18" or 17" ?

[phil3012]

If you like the 18's and can afford the bit extra, go for them, but don't expect to get much more at resale time, if anything at all. Could make the car easier to sell privately that's about it. In part ex I wouldn't expect the wheels to make much if any difference in what you get offered.

Also take into account your insurance premium and/or excess could be affected by it. Some companies are more fussy that other, but as I found out even factory fit options can increase the premium.

 

[PhilYerBoots]

I don't have an FR or 18" option so can't talk from direct experience but for my tuppence-worth I'd go for the 18" option everyday (..and Bluetooth, which I do have..)

As most people have already said, they look miles better than the standard 17" wheels IMO...
While they might not make the car worth any more come resale (especially on part-ex..), I know which car I'd buy if you put two (otherwise indentical) FR's side by side with 17's and 18's on them...no contest..

Oh..and agree with DSG-Boy earlier that if you can afford it and are going for the TFSI, the DSG is well worth the extra IMO...
After having a manual courtesy car recently, I didn't realise how much I missed the DSG box until we got ours back...

 

[flakmunky]

I defo don't miss this --->

 

[1speed]

Does anyone know if it is possible to change the specification of an ordered FR i.e the wheels from 17 to 18 after the car has been ordered.
I ordered it at the beginning of January and they said it will be ready in March.
I now think I would like the 18's.

 

[LeonMunkee]

Does anyone know if it is possible to change the specification of an ordered FR i.e the wheels from 17 to 18 after the car has been ordered.
I ordered it at the beginning of January and they said it will be ready in March.
I now think I would like the 18's.

I guess it'd all depend on whether the car has actually been built yet or not. If its not been built yet, then I'd guess the dealer should be able to alter it.

Did they tell you what 'week' build it would be? ('Week 6' is next week, as that's when mine is being built )

 

[1speed]

No, they said they would inform me when they would start building it, then when it left barcelona, when it arrives at sheerness and so on, but I haven't heard a titter.

 

[Crazyhazy]

I think the 18's look better, as far as the ride is concerned I was given an FR with 17's on as a courtesy car when mine was in and it felt the same to me.

 

[phil3012]

Does anyone know if it is possible to change the specification of an ordered FR i.e the wheels from 17 to 18 after the car has been ordered.
I ordered it at the beginning of January and they said it will be ready in March.
I now think I would like the 18's.

I was told by the dealer that you can't change the spec of a car once it is in the system, but I'd have thought that wheels may be different as it doesn't really affect the build of the car itself if you know what I mean.

 

[1speed]

I went down to the dealers and asked if it was possible to change the wheels, they told me that there is a department called "Change of order" which he will contact on Monday and let me know.
So fingers crossed it should be ok.
The car is due to be built within the next 10 days.

 

[14k]

Does anyone know if getting the wheels changed after it has been delivered to the dealer will affect the warranty in any way? Or are there other risks I should be aware of? My dealer has kindly informed me that he will swap my 17's for 18's when they get delivery of my car (apparently they are due delivery an exact same car with 18's around the same time) and will charge me the £350 for the 18's on top of the deposit owed on finance when I pick it up. Oddly, I only requested to add the 18" option 2 days after I took the plunge.


1speed keep us posted!

 

[phil3012]

I'd have thought as they are dealer fit they should be covered by the same 3 year warranty as the rest of the car.

You would need to tell the insurance but then again you would if they were factory fit.

 

[Monumental]

To me 18" wheels are just an external aesthetic difference which are not worth an additional £360.

I think you answered your own question there. If they don't interest you then spend the money on something else.

Personally I think the 17s look awful. So, for me the 18s were the right choice. It sounds like for you the 17s are better. It easy to get caught up in everyone else's opinions, but at the end of the day it's your money and your car.

p.s. If anything I think the 18s will increase fuel consumption as they will almost certainly weigh more than the 17s.

 

[cambobfr]

Prior to getting my TDi FR, I test drove it with 18's, ride was great. When it came to the purchase, I actually opted for 17's because I really preferred the way they looked and tho' they don't fill the arches like the 18's, the don't look bad either.

Ideally, I would have liked the design of the 17's but as an 18" wheel. The standard 18's look a bit boring to me. I'm now looking at getting 18's which are more original. Haven't found anything yet.

I bought the same car I test drove and found no difference in ride between the 17's and 18's. I believe they depth of the wall tyre is the same in each case, hence no ride difference.
Regards the fuel economy, you'll need more torque to turn the bigger wheel....but having been pondering this the last few days I think the engine has so much of it anyway that it won't make much difference on the economy. I think you'll probably win out on longer trips on the bigger wheels.

So yeah, 18" is better suited, but the standard design is a bit boring. Does definitely make the car more saleable tho'. Btw, the auto-dimming rear view mirror is brilliant - I had no idea it would be so effective, much more so than a manual one....and you never have to fiddle with it.

 

[SpursMadDave]

Sort of on topic..... i didnt pay the extra £350 for 18" as i plan to change the 17" for something a bit nicer when i need new tyres (not for a few months yet) i like the look of the new Golf GTI 18" Monza II's, does anyone know if these are suitable for a MKII Leon?

 

[mrsixstring]

I got my FR 12 months old and it came with 17s on it. Dealer wanted about a grand for the 18s and that was without tyres! At first I didn't like the 17s and planned to get my hands on the 18s through some other means like ebay etc.

However, the 17s have now grown on me and I actually quite like them . Despite that I'll probably change for a set of 18s with tyres when they are down to tread wear indicator, as 18s do look better. No longer planing on getting the factory 18s though as by the looks of it every one else has them!

 

[Haddock]

Sort of on topic..... i didnt pay the extra £350 for 18" as i plan to change the 17" for something a bit nicer when i need new tyres (not for a few months yet) i like the look of the new Golf GTI 18" Monza II's, does anyone know if these are suitable for a MKII Leon?

Im sure there was a pic posted recently with a Leon wearing 18" Monza's..

 

[Haddock]

Found the thread:

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=152568&highlight=leon+rs4

They are 19's though - so presumably aftermarket...

 

[flakmunky]

The 18" Monza's aren't just bigger versions of the 17s... They are painted a different colour and the front surface is milled. >90% of the ones on Ebay aren't milled - they are just painted silver.... Gorgeous wheels, though. The VW ones. And those 19s look as if they are milled.