eGolf wheel & tire recommendations

[f1geek]

I don't know how much the side wall height changes range. I think range is more affected by tire compound and contact patch and tire aerodynamics. I suspect that is why the i3 has such skinny tires. In terms of outer diameter and ABS and TPMS calibration, I believe 225/50R16 has nearly the same sidewall height as 205/55R16. Maybe the Tire Rack can give you some info in terms of efficiency differences. Best of luck!

 

[gaspasser]

Go to tiresize.com if you want to compare tire size and ET changes. Very easy to use. The diameter of the stock 205/55 R16 is identical to 225/50 R16 but you lose 10 mm of sidewall.

I went with a 17x8 rim and 225/45 tires (Continental Extreme Contact 06 DWS). Have not broken in the tires yet but the difference is dramatic in the positive except for efficiency. The new set-up is 3 mm wider diameter which is negligible. Ecopia's are only good for efficiency.

 

[miimura]

Go to tiresize.com if you want to compare tire size and ET changes. Very easy to use. The diameter of the stock 205/55 R16 is identical to 225/50 R16 but you lose 10 mm of sidewall.

I went with a 17x8 rim and 225/45 tires (Continental Extreme Contact 06 DWS). Have not broken in the tires yet but the difference is dramatic in the positive except for efficiency. The new set-up is 3 mm wider diameter which is negligible. Ecopia's are only good for efficiency.

Your post is very confusing.
The rolling diameter of the 205/55-16 and 225/50-16 is nearly identical. Therefore, since the rim is the same and the diameter is the same, the sidewall height is the same. The section width is 20mm wider. What this actually means for the width of the contact patch itself depends on the tire design.

However, this (increasing the width and lowering the profile on the same rim) is not the normal way. You did the normal "Plus-One" sizing, going up an inch in rim diameter while making the tire a little wider and lower profile. Your 225/45-17 (plus 20mm width, 10% less profile, 1 inch larger rim) is a normal fitment on a Golf. The ExtremeContact DWS06 has a rolling diameter of 831 rev/mile in this size while both of the 16 inch sizes mentioned above are 834 rev/mile. Percentage change on the speedometer and odometer for this size is very small.

 

[gaspasser]

The diameter of the stock 205/55 R16 is identical to 225/50 R16 but you lose 10 mm of sidewall.

OOOPS! Sorry about that. Should have double checked. There is NO difference in sidewall height.

There is a 10 mm loss of sidewall going from the OEM to the 225/45 R17.

 

[gaspasser]

There has been no mention of tire pressure when changing wheel/tire size. I went onto tiresize.com and they had a calculator (with a disclaimer) for setting the correct pressure for a new wheel/tire size. The calculations factor in Load Rating along with the OEM set-up recommended tire pressure. For the Conti Extreme Contact 06 DWS in 225/45 R17 the new recommended tire pressure is 36 psi. I don't know how much damage or danger there would have been I went with the OEM pressure of 41 psi (the new tires can go up to 50 psi) but I feel better than just guessing the "correct" pressure.

 

[somethingcool]

For the Conti Extreme Contact 06 DWS in 225/45 R17 the new recommended tire pressure is 36 psi. I don't know how much damage or danger there would have been I went with the OEM pressure of 41 psi (the new tires can go up to 50 psi) but I feel better than just guessing the "correct" pressure.

That value makes no sense. Lower profile tires call for higher PSI, and higher speeds/performance driving call for higher PSI. You did two things that should have you increase pressure but you went down instead...? I would stick with the recommended 41 PSI, load is by far the biggest factor in PSI selection and you haven't changed that at all.

 

[gaspasser]

I know with tubeless bicycle tires that when the width gets wider the maximum tire pressures go lower. I'm going to stick with 36 psi.

 

[tlovejr]

FWIW: I installed a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's on mine. OEM size. Amazing increase in grip, negligible decrease in range.

I was actually quite surprised at how minimal the range loss was. I took an 81mile trip home from the airport, 90% highway, average speed ~70mph; when I got 1/2 mile from home the meter showed 30miles range left...

 

[Fluxcapacitor]

tl;dr version: Michelin CrossClimate+ on the front, Ecopia’s on the rear. Much better performance all around, no noticeable efficiency hit.

Hey, newbie to the forum here, and here’s my input on this important topic.

My 2016 SE had the original Ecopia’s on it, and the fronts were fairly worn when we bought it CPO last year. Rears were practically new still.

Like everyone, I’ve been very unimpressed with the Ecopia’s performance. They’re just not suitable for use on the drive wheels of a FWD EV. They’re fine for the rear axle as they’re just along for the ride. So beyond minimizing rolling resistance, there’s little else the rears need to be good at. The front axle is by far the dominant one with respect to vehicle dynamics.

So with that said, I’m a big fan of different tire types between the front and rear axles. After all they have very different jobs to do.

So Ecopia A/S tires on the rear axle are a good option for general use, as low rolling resistance and reasonable snow grip is all they really need to be any good at.

Front axle A/S tires however is a much more challenging choice. You definitely want much better traction and general performance, but at the same time want to retain some level of efficiency that you don’t really need to consider with a gas vehicle. So that really narrows down the choice to an A/S tire that offers good wet, dry and snow performance, as well as some semblance of Eco focus at the same time. Basically there isn’t anything....until now that is. The Michelin CrossClimate+.

These came out in Europe a few years back and were somewhat of a holy grail A/S tire. They’re a Summer tyre that has been adapted for all season use, as opposed to the other way around with how traditional A/S tires are designed. In fact Michelin did such a great job that they were even able to brand the tire with the official severe snow duty marking (3PMSF) that denotes a true winter tire....from a Summer tire baseline. Far superior to M+S marking which is largely meaningless. They also have mild Eco focus properties too.

The CrossClimate has only fairly recently been launched in the US so that was obviously the choice for my e-golf. I had a pair mounted on the front axle, stock size. The difference is impressive, similar to others experience with fitting grippier tires. However as they also have a mild eco focus, coupled with the Ecopia’s on the rear, I’ve not yet noticed any degradation in range for my usage profile, which is quite remarkable.

I’ll provide updates as time goes on, including winter condition performance. But so far, it seems that going with a dual tire type strategy is the win-win everyone has been searching for.

 

[somethingcool]

I know with tubeless bicycle tires that when the width gets wider the maximum tire pressures go lower. I'm going to stick with 36 psi.

The max pressure going down is because they have less clamping force to the wheel when they are wider so it's easier to pop a bead; max PSI has nothing to do recommended PSI.

I ended up getting the same wheel size and tires as you (DWS06 225/45/r17), running them at 42 PSI and they feel great, more comfortable and quieter than the Ecopias even. I'm guessing 36 PSI is an even more plush ride, nothing wrong with that, you're just trading some efficiency. I will say one of the few complaints I found when reading reviews of the DWS06 was that they have soft sidewalls, yet another reason to run higher PSI. Hope you're enjoying the wheels and tires, I know I am, whole new feeling to the car.

 

[Fluxcapacitor]

Update since my last post above. After installing Michelin CrossClimate+ on the front axle, the average miles per kWh has jumped up a whole mile! From a long term average of 2.7 to now 3.7. I’m baffled as to why, but it has. Nothing else has changed apart from the front tires, so it must be the newer tech tires. Exclusively fairly aggressive downtown City of Chicago driving, in normal mode.

 

[BomBoi]

Good to hear, maybe ill give them a try when the time comes.

 

[cctop]

Update since my last post above. After installing Michelin CrossClimate+ on the front axle, the average miles per kWh has jumped up a whole mile! From a long term average of 2.7 to now 3.7. I’m baffled as to why, but it has. Nothing else has changed apart from the front tires, so it must be the newer tech tires. Exclusively fairly aggressive downtown City of Chicago driving, in normal mode.

Most likely it has to do with ambient temperature.

I bet that the average of 2.7 m/kWh was during a cold Chicago winter, while 3.7 m/kWh is from more spring and summer driving.

 

[Fluxcapacitor]

Update since my last post above. After installing Michelin CrossClimate+ on the front axle, the average miles per kWh has jumped up a whole mile! From a long term average of 2.7 to now 3.7. I’m baffled as to why, but it has. Nothing else has changed apart from the front tires, so it must be the newer tech tires. Exclusively fairly aggressive downtown City of Chicago driving, in normal mode.

Most likely it has to do with ambient temperature.

I bet that the average of 2.7 m/kWh was during a cold Chicago winter, while 3.7 m/kWh is from more spring and summer driving.

Could be, although I changed the tires mid July so well into summer and after months of warmer ambient temps. The consumption number jumped within a week of the tire change. So I think it’s reasonable to say that weather/temp factors aren’t the main driver here.

 

[3mph]

Just posted this on another thread (sorry for duplicate). But another option to change the look of Astanas is to use some vinyl wrap. No range penalty!
https://flic.kr/p/2jSzK7o

 

[amcrebelsst]

Hey everyone, I’ve been reading the forum for a while but I just signed up today. I just wanted to add to the tire recomendations.

I bought a used 2015 E-Golf about two years ago. It came with some cheap Mastercraft Stratus tires. Overall the tires were relatively quiet and rode ok, but the grip was pretty bad. I always squealed tires from a stop and around corners. The efficiency was about 4.4 mpkwh at an average speed of 30mph. I drive mostly city with occasional freeway runs. The highest I have ever seen the mpkwh was 5.5 or so but that was coming to a stop with the re-gen in D3.

I got tired of the squealing tires so I decided to upgrade. Also one of my stock 16” pizza cutter rims was curbed so I wanted to replace that too. Well, the stock wheels are pretty expensive and very ugly so I looked into other wheels. I found OEM 18” V-spoke wheels for an Atlas Cross Sport on VW’s website for 140 a peice and I bought Continental Pure Contact LS XL in 225-40-18. I have only driven 60 miles so far but I did reset my driving data and am averaging 4.9mpkwh at an average speed of 30mph and efficiency spikes to 8mpkwh coming to a stop in D3. The ride is slightly rougher than the stock 16’s but not by much. The tires are pretty quiet. You can still hear them, but it’s better than the cheap tires. I did not weigh the wheels but are most likely about 25lbs and the tires are about 21 for a total of 46 roughly. I gave as much info as I could to you guys. This set-up worked out well for me, but thats probably because I wasn’t getting optimal efficiency from the old tires. So I guess just compare your efficiency with my new set up to decide if this would work for you.

One last thing: the offset on these wheels is 34et and they are 18x8. The wheels are flush with the fenders in the rear and have about 5mm “too much” poke in front. I think it still looks great and at stock spring height there is no rubbing at all lock to lock and going over large speed bumps. I have no way currently to upload a pic, but I will when I get it figured out. So, there’s my experience so far. Your milege will literally vary. Will update in a few weeks.

 

[amcrebelsst]

Ok, quick update. Disregard the new wheel efficiency I stated above. The fact that I reset the data and the fact that the tire shop had my tire pressure ranging from a low of 33 in one tire and a high of 46 and two at about 40 may have skewed the numbers.

I did two 30 mile trips today. 15 miles city, 15 miles freeway on each trip. I just drove normal, I didn’t try to drive for mileage.

First trip was at 40 degrees ambient. Tires set to 43 psi. I averaged 40mph and 4.0mpkwh exactly.

Second trip was at 58 degrees ambient. Tires set to 39 psi. I averaged 39mph and again 4.0mpkwh exactly.

Something interesting I found out. If I set the TPMS tire pressure in the infotainment while at a stop (which is what I have always done) the GOM is laughable. And my mpkwh on the screen jumps around a bit while driving. But if I set the TPMS pressure while rolling at about 20mph the GOM becomes very accurate and my mpkwh stays rock solid 4.0mpkwh. Of course it takes a couple miles to climb to 4.0, but once it gets there, it stays there. City driving 4.0, freeway driving 4.0. The GOM is right on the money. I tested this a few times today resetting the TPS at a stop and while rolling and it does indeed make a difference on my car. Maybe this is already known, but it’s new to me

 

[amcrebelsst]

Made one more 30 mile trip. Same route as before.

52 degrees ambient, 37 psi tires. 40mph average and 4.1mpkwh. Ride was nice at 37 psi. Better than the old 16 inch tires. I’m gonna leave it there for a while.

 

[pjohanss]

Long thread so please excuse me if this has already been covered.

Has anyone put original GTI wheels (Dallas) on an e-Golf?
Fits? How does the car drive? Range difference?

Tire size 225/40ZR18 and the alloy wheels are 8x7.5 et49.

Thanks.

 

[f1geek]

I think you’ll find a post about this on the forum. Yes, you will lose range - my guess is about 5 to 10% less - but improve handling. If you want better handling I bet putting summer perf. Tires on the stock rims would make a huge difference and not lose as much range.