New lightweight 18s on my Egolf

[Deschodt]

I decided to keep my car post lease because the 2019 range and features are perfect for my needs. Regardless, I was sick of looking at the Astana wheels on my previous 2016 and now this 2019, and feeling the molasses Ecopia sidewalls refusing to change direction and brake like crap... I finally decided to go with a GTI size for looks purely - but retain some sense about it and go with *very* light weight wheels (18lbs) to not increase the unsprung weight too much... I think I hit the sweet spot for now - range will suffer but I could not care less... My wheels_ tires clocked at 42 lbs, which is more than I thought, I messed up on the tire choice and could have done 2 lbs less... Stock were 38 for me on well used ecopias. SO I gained, but nowhere near as much as a stock GTI wheel which weights 25 lbs minimum...

I selected Enkei TFR in 18" for a GTI. Because if you search for anything under E-golf you get nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. We're supposed to be tree huggers hypermiling on Ecopias. I say no, sir ;-) My goal with light wheels and *not* the absolute grippiest pilot sport (AS3 all season) was to retain the Egolf's "silent assasin" trick at traffic lights, and also lose the tire squeal when braking on painted white lines...

Mission accomplished... I spin the wheels a little less than before if I nail the throttle, but I still do a little, which is a sign I'm not killing the rotational mass here... I just go...

The color is a personal choice but it is a 99% match for the brake dust of the Egolf, so I predict little cleaning on my part.. The one flaw is that those wheels do greatly show the pathetic puny brake calipers of the Egolf - sized for a good mountain bike (I get why, regen, no need for them to be bigger, but still not a pretty sight ;-)

Side note for JoulesThief: I know you hate it when people play with Egolfs, reduce range, drive sporty, etc... no need to chime in about this topic unless you want to congratulate me for picking 18 lbs wheels ;-)

 

[Deschodt]

That’s just me but I think the car looks immensely better now. The turn-in is now like a normal car, on ramps are fun again, traction happens with less spinning and braking is way superior.

Downside: louder tire noise, cost.

 

[Spektre]

Looks great! Just needs to be a bit lower now, as for some reason with that wheel/tire combo, the gap is really pronounced.

 

[Deschodt]

Absolutely. But that requires either new springs or cutting a coil and while I do want to buy the car, I want to play it safe and reversible until the lease is up and I do buy it. Right now I still have the option of returning it - in case VW comes out with an amazing new electric before next February !

 

[Deschodt]

Verdict is in: about 15% range loss on my mixed 45 mi commute (city, freeway, steep hills). I attribute that to the wider and stickier non green tires... Zero to unnoticeable acceleration loss. Much improved braking and handling (I attribute that to the lighter wheels and tire profile)

I'm comparing my average of the past 7000 miles to "today" - so it's possible it'll get a bit better as right now I'm driving with heater, heated seats and window defroster in the AM. On average throughout the seasons, I'm guessinga lesser 10% loss... Totally fine for *me* and my commute as things stand, unacceptable if you need to hypermile. Good to know ! Hope this helps someone.

 

[Image7801]

Those look really nice. I would so much like to replace my narrow, too much inset wheels (16" Jetta wheels I replaced the stock ones with - no mileage reduction) with 18' GTI rims, but am just afraid of taking too much of a mileage hit (60 mile round trip commute, 70/30 freeway/street, using A/C between April and October).

 

[BomBoi]

They look good. I want to upgrade but not sure what combo to use to still retain as much range as possible. i was thinking staying with the Eco tires and just going one size up in rims (17) and reducing sidewall. I find the sidewall of the tire hurts the body roll when turning.

 

[gaspasser]

Clean those rims, reduce the weight, hate to see those new rims go waste!

With the rims you purchased cleaning will be easy. Purchase some wheel cleaning tools (I use a Woolies wand for the inner rim) and some wheel cleaner (P21 is what I use).

I could not stand the Astana/Ecopia wheels so I purchased some Konig Oversteer rims (17X8) and Continental Extreme Contact 06 DWS tires (225/45 R17). Great improvement in all areas except for efficiency. I agree that the car needs to be lowered but worried about the stress it would put on the stock shocks and any connecting parts, let alone the alignment. The debate is lowering spring/stock shocks or going with a complete new system. There is little to no information on lowering and/or upgrading the eGolf suspension platform. I try to glean as much as possible by using a similar model but don't know which would be closest to the eGolf (Mk. VII, R? GTI?). An inch lowering would be a good start but still want to keep a civilized ride.

 

[UranoMausBosch]

Bravo for going lightweight, I went with Audi D2 "Winterfelgen" wheels originally for 90s A8 (~16lb, forged by Fuchs) 205/65-16 stock tire size. Very little (3-5%) difference in efficiency. Pay attention to your tire pressure, if your new tires aren't 41psi like factory then you tend to lose a few percent for each 5psi drop. Also Koni Sport shocks and Eibach (Euro, non-progressive) springs with Whiteline rear sway bar. Delightful fun to drive now!

 

[UranoMausBosch]

Clean those rims, reduce the weight, hate to see those new rims go waste!

With the rims you purchased cleaning will be easy. Purchase some wheel cleaning tools (I use a Woolies wand for the inner rim) and some wheel cleaner (P21 is what I use).

I could not stand the Astana/Ecopia wheels so I purchased some Konig Oversteer rims (17X8) and Continental Extreme Contact 06 DWS tires (225/45 R17). Great improvement in all areas except for efficiency. I agree that the car needs to be lowered but worried about the stress it would put on the stock shocks and any connecting parts, let alone the alignment. The debate is lowering spring/stock shocks or going with a complete new system. There is little to no information on lowering and/or upgrading the eGolf suspension platform. I try to glean as much as possible by using a similar model but don't know which would be closest to the eGolf (Mk. VII, R? GTI?). An inch lowering would be a good start but still want to keep a civilized ride.

Great choice on the Conti DWS tires, I swapped my Ecopia for those and it felt like what the car was designed to be!
I'm glad to share specific details (p/n and sources) about my lowering (mild) with excellent road composure and feel.
Don't lower on stock shocks - it won't be what you want. Don't worry about the connecting parts, those should be OK.
Koni Yellow Shocks and Eibach (non-progressive) lowering springs - designed for Skoda/Alltrack wagon also - feels more like a GTi or R - firmer but not harsh, composed and less "bouncy" but still compliant and comfortable for daily driving.
My wife didn't report feeling any difference as a passenger.

 

[Adam G]

Bravo for going lightweight, I went with Audi D2 "Winterfelgen" wheels originally for 90s A8 (~16lb, forged by Fuchs) 205/65-16 stock tire size. Very little (3-5%) difference in efficiency. Pay attention to your tire pressure, if your new tires aren't 41psi like factory then you tend to lose a few percent for each 5psi drop. Also Koni Sport shocks and Eibach (Euro, non-progressive) springs with Whiteline rear sway bar. Delightful fun to drive now!

My 2019 SE came with 205/55R16, NOT 205/65.

I learned the hard way on my original 2015 SEL that installing non OEM tires reduces range considerably.
In my case range dropped by over 10%.

 

[UranoMausBosch]

@ Adam G - You're right! fat finger, 205/55-16, same as OE.
Might be a persistent mental link Yokohama AVS, the first performance ties I ever bought, 205/65-15....
However, my range with Conti DWS (all-season) and ECS ("summer") has been consistent, about 3-5% drop from Ecopias. (4.3mi/kWh vs 4.4-4.5mi/kWh).
Conti tires are smoother, quieter, better dry grip, better wet grip and vastly better braking and cornering... I'll take a 3-5% drop in efficiency for all those other gains.