eGolf wheel & tire recommendations

[Thomasm]

I'm thinking about using the factory wheels as my winter set and buying a summer kit. Does anyone have experience running larger wheels and wider tires and the effect on range? I know the factory set are optimal for LRR and drag but I don't mind losing 10% range in return for a nicer look.

 

[2016golfse]

What size rim are you looking for? If you're willing to accept only a 10% range reduction and (I'm assuming) at least a 18" rim, then you're looking at extremely lightweight forged rims or easy-to-bend cast wheels with LRR all-season tires.

 

[supramann94]

Resurging an old thread here. Ive been researching lightweihht 17x7 wheels. I foind a set of reasonably priced wheels for near 600 and they weigh close to 17 pounds. Does anyone know how much the stock wheels weigh (aluminum alloy 16”)?

 

[miimura]

I like the VW Marseille 18x8" wheels that are standard on the Golf GTE. However, they were never included on any model in North America. So, you can find a lot of take-offs in Europe, but not here. I would put Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 225/40ZR18 92Y XL tires on them.

 

[Deschodt]

Can't comment on wider tires but I tried grippier tires, Max performance summer.... Range down by about 10 miles overall, nothing I cannot live with.. Stopped most of the the tire squealing on painted surfaces when braking... but not all...
It feels much better when driving harder or braking hard...

 

[P63]

I'm thinking about using the factory wheels as my winter set and buying a summer kit. Does anyone have experience running larger wheels and wider tires and the effect on range? I know the factory set are optimal for LRR and drag but I don't mind losing 10% range in return for a nicer look.

1. Wider tires don't look cool when they slow your car down... which is pretty much always. Race cars have wide tires because they push the rubber to the point of melting and therefore the tire must be more massive to distribute the heat over more rubber. A commuter car on a public street just launching across an intersection or onto a freeway is not going to heat up the tire enough to traumatize the tire.

2. A softer rubber will give better grip, a harder rubber gives better mpgs. If our car can't pass the century mark then an S speed rating should be good enough (but I'm just a guy on the internet, consult a professional).

3. Have you been tracking your range with stock tires? To properly answer your question a lot of data is needed.

4. Does anybody know the backspace on our wheels?

 

[dcruse]

New to the board and to the e-golf ( purchased about 3 weeks ago) ... ANYYYyyways.

I ended up removing the stock wheels and tires with 12,500 miles on them and going to Enki RFP1s ( 15.2 lbs per wheel) and Hankook ventus v2 205/50/17 directional tires (19.5 per tire) which are the same size of the stock 205/55/16. Stock wheel and tire weighed in at 40.2 lbs. Aftermarket combo weighed in at 35.5; so almost a 5 lbs saving per wheel. ( rotating mass savings !!)

The new wheels are known to be a good light weight wheel for track days. I mostly wanted it because I cant keep well enough alone, and my wife was not a big fan of the stock wheels; was hoping to stay the same or a slight improvement in range.

It may still be a bit too soon to tell, but I am getting a better average increase then I was expected. 3.7m/kw vs a 4.4m/kw; which seems insane to me. Ill report back in a couple of weeks to see if it holds true. both tire pressures I ran at 43 to 45 PSI after driving around a bit.

It doesn't seem like the community is a big on any modifications at the moment , but wanted to share for those that are poking around for things to do with EVs.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=M3hrdmg1OVJxVWxLei1vVnBYWThLSmNJMlk2VDF3

 

[msvphoto]

New to the board and to the e-golf ( purchased about 3 weeks ago) ... ANYYYyyways.

I ended up removing the stock wheels and tires with 12,500 miles on them and going to Enki RFP1s ( 15.2 lbs per wheel) and Hankook ventus v2 205/50/17 directional tires (19.5 per tire) which are the same size of the stock 205/55/16. Stock wheel and tire weighed in at 40.2 lbs. Aftermarket combo weighed in at 35.5; so almost a 5 lbs saving per wheel. ( rotating mass savings !!)

The new wheels are known to be a good light weight wheel for track days. I mostly wanted it because I cant keep well enough alone, and my wife was not a big fan of the stock wheels; was hoping to stay the same or a slight improvement in range.

It may still be a bit too soon to tell, but I am getting a better average increase then I was expected. 3.7m/kw vs a 4.4m/kw; which seems insane to me. Ill report back in a couple of weeks to see if it holds true. both tire pressures I ran at 43 to 45 PSI after driving around a bit.

It doesn't seem like the community is a big on any modifications at the moment , but wanted to share for those that are poking around for things to do with EVs.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=M3hrdmg1OVJxVWxLei1vVnBYWThLSmNJMlk2VDF3

Looks great! Curious how the range is affected long term. Assuming all things being equal in the range increase you observed (driving conditions, speed, ambient temperature, etc.) that is a very impressive increase. You're onto something with the rotating mass saving. I would think with city driving rotating weight could make more of a difference than tire rolling resistance and the aero effect of the OEM wheels probably doesn't come into play below highway speeds. As any cyclist knows, the place to shave grams is the wheels (rotating mass) first.

 

[BomBoi]

Thanks dcruse for the post . i too would like to to modifiy my car for better overall driving experience but for my case , im leaving it alone until the lease is over and the car is offically mine.

 

[4hhsumm]

New to the board and to the e-golf ( purchased about 3 weeks ago) ... ANYYYyyways.

I ended up removing the stock wheels and tires with 12,500 miles on them and going to Enki RFP1s ( 15.2 lbs per wheel) and Hankook ventus v2 205/50/17 directional tires (19.5 per tire) which are the same size of the stock 205/55/16. Stock wheel and tire weighed in at 40.2 lbs. Aftermarket combo weighed in at 35.5; so almost a 5 lbs saving per wheel. ( rotating mass savings !!)

The new wheels are known to be a good light weight wheel for track days. I mostly wanted it because I cant keep well enough alone, and my wife was not a big fan of the stock wheels; was hoping to stay the same or a slight improvement in range.

It may still be a bit too soon to tell, but I am getting a better average increase then I was expected. 3.7m/kw vs a 4.4m/kw; which seems insane to me. Ill report back in a couple of weeks to see if it holds true. both tire pressures I ran at 43 to 45 PSI after driving around a bit.

It doesn't seem like the community is a big on any modifications at the moment , but wanted to share for those that are poking around for things to do with EVs.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=M3hrdmg1OVJxVWxLei1vVnBYWThLSmNJMlk2VDF3

dcruse - those do look great! I have a '16 Urano Grey SE, and I'm not thrilled about the stock wheels either. Are you still getting such great performance gains?

Thanks for posting!

 

[zanzabar]

I like my setup a lot. 225/55/16 on Konig Runlite. Grip is amazing and I can still do 4.0 miles per kwh pretty easily. But I drive it like a hooligan so generally lower than that.

 

[Spektre]

I like my setup a lot. 225/55/16 on Konig Runlite. Grip is amazing and I can still do 4.0 miles per kwh pretty easily. But I drive it like a hooligan so generally lower than that.

Looks great!

Is your car lowered a bit as well?

 

[zanzabar]

Yup, about 1" front and rear on H&R 28843-11 springs (stock shocks).

 

[Spektre]

Yup, about 1" front and rear on H&R 28843-11 springs (stock shocks).

Did your ride quality change at all? Are you scraping speedbumps or curb transitions at all?

One of the other electric cars sites saw a 7% efficiency improvement lowering a model 3...

 

[zanzabar]

I have found no downside to lowering it at all. Doesn't scrape on driveways and etc, and we have lots of those locations around where I live. Body roll through corners is way reduced.

 

[Sisco]

Thank you so much for posting this. I've been looking at lowering my eGolf (stiffer ride) and putting tires on it but I was worried about range decline. That H&R Spring set looks great, is reasonably priced, and those 16s look awesome. I'll be doing similar for my ride

 

[CKG]

Couple wheels I have been looking into but still not fully convinced on looks.

17" buenos aires wheels from the Jetta Hybrid

17" 2019 Jetta SEL premium wheels which look aerodynamic but probably unlikely.

Im still waiting for a larger proper EV wheel. Which there was more options aftermarket. 18" would be my ideal size. Im hoping the new ID3 wheels can fit the e-golf....

 

[tlovejr]

New eGolf owner here. I’m a fahrvergnügen kinda guy, and have not been thrilled with my stock 205/55/16 Ecopia’s. I like the uniqueness of the OEM wheels, so I’ve been considering keeping them but swapping for something performance oriented, and with a slightly lower sidewall. Specifically, dropping down to a 205/50/16.

Anyone tried that size? From what I can tell, it seems a change in sidewall height will only slightly impact speedo accuracy (will read faster?), and the TPMS should adjust just fine. But I’m wondering about some of the other electronics. I’ve got the Driver Assist package, so I don’t know if a slight change in ride height would affect any of the detection systems.

 

[f1geek]

Why not go for 225/50R16s? There are plenty of tire options in this size. You will certainly lose efficiency, but you'll get more grip due to the wider contact patch, and you can pick a sticky tire compound. This size is fairly sporty - I had them on my old sport package BMW and they were very good.

 

[tlovejr]

I wondered about that. Honestly, I'm still struggling to get my numbers-challenged brain around the effective difference between 225/50's and 205/50's. I definitely like a performance bias (and sportier look), but will there be a substantively larger loss of range changing two specs from OEM (205->225 and 55->50) rather than only one (55->50)?