Wider tire to protect rims?

A

apeck618

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Location
IL
TDI
2012 golf 2dr TDI, 6speed
My golf has the 17" wheels with 225-45-17 tire I believe,

What is the widest tire I can put on those rims? I have already curbed them 2 times, because the tires offer no protection.
 
D

Dh4276

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2019
Location
South Carolina
TDI
2006 Golf GLS TDI, BEW
One thing that will determine the max width is going to be the rim width. Depending on which wheel you have, you could probably go 245 without any issues. However you need to check your offset, suspension clearances and fender clearances to be sure. I use a site that has a calculator to help check fitment. Wheel-size.com (I believe) is good.

On the calculator there is a spot to input your clearance measurements and then your original size. It will then give you some options to choose from and show you how the change effect the car.


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E

eddieleephd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2012
Location
Battle Ground, Wa
TDI
2002 jetta Wagon
^^exactly^^
Do you know the offset?
If not, you can turn your wheels one way and get under to view the clearance of the wheels. You want to look at both front and back and the space left between the tire and the frame nearest the tire itself.

Basically the 225 is equal to 225 millimeters and the profile is a percentage of that measurement, so the same profile will give you a larger diameter wheel as well. This is important because you may go down in profile to use a larger tire width.

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D

Dh4276

Veteran Member
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Jul 22, 2019
Location
South Carolina
TDI
2006 Golf GLS TDI, BEW
On most rims, the offset is marked on the back side of the wheel somewhere listed as an ET number


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oilhammer

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
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Dec 11, 2001
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outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
It is a little car. Avoid rubbing it into things. Shouldn't be too hard. It should "fit" almost anywhere.
 
T

truman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 18, 2000
Location
columbia,MO,usa
TDI
'05 Passat Variant, Still miss the 03JW
My 05 Passat has no curbage. Wife other hand has blown front tires 3 times on her 10 Forester on curbs that got in the way. Just bad luck I suppose.
 
A

apeck618

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Location
IL
TDI
2012 golf 2dr TDI, 6speed
oilhammer said:
It is a little car. Avoid rubbing it into things. Shouldn't be too hard. It should "fit" almost anywhere.
Click to expand...

obviously im not doing it on purpose. Just want to get tires that protect the wheels, Like my truck has.
 
I

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
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Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
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'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I bought Michelin Primacy tires for my BMW: they have a lip that protects the wheels from getting curbed. Surprisingly they're the same size as the 17s on the Golf, but they're run-flats. You probably don't want that. But the non run-flats might have the lip, too.
 
D

Dh4276

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2019
Location
South Carolina
TDI
2006 Golf GLS TDI, BEW
IndigoBlueWagon said:
I bought Michelin Primacy tires for my BMW: they have a lip that protects the wheels from getting curbed. Surprisingly they're the same size as the 17s on the Golf, but they're run-flats. You probably don't want that. But the non run-flats might have the lip, too.
Click to expand...

If you look around, some tires have the rim guard where other do not. The size of the tire does not have that much effect as to which ones too.

When I was looking for tire for my 15” wheels, there were just as many that had the guard as did not all the same size.

That being said, if you like the way your current tires ride and feel, look at different brands and grades of tire and you should be able to find some good tire in your current size that have the rim guard on them.


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Mongler98

Mongler98

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Mar 23, 2011
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COLORADO (SE of Denver)
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98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
Rule of thumb, go out 2 sizes in width. Or in 2 sizes. This is usually a good margin of error. Tire rubbing during full lock and fitment due to offset is touch and go. Best to measure it and buy accordingly. There are online tire size calculators that will show you exactly what it's going to add to width and just measure with the wheel at full lock.
 
PB_NB

PB_NB

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Joined
Nov 20, 2007
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Vancouver, B.C.
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1999 New Beetle
Franko6 said:
I'm going old school...

Remember when they had those curb feeler 'whiskers'?
Click to expand...
We put some of those on my father in laws Passat. We also put some nice mint wheels off an Audi A4 on the car and he managed to curb all 4 of the wheels??

The whiskers work great but if you can't hear anymore, they stop working all together :)
 
F

Franko6

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2005
Location
Sw Missouri
TDI
Jetta, 99, Silver`
omg... I've started a craze.

Personally, I have remote curb antenna protruding from my brain stem. They are right above my lateral line and behind my ampullae of Lorenzini.

I simply sense the force field around my 19 yr old, unrashed rims.
 
4

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
if it is time for tires anyways, trade for some nice steelies in 16" flavor

when they get hit hard enough to bend, you can just take a 6lb hammer to them to get them true again, where alu will crack if it hadn't already from the hit
 
G

GEFP

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Jan 22, 2018
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Southern Alberta Canada
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2- 2001 Jettas, 2 - 2002 Jettas (1 for parts) 2003 1.8t Jetta (parts) 2014 Jetta
Just switch to 15" rims and rubber. Even 16" is an improvement over 17". The problem isn't the width. It's the sidewall height and 15" rubber has a lot more rounded out sidewall than 17".
 
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