Trevor Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Have today taken off the MV2's I got slapped with, another story. Anyway, they have come off to be refurbed and I have put the original wheels back on. Problem is, the car drives so much nicer with the 17's on it..! More comfortable, less road noise and although I can still feel the road, it isn't as intrusive as on the 18's. I prefer the style and look of the 18's but much prefer the drive on the 17's. Tyres for comparison size wise are very close.. 225/45 17 vs 225/40 18. One thing to note is they are continental on the 17's and budget on the 18's. Should I be feeling so much difference for such a subtle tyre size difference or is it more likely the tyre brand..? It's battered my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Syxx Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Never had an issue with 18" and tyres but never used crap tyres. That's probably why your noticing the bad ride quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Can't get my head round how much difference in ride quality there is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_D Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 I run mine in 17's in winter and agree with the points around ride, handling, etc... both sets have good tyres on as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Getting the feeling it may be something I have to live with. Getting the 17's refurbed after the 18's are back on the car. Gonna keep the 17's for spare/winter use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_D Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 It's quite noticeable when you first change, but after a day or so it feels 'normal' again and I prefer the look of the 18's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Spose ya right, I was so chuffed at the better look when I first fitted them I didn't really notice the change. Very obvious when I've swapped back. The 18's do look so much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob- Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 I had 15s on my 320d, it was like driving a smelly cloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Brilliant!! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 It is well documented that the reduced side walls kills ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob- Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Brilliant!! :-) Suppose your tyre choice can have some effect. For example bridgestones usually give quite a harsh ride with 18s. Something like Michelin pilot sports will feel a bit more cushioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Bottomline is.. you can't see the car when you're driving it. Its a shame that designers these days can't make cars look good with smaller wheels, I find it laughable that the current crop of hot hatches can have 19 inch rims as standard! One of the things that makes me think an E-class merc might be the way forward for the next daily, they seemed to be designed with small wheels in mind and don't look stupid. I agree 18's look spot on with the e46 shell unless you run very low, i'm fairly low but only just about pulling of the 17's i think. Jay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay. Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 I loved it when I borrowed the 17s off my dad with 50 section tyres - it was soooo comfortable! & acceleration was improved as well as steering feedback If I wasn't so vain I'd keep them but I am. So there. Rich_D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 I loved it when I borrowed the 17s off my dad with 50 section tyres - it was soooo comfortable! & acceleration was improved as well as steering feedback If I wasn't so vain I'd keep them but I am. So there. yeah i guess thats the only issue with running low on 17's, i don't have much of a side wall really, fronts are 205/45 and rears 215/45 with a slight stretch as they're on 8J all round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Yes you should feel that much difference, same as all the road testers felt when it was new! Actually I've been through 3 sets of wheels but always 17" for that reason! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick323 Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 thinking about selling the 18's and putting the 17's back on after a refurb but duno if i can bring myself to do it, the style 32's look so good :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Here's a thought, probably stupid but...., Besides the 17 vs 18, the only other difference is sidewall. Taking tyre brands out of the equation that is, what if I used the same aspect ratio? 225/45 17 vs 225/40 18 currently, go to 225/45 18....? Would that then get the ride quality back, or am I just naturally thick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) not sure if unsprung weight contributes to the way the car feels, that would be the only issue i can see (apart from clearance) in running 18's with a 45 profile tyre, 18's tend to weigh more than 17, with a bigger tyre it'll be a bit heavier still. i assume your speedo will be out a little too. Edited July 19, 2012 by Dr T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Here's a thought, probably stupid but...., Besides the 17 vs 18, the only other difference is sidewall. Taking tyre brands out of the equation that is, what if I used the same aspect ratio? 225/45 17 vs 225/40 18 currently, go to 225/45 18....? Would that then get the ride quality back, or am I just naturally thick? You might struggle to get those into the wheel well without rubbage when you go over bumps if you went that large with 18's.. The tyre side-wall forms a very small part of the suspension. The larger the sidewall, the more compression (depending on your tyre pressures also) so the more it absorbs. Thats why if you try to fit 20's on your car with a 20-25 side wall it WILL feel as though you're almost riding on the rim itself. I think the closest you will get to the 17" feeling on an 18" wheel is to do some research and find some tyres with softer side walls. I know Toyo T1R's have softer side walls. But you've also got to remember it effects handling - steering won't be so "sharp" as the side wall flexes side-to-side. It's only a small change overall but some people notice these changes more than others. It's all down to personal preference. HTH Edited July 19, 2012 by momo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) To add to what momo said above, if you have bigger wheels, you lose a bit of the movement of the sidewalls (because they are smaller) so you put more pressure on the rest of the suspension components... so basically your bushes will wear out faster. As for sharpness of steering, what you lose in that immediate bite, you gain in the handling becoming more progressive and easier to detect when the car's about to let go, so it's give and take on that Have to say I love the way my car drives on 17s. I've driven 18s before but I wouldn't have them on my car, and I'm quite happy with how my style 78s look (actually searched for about 6 months to find a decent set)! Edited July 19, 2012 by mit Dr T 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stampers Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Just to add my 2 cents, for daily use and looks 18's are the way to go. If you want to run 17's and make them look good you have to be REALLY low. And even then you'd need low-profiles which would kill the ride. Jorge had a set of BBS RT's in 17" on his E46 and pulled it off really well, but it was LOW. Scrapey low. Here's my pal Max's E46 Coupe when it was on 17" Clubsport splits. Again, he was running much lower than I'd like for a daily... If you want to run on 17's with comfort, you're going to have to deal with the fact that it looks fairly stock. No doubt about it, 18's all the way if you want to be able to drive with some stance. You could always run 17's as dailies and then slap on a set of 18's/19's for shows and meets if you feel like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 17" style 71's are what i'm running to. Do you know what profile tyres he was running, are to tell but looks like he might be running 40 profiles on a 205. seems to have the same issue i have with a bit of an arch gap up front and tucked rears, although he looks to have his back end lower than i can achieve with my light weight and HSD coilovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stampers Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) 17" style 71's are what i'm running to. Do you know what profile tyres he was running, are to tell but looks like he might be running 40 profiles on a 205. seems to have the same issue i have with a bit of an arch gap up front and tucked rears, although he looks to have his back end lower than i can achieve with my light weight and HSD coilovers. That's right, he was running 205/40's on them. Although he was running JOM coilovers which allow extreme low-ness. I think he took the whole adjuster perch out of the rear and was running with just the springs in. Here's another pic... As you can see, the rear looks lower but that's only because he hadn't spaced it out, and hadn't had the rear lips rolled. He was also running 2.5 degrees of negative camber in the back. Pretty sure he's on here as Omex-uk so might be worth pinging him a message but he doesn't have the car anymore so doubt he's online much if at all anymore. But yeah, other than Jorge's 330Ci, these are the only two I've seen that have pulled off 17's and stanced in the UK to any decent extent. I apologise if anyone else on here is running 17's that well, but I haven't seen any myself. Edited July 19, 2012 by stampers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 yeah i thought i recognised the wheels. No worries about the 'pulled off' comment, my cars modified for driving not for shows, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to take jorge's car on half the roads i've blatted around in scotland and wales, I get the odd light scrape at speed on crests and dips but its nothing to worry about, much lower and i'd be smacking into things. All a question of purpose I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick323 Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 any pics of your car Dr T? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
