17" wheels and tyre damage

[loonymoon]

I have an ibiza sportrider with the 17" 40 section wheels. I may not be the most careful driver in terms of not kerbing wheels and avoiding pot holes but I have NEVER had as much trouble with damaged tyres and kerbed wheels as I have with this set of wheels which I presume is mainly due to the lowish profile of the tyres.

I have kerbed it a few times (finding parking in horrible crowded side streets near my work place) and also had quite bad wheel damage from pot holes last winter. In all I've had 4 tyres in 3 years (nearly 50k miles) exhibit sidewall damage (chunks of rubber falling off the sides). I just noticed yesterday morning another one. I have never had that sort of damage before on any of my tyres on my old cars, but the biggest wheels I'd had before were 15" and 55 profile...

Is it just me or do others find that their tyres get damaged easily on these wheels?? I do like the look of the wheels, though as they have quite a lot of kerb damage on them now they're looking less than beautiful, but if I were to go for this sort of car again I think I'd stick to a max of 16" wheels.

I presume that it would not be possible to add larger profile tyres (eg 50) without messing up the speedo etc in the car?? If I were to consider downsizing the wheels what size could I go for that wouldn't change the set up of the car in this way?

 

[NowGottaIbizaMk5]

info here on tyre size comparisons. http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg4.html
yes, it will affect ride quality.

some insurance policies do not like non standard wheel/tyre combinations and change to original specifications. Mine didn't ....

 

[loonymoon]

info here on tyre size comparisons. http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg4.html
yes, it will affect ride quality.

some insurance policies do not like non standard wheel/tyre combinations and change to original specifications. Mine didn't ....

Thanks for that, that's interesting. Looks like a 15" wheel with a 50 section is similar in diameter.

I've just changed another tyre, it had a flap of rubber hanging off, it seemed OK as it wasn't showing any of the banding or whatever it's called (name escapes me right now) but to be safe I thought I'd better change it. In the end I just went for a midrange tyre, a Barum for £109 from National Tyres. I notice they do some sort of accidental damage guarantee that covers side walls... could be useful!!

 

[NetworkMan]

Hi Loonymoon,

Several wheel/tyre options with almost the same rolling diameter. There is only a problem if you are trying to manage with the same wheels. These are all standard Ibiza fittings I believe.

185/60-15 radius 301.5 mm (Standard on my 1.2 TSi SE 5 door)
175/70-14 300.3 (On the cheapo E models I believe)
215/45-16 300.0 (On the Sport/Sportrider)
215/40-17 301.9 (Probably what you've got)

I chose mine in part because it does not have super low profile tyres. They cost less, are less fragile, make less road noise and give a far better ride. I suppose you can't go round corners as fast but I don't care.

If you go for the 215/45-16 watch out; they are an odd size and are expensive as many threads on here point out.

 

[DEAN0]

Hi Loonymoon,

Several wheel/tyre options with almost the same rolling diameter. There is only a problem if you are trying to manage with the same wheels. These are all standard Ibiza fittings I believe.

185/60-15 radius 301.5 mm (Standard on my 1.2 TSi SE 5 door)
175/70-14 300.3 (On the cheapo E models I believe)
215/45-16 300.0 (On the Sport/Sportrider)
215/40-17 301.9 (Probably what you've got)

I chose mine in part because it does not have super low profile tyres. They cost less, are less fragile, make less road noise and give a far better ride. I suppose you can't go round corners as fast but I don't care.

If you go for the 215/45-16 watch out; they are an odd size and are expensive as many threads on here point out.

And depending on your brakes - the 14" & 15" might not fit.

 

[NetworkMan]

And depending on your brakes - the 14" & 15" might not fit.

However, since IIRC Loonymoon's car is a 1.2 TSI Sportrider with the same brakes as my 1.2 TSI SE the 15 inch will (and the 14 inch should too since mine came with one as a spare.)

 

[loonymoon]

Thanks all. Something to think about. I didn't specifically request these wheels, they just came with the spec of the car. I do like their looks but they are a liability for me in terms of being fragile!!

TBH I think the 2011(61) Sportrider spec that I got was a bargain especially as I got it for £12000 brand new (and since then the 1.2 (105) TSI's are in FR's with actually lower spec and probably higher prices).

 

[NowGottaIbizaMk5]

you could try your spare wheel on for a fit over the brakes.
places to look at prices are BlackCirlces.com etc.
Bravis Barum are fine mid range tyre - served me well.

 

[loonymoon]

you could try your spare wheel on for a fit over the brakes.
places to look at prices are BlackCirlces.com etc.
Bravis Barum are fine mid range tyre - served me well.

Thanks looking at the reviews they seem ok for the Barum.



Unfortunately I don't have a spare wheel, just some gunk and a pump....