Max Rim and Tire Sizes for a Mk 4 Jetta

My Jetta came stock with 16inch rims but I would like to upgrade to 18" (possibly 19")

With the 18 inch wheels does anyone know the max. width you can go. Does a person need additional mods like spacers (not sure what they do)

Same question with 19".

Thanks

Daryl

From the vortex: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1835863 (scroll down to the 7th post)

Should be able to find your answer there.

The factory wheel/tire combo sizes are as follows:

15" with 195/65/15
16" with 205/55/16
17" with 225/45/17
18" with 225/40/18

I believe the sizing for 19" wheels is 235/35/19.

These wheel/tire sizes will not affect the speedometer/odometer readings.

be prepaired to take a mileage hit the biger you go

OK, realistically, here's what I noticed going from 195/65/15s to 225/45/17s...

About 25 kms less per full tank of fuel. In fact, on one highway run with the 17s, I recorded my highest mileage even on one full (vented) tank - 1198 kms.

Hardly an issue for many.

Yes there is a decrease in fuel economy - but it's not like you will suddenly drop ino the teens for MPG here - it's a small hit, and many find it completely worthwhile to add the larger rims for looks or to accomodate tires which increase handling.

Really, it is NOT that big a hit in economy - folks like to warn others about it, but I've seen it first-hand, and in my case, HOW I drove the car had a FAR greater impact on fuel economy than changing to the larger wheels/wider tires.

Once you're rolling tire weight is far less important. It's stopping, starting, and turning that will cause the mileage hit. So on a highway trip you may only see a small difference.

One great thing about the A4 platform is that it's used for high performance cars, so there are lots of wheel, spring, damper, and brake upgrades available. Enjoy!

old thread for sure but is this mileage hit taking into consideration that larger tires travel more distance than what the odometer reads? i put shorter tires on my Honda once and thought my mileage had been better than it was. then realized there was a 2.7%diffetence in circumference, did the math and realized the fuel economy was the same if not worse. you're sort of changing the gear ratios when you do this. taller tires will give better mileage at higher speeds and likely require different shifting at lower speeds too maintain. and of course some losses due to more weight.

Rotational mass, it takes more power to accelerate wider (usually heavier) wheels. Wider tires have more contact with the road which also takes more effort to get past the resistance. Once rolling, the heavier wheels will provide a bit of a flywheel effect. They actually take more energy to slow.

Ride is usually firmer with smaller sidewalls.

There are so many pros and cons to switching to different size wheels and tires. It really comes down to preference.

I wanted a solid ride so I put on 19's and I have roll formed rims which are lighter than most so that helps a bit. I haven't really noticed too much difference with the MPG's as they are usually very good, except when we are pulling the trailer with the Beetle. We see a bit of a hit.

Nothing like reviving an 11 year old thread

Am I to believe you tow that tall assed trailer with your Beetle?

Nevada_TDI said:

Am I to believe you tow that tall assed trailer with your Beetle?

Click to expand...

The trailer is actually smaller than most and has an empty weight of 1,620 lbs. Also has a electric brakes.

Here is a shot of the car and trailer together last year before I switched out the trailer tires and wheels to a stiffer BF Goodrich tire and rim combo.

Okay, the electric trailer brakes should be a must-have I would think. I imagine having "big brakes" doesn't hurt either. I am getting my Jetta ready to tow what will likely be a pop-up trailer; we are not sure what we will buy so we will rent a few different trailers and see how well they tow; like you I have plenty of power available if needed. The "Beef on a Budget" system is what I just purchased and I am waiting to put a trailer on the back before installing the longer (taller) wagon rear springs. IBW used to swap his springs in and out if he was hauling his trailer or not.

The brakes on the Beetle are massive and can stop the trailer and the car quite easily. 6 piston 355 mm up front and 4 piston 335 mm in the rear. We did our first few trips with the brake controller set to zero. Still didn't feel the trailer even on the steep downhills that we have over here.

I have coilovers adjusted to low and only get a small drop in the rear with the trailer on. We try to keep the tongue weight at least at 200 lbs as it makes for a smoother ride with less fish tailing potential. The setup is nice and level and well behaved on the roads.

Swapping the rear springs is an interesting approach as the do come out relatively easy.

Some guys have gone with airbags to help level things out.

There is a GTI pulling a very large pop up trailer on the "Show what you Tow" thread. I cant recall if they have trailer brakes on that setup.

We are running 19" Michelins on the car and 17 BFG's on the trailer. They are Extra Load versions with stiffer sidewalls. The new crappy 13" radial trailer tires were contributing to the sloppy ride especially when a semi passed us or cross winds were blowing.

We pulled a small tent trailer with our GTI VR6 many years ago and it weighed about 1,200 to 1,300 lbs. That car managed it without any issue or trailer brakes. It helps to have a shorter trailer for less wind resistance as well. Ours is like a big sail when I take my foot of the accelerator, the car slows down quickly like deploying the parachute!