# 17inch versus 18inch wheels



## bandit123 (Dec 16, 2012)

Having owned and very much enjoyed my first TT (Mk1 1.8T Quattro) for just three months now I am beginning to realise that (at my advancing years) the standard 18inch wheels give too hard a ride. Would switching to 17inch wheels make much difference or should I stick with what I have?


----------



## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi, As the profile will be higher, more rubber between wheel & road, will probably give a softer ride, but will spoil the looks.
I would stick with 18".. You must be really old ? 
Hoggy.


----------



## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

I didnt notice much difference when I swapped to my 17in wheels for the winter so I would say stick with what you have


----------



## Tritium (Apr 25, 2011)

By the time you get decent 17" rims and a good set of tyres your still limited by the suspension.
Surely it would be more advantageous to invest in some adjustable shocks / or Coilovers. -Then you can set it up as you wish?
If you have high mileage and original shocks they maybe a trifle old too!
I'm no spring chicken and have no issue with 18" rims supported by Bilstein Coilovers 

Brian
Ps 17s look ass on a nice TT.


----------



## Basscube (Jan 2, 2012)

I have 19"RS6 and don't think the ride is that hard. [smiley=baby.gif]


----------



## conlechi (May 6, 2006)

Comps every time  IMOP it definitly drives better on 17's , needs to be low for the best look though


----------



## Bago47 (Nov 27, 2011)

Hoggy said:


> Hi, As the profile will be higher, more rubber between wheel & road, will probably give a softer ride, but will spoil the looks.
> I would stick with 18".. You must be really old ?
> Hoggy.


I disagree... I'm running 215/45 R17 and tbh I like the look, yet the ride is really hard (lowered 40mm). Would swap for a set of 16", but it would totally spoil the looks.


----------



## Hark (Aug 23, 2007)

How old are your shock absorbers?


----------



## MichaelAC (Sep 7, 2009)

I'm running the original 17" alloys but will probably change to 18". I don't think that the 18 to 17 will give you what you're looking for though so probably best to stick with them unless you want the 18s for aesthetics.


----------



## Basscube (Jan 2, 2012)

It's all about the suspension people. Get a cushion :roll:


----------



## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

conlechi said:


> Comps every time  ...


+1

The fact I've recently bought some is in no way relevant. :roll:

I noticed a significantly more compliant ride from 18" summers to 16" winters, so I'm interested in how the 17" will go. Deeper sidewall should improve the ride, but you do need to slam smaller rims to make it look good.


----------



## bandit123 (Dec 16, 2012)

Thanks for all the replies. My car has done 100k and may well be on original shocks. The drivers seat squab is a bit knackered too. The ride is not that bad it is only on minor roads that I find it a problem. So I guess I will stick with the 18's for now and buy a cushion.


----------



## nordic (Apr 26, 2010)

Switched from 18 RSTT to 17 RS6 for exact same reason, there is a positive difference in comfort, but handling got worse a tad. But yet again, I'm on 140K on original shocks.

I think on lowered car 17" do not look bad at all, probably even better than 18" in my eyes, making the car look a tad larger, the whole thing looks more balanced. When people see these 18's, that's the 1st thing they look at, as it just stands out, with 17" they somehow appreciate the car as a whole. Just my 2c.


----------



## Pugwash69 (Jun 12, 2012)

I switched from 16 to 18, and the ride has more feedback - i.e. bumps. Mine is pre-facelift non-lowered but it handles noticeably nicer on corners now.


----------



## poor1 (Dec 28, 2011)

Go one further - the 16s are great - not low profile- steering lighter - softer ride - look better and more sensible than low profile 18s in the winter.

Put side by side there is only about an inch difference (if that ) in the diameter so will not affect the gearing by any significant amount.

All to do with personal preference.


----------



## Kingfisher-Dan (May 5, 2013)

I'm on 17s and looking to get some 18's. Would consider a swap/deal depending where you are?


----------



## kazinak (Mar 23, 2010)

It's abit like finger vs cock

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 4 Beta


----------



## Paulj100 (Mar 24, 2009)

I went from 17 to 18's and could not tell any difference in ride but then mine is lowered 40mm on Apex springs :?

Paul


----------



## cookbot (Apr 19, 2011)

Got a pair of 17's on mine with pretty much new tires and I'm looking to go to 18's if you think a deal could be done!


----------



## darylbenfield (Jun 29, 2011)

I'm a 17" man myself.


----------



## rodhotter (Dec 30, 2011)

most wheels over 17" do not look good to me, they cost more, weigh more, as do the rubber band tires, not to mention easily damaged. different tires of same size ride differently as well higher performance tires being firmer. i am lowered 25 mm with 25 + 30 mm spacers 17 X 7.5 with mich pilot exalto 205-50-17, koni FSD kit that uses eibach pro kit springs, car handles well and rides firm but comfortable and looks good to me


----------



## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

Nice Bonny(s?) you have there, mate.


----------



## TTSPORT666 (Dec 1, 2011)

Beginning to think that wheel size is a very personal thing. Depends what look you want to achieve on your car. This old argument about ride quality is true to an extent... Depends on a lot of factors on the chassis setup. I went from an 18 to a 19 on my qs and honestly with a few settings of damper control adjustment, i have the same quality ride if not better than on my 18's. The mk1 TT's chassis seems to cope with the larger wheel setups better than i imagined.

Damien.


----------



## NtG (Jan 2, 2018)

hi, while searching, bumped into an old topic, rather than create a new one. So...

Currently i have Audi genuine 17 inch wheel (8N0601025A) on my TT 1.8 BAM 225








Yesterday I bought "new" wheels.. Audi genuine 18 inch wheels (8N0601025T)









Is there any special settings i have to do so as to fit and setup?
Any spacers etc..? what's their purpose really?


----------



## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

They look like V6 wheels if so they will fit straight on without any spacers or anything else extra needed


----------



## NtG (Jan 2, 2018)

YELLOW_TT said:


> They look like V6 wheels if so they will fit straight on without any spacers or anything else extra needed


yes, they are from v6 indeed (now i "only" need the v6 front bumper to complete the look..)

thank you


----------



## TT Tom TT (Oct 9, 2015)

My personal opinion is that 18's are the holy grail for size. 17's look that tiny bit too small, the down-side is that the bigger the alloy the heavier it is of course. These days even crappy cars with less than 200bhp have 20" rims, terrible.


----------



## Moonwatcher (Apr 1, 2015)

Bago47 said:


> Hoggy said:
> 
> 
> > Hi, As the profile will be higher, more rubber between wheel & road, will probably give a softer ride, but will spoil the looks.
> ...


I totally agree with Bago47, however it all depends on what you want :?: 
16" are more comfortable, 17' - 19" are more expensive, more susceptible to damage etc.
Big wheels are nothing but a fashion fad


----------



## NtG (Jan 2, 2018)

TT Tom TT said:


> My personal opinion is that 18's are the holy grail for size.


Holy grail for size... refers to i) look, ii) handling, iii) both ?

Will i notice big difference in handling/comfort from 17 to 18?


----------



## Jools TT (Jan 21, 2017)

I noticed a difference going form 18"to 19" although the 19"bbs ch motorsports weighed in a little less than the rs4 wheels , handling and comfort did suffer .
17" in my opinion look too small on the TT 
Pic of mine on the 19's


----------



## TT Tom TT (Oct 9, 2015)

napostolidis said:


> TT Tom TT said:
> 
> 
> > My personal opinion is that 18's are the holy grail for size.
> ...


Aesthetics only. I have no data to support how wheel sizes affect the TT's handling and unless you get into a ridiculous level of detail it's hard to know. As mentioned though the bigger the wheel the heavier it is.


----------



## Jools TT (Jan 21, 2017)

TT Tom TT said:


> napostolidis said:
> 
> 
> > TT Tom TT said:
> ...


Not necessarily true , wheel and tyre manufacturer dependant some 19" will be lighter than 18" and 17"


----------

