags said they prefer the Altea to the Golf Plus as well! Only other point against the 17s I can think of (aside from purchase and replacement cost) is the need to remember to advise your insurance company, and the outside chance they may load the premium a tiny bit.
Firstly now had Altea with 17's for 3 months and have no arguments about the ride. Plus the 17's fill the wheel arches much better and the nose turns in like a hot hatch and there is less roll.
As for insurance, why would it affect the premium? its a factory upgrade not aftermarket. Would you tell them if you had ordered the car with a sunroof or a cd chander, i don't think so.
As for insurance, why would it affect the premium? its a factory upgrade not aftermarket. Would you tell them if you had ordered the car with a sunroof or a cd chander, i don't think so.
It might not affect the premium but Direct Line certainly ask if it has any extra's fitted Factory or otherwise and presumably in the event of a write off, if they are listed with the insurer you should get like for like replacement and yes that did include listing Sunroof and rear parking sensors on my last car.
Paul
hibitdat
30-05-2005, 14:45
As someone with close ties to a vehicle repair bodyshop (dad is an estimator!) trust me they do care - insurance companies are increasingly finding every way possible to get out of paying you (or at least not paying as much) and any little point you fail to declare, no matter how insignificant it may seem, can have a detremental effect if you are ever unfortunate enough to make a claim. Look at it from their point of view. Firstly, the 17s are more expensive to replace (and re tire) if they need to and worse (in their eyes) it will make your car more prone to theft and vandalism. Sad but true. Your premium may not go up, but if you need to make a claim and they discover (as they will!) that it's got different wheels (even if they are from that same manufacturer) then there will be problems. It's just a lot easier to tell them and save any hassle in the long run...
loadswine
30-05-2005, 17:38
Elephant ask what extras are fitted to the car, and when told about the wheels , they confirmed that it would not affect my premium.
I suppose the extra risk, theft and replacement wise, is offset by the extra grip gving safer handling.
hibitdat
30-05-2005, 19:50
Like I said, something as simple as bigger wheels may not affect your premium (tho with some insurers it will, but generally things that don't affect performance don't increase your premium) but it could cause hassle if you ever had to claim and had failed to mention it.
Richie D
01-06-2005, 14:48
Thanks for all the input. The Altea is a company car so no real issues with insurance, tyre costs etc. Hopefully it'll be ordered this week maybe even lucky enough to get the 2006 model :-)
Keep you posted.
Rich.
The 17s didn't affect my premium but they certainly wanted to know about them along with the parking sensors, in fact they have even recorded the fact it has metallic paint.
The wheels look good, they do firm up the ride (I was lent a standard sport for 2 weeks while waiting for mine), but not too much.
Also as you can see all the way through them I end up cleaning all the way through to the back rim when I wash the car otherwise you can see where you have stopped
After a sprited drive on a country lane the lane for no reason (no school / houses etc) goes into a 30 zone with full width sleeping policeman - oh no i thought - whats the car going to be like over these ?- as i'd established the car is just about on the limits of comfort before it gets too firm...
...first bump taken at 25.....couldn't feel a thing - huh !!!!
...next bump at 30.....no crashing, just an elevation change as the car went on the table top and back down !!!
next one at 40 - again sweet as a limo - no complaints from steering, no shock/shudder
ok me thinks - this will surely catch it out - the last one i took at 60 and the damn car went over it like a hovercraft - simply floated over without a fuss!!!
I have to say this is the best suspension setup i've ever experienced over speed bumps. :)
I do crawl over them myself at 5MPH, one reason is that it's my own car and not a company one and second in my old ZX the road workers had left a man cover off whilst doing the road outside here. Big crash but thought no more about it, three days later was in Luxembourg and looked down at the front tyre and a massive bulge... and I'd been travelling at 100 MPH on it. Hence I treat the tyres with respect with regard to bumps now… I was told that was what did it. Saying that, the Altea does take sleeping policemen at 5 MPH with aplomb.