Do oversize tires cause problems with ABS or ESP?

wesmontage

Active member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Location
Batavia, IL USA
TDI
'05 Golf GLS BEW
After putting Jetta VR6 wagon springs, 10mm front spacers and Koni FSD dampers on my Golf, I started looking at larger tires and wheels. I think the 205/60R16 tires on 16 x 6.5 wheels I am about to order should fit just fine, since my car is now riding about 2" higher than before. I know that the extra height hurts cornering, but I'd like to gain that extra bit of clearance for traveling rutted USFS gravel roads. However, I stumbled across an article in a 2008 issue of Popular Mechanics which says that anything beyond +/- a few percent OEM tire diameter can cause ABS and stability control to respond incorrectly in a panic stop or maneuver. Would upsizing from a 25" to a 26.3" diameter tire cause a problem? Have any of you had a near-death experience on account of this? Was the guy who wrote the article the US corporate product liability lawyer for Bosch or Continental? Should I just get these things and proudly reclaim my right to do donuts in icy parking lots?

Oh yeah, I also plan to tow a 1000lb travel trailer - if I can ever get around to finishing rebuilding it. I have an inertial brake controller and the trailer will have brakes...when I finally put them on.
 
Last edited:

Dimitri16V

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Location
DE
TDI
01 Golf, 04 Golf
if the overall diameter changes , it will affect the ABS since the rotational speed changes. whether it will have a negative affect , i doubt it
 

RacerTodd

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Location
Kirkland, WA
TDI
2001 Golf TDI
I ran my Hakka 5's, size 205/70-15 (26.3" in diameter) during Seattle's monster 2008 snowstorm (6-8" of snow) and put about 1600 miles on them. ABS and ESP worked just fine. I didn't trigger the ESP or ASR much but I had the ABS barking a lot.

Since ABS looks for relative wheels speeds, I'd think that as long as all four tires are the same diameter the ABS controller wouldn't freak out.
 

wesmontage

Active member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Location
Batavia, IL USA
TDI
'05 Golf GLS BEW
I ran my Hakka 5's, size 205/70-15 (26.3" in diameter) during Seattle's monster 2008 snowstorm (6-8" of snow) and put about 1600 miles on them. ABS and ESP worked just fine. I didn't trigger the ESP or ASR much but I had the ABS barking a lot.
Was that your 2001 you were describing? I didn't know VW offered ESP back then. Or was that a predecessor to ESP? Does your dash have a deactivation switch?
 

TDICADDGUY

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Location
Blaine, MN
TDI
2012 BMW X5 35D
I run 205/70/15 tires in the winter and 215/55/17 tires in the summer. Both are 26.3" in diameter. No issues with ABS, no handling issues either. Makes the speedo close to dead on, but the odometer reads less miles traveled than actual. Gives a nice drop in revs too.
 

RacerTodd

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Location
Kirkland, WA
TDI
2001 Golf TDI
Was that your 2001 you were describing? I didn't know VW offered ESP back then. Or was that a predecessor to ESP? Does your dash have a deactivation switch?
ESP wasn't an option in 2001. However, with some careful shopping at a local junkyard and a weekend of really annoying wrenching and wiring I retrofitted an ESP/ASR pump and all the associated sensors and wiring. I did wire in the deactivation switch.

A fantastic upgrade, during that big snowstorm the car was unstoppable. I was going up crazy steep hills, plowing through snow so deep the belly pan was leaving a trough in the snow, etc. Never once felt like I was about to get stuck or spin off the road. Mostly due to the tires, but having the ESP/ASR helped as well.
 

wesmontage

Active member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Location
Batavia, IL USA
TDI
'05 Golf GLS BEW
A fantastic upgrade, during that big snowstorm the car was unstoppable. I was going up crazy steep hills, plowing through snow so deep the belly pan was leaving a trough in the snow, etc. Never once felt like I was about to get stuck or spin off the road. Mostly due to the tires, but having the ESP/ASR helped as well.
Thanks! That's what I needed to hear. A set of new tires and wheels is on the way. This will be my summer set. My 195/65-15 Michelin X-Ice (1st gen) still have another winter of wear left on them. The next set of snows will probably be 205/70-15 like yours.

Just wondering, did you install stiffer springs or gas-charged struts or lift spacers?
 

RacerTodd

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Location
Kirkland, WA
TDI
2001 Golf TDI
Thanks! That's what I needed to hear. A set of new tires and wheels is on the way. This will be my summer set. My 195/65-15 Michelin X-Ice (1st gen) still have another winter of wear left on them. The next set of snows will probably be 205/70-15 like yours.

Just wondering, did you install stiffer springs or gas-charged struts or lift spacers?
I went with the 205/70s for my snows for two reasons - an extra .5-.75" of ground clearance over a 195/65 and they were $20 a tire cheaper. What I really wanted was a taller, skinnier snow tire - I'd love to have a 185/70 or something but the Hakkas didn't come in that size.

She's still on the original struts. I did replace the upper strut bushings and install 10mm spacers in 2009. I did this because the car was brushing the lower lip of the front bumper on the slightest bump or dip. New bushings and the spacers ended that behavior, she never scrapes at all now.
 
Top