TDI with 16" or 17" wheels?

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

I'm thinking of upgrading my standard 15" wheels and hubcaps to aluminum / mag wheels. Will going up to 16" or 17" wheels decrease the fuel efficiency of my Golf TDI? <font color="green"> </font>

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

I just(2 days ago) put a set of Montreal II's on my 2000 Jetta 5 Speed

The wheels are 16x6.5 and the tires Brigestone Turanza LS-T are 205-55R16 inflated ot 40 psi. I spent the last 2 days going to college (and back a few times, forgot books ) so it was a good test of mileage...

The driving was roughly 90% highway with the cruise set at 70mph, I averaged 49mpg. This is about the same as i was getting with my stock 15" alloys with junk tires inflated to 35 psi(tire's max).

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

No mileage loss for my 16's

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

New Beetles COME with 16" wheels - P205/55 HR16, 91 Load rating.

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

I'm thinking of upgrading my standard 15" wheels and hubcaps to aluminum / mag wheels. Will going up to 16" or 17" wheels decrease the fuel efficiency of my Golf TDI?

Click to expand...

As others have pointed out, some TDI models come with 16" wheels standard. So if you go that route, you should end up with little change in fuel economy.

Where people have noticed a big drop is in switching to 17" after-market wheels and wide tires. The wheels are heavier, the tires are heavier, and the contact patch is bigger (more friction). This may cut mileage by 3-5 mpg.

18" wheels would be even worse.

Lots of wheels for sale on the Vortex. Many mounted with near-new tires.

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

The cost to economy is nothing compared to the improvement in handling.
I say do it!

edit: here's a pic. they're vw "daytona" wheels from a NB turbo

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

I lost 1-2 MPG going to 16's from 15's, 195 vs 205, but well worth it IMO, 17's seems to knock off 2-3, IIRC there was a poll about it on here a while ago, at the very least there have been many threads.

-Jack

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

I have 17 X 7.5" on my 04 Golf and it only lost 1-2 mpg. The handling is better.

If you're looking for a little validation... DO IT!!

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

I switched out my stock aluminum GLS 15" wheels for a set of VW Monte Carlo 17" about 3 months ago and I lost about 25 miles of range per tank which is roughly 1.6 miles per gallon.
I'd do it again in a second; the car handles much more precisely, is more fun and no longer looks like the typical old TDI metro assault eco vehicle.
Other than the very slight loss of MPG I can not relate one drawback.

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

My old Jetta with 16" Castellett wheels
I didn't notice any fuel economy loss

TDI with 16\" or 17\" wheels?

Consider yourself luck if it came with hubcaps. Mine came with the 15" fugly alloy rims, hubcaps would of been an upgrade. I got a set of clone rims:



They were $525 from this eBay seller. They look just like the OEM Montreal II rims expect for the center caps, which to be honest are kinds of cheap looking (but that can be fixed).

The car lost a little bit of peppy-ness, but not much. Haven't noticed any real drop in MPG. The ride is pretty much the same as before but it handles a lot better. IMHO, well worth it... the car looks better and handles better which in turns means it is safer.