Opinion on choosing a wheel set (tyre & rim) for handling upgrade

[ATYPIC]

I could only see them in charcoal, black and white.

Are the rims pictured 17 or 18"?
They shouldn't need to be drilled, the PCD is 5x100

If you can dig deeper and find out that'll be great

Those rims are 17inch running 205/40R17 tyres.

[Polo_GTI]

Those rims are 17inch running 205/40R17 tyres.

Awesome thanks. I didn't even think to zoom in lol

[Polo_GTI]

Can someone tell me what is the need for a fitting kit?

If the wheels are pre drilled to suit polo GTI then the fitting kit is not needed right? What am I missing here?

[Bagachin]

Alright people,

A quick update on what I have decided and done since I started the thread.

After several hours (*cough*...days) of research, I decided to go for Eagle F1 Directional 5, $170 per tyres with fitting & balance. I have considered several other brand such as the below and reason not to choose. Their performance level vary i know, but I will consider anything with good performance that worth the price tag. Also, no, they don't cover every great tyres available in the market and spend another weeks to search but I wanted to replace my current tyres quickly, so it was as far as I went before i pulled the trigger.

Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
Great review everywhere, but I can't seem to find 215/40/17, closest is 215/45/17 at $200 per tyre. Bummer..

Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Ultimate street performance tyre i dare to say, but they don't even come with size 17" & below

Advan AD08
Great review again, but it's a semi-slick tyre (if i remember correctly), so I will give it a pass for a more day to day drive focus. And I don't think it's at all easy to get them quickly and locally in Melbourne at least.

Bridgestone RE002
Average to good review, but personally, I hate the flexy tyre side wall and I don't believe they are worth THAT much money (cheapest is $245 per corner without too much trying) or at least I wouldn't feel the subtle difference to make up the price difference.

My review? It's gonna be fairly relative here, that means my comment is based on the comparison between Dunlop & Eagle. At this tyre size, as a normal daily driver, I only tried these two, so I can only comment on the differences I picked up from my experiences with them. Also, I am not a professional driver or track junkie, just someone who enjoy driving around and have some easy fun. So my apology if my quick review isn't hardcore enough.

Now, after swapping from the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx to Eagle F1 Directional 5, this is what i found

• First and foremost, the tyre noise is significantly reduced. The tyre does not squeak with full throttle take-off nor from a fast cornering. When it skits, it does it "quietly" most of the time. Rolling noise is also slightly less and I am happy to call it a quiet tyre after all.
  
• I can feel the tyre is slightly softer than the dunlop and absorbs tiny bumps from the unsmooth road better. It basically makes any road 5~10% smoother to be driven on.
  
• I have more confidence in higher speed cornering as the tyre gives better grip (at least 20% more) and it's stabler around the corner due to good solid side walls.
  
• I don't feel much noticeable difference for the steering response.
  
• It has a slightly wider tyre wall with the same 215 size, so it provides a better rim protection than the dunlop.
  

That's all I can tell from a half day drive, but i believe first impression counts the most as later on you will gradually get used to the new subtle different feeling and forget about the difference it makes soon. I haven't driven the car in wet just yet, so i can't make comment on that, but i would dare to say that it will be marginally better than the dunlop one too.


At $680 a set, I think it's a worthy purchase for replacement and definitely great improvement over the stock dunlop. It will not be the absolutely BEST tyre you can get for sure, but I think at this price, it is close.


On the side note,

If you think $680 is a good price and would like to consider, I purchased it from Beaurepaires Port Melbourne. Surely you can get it cheaper if you shop harder than I did, but it will do for me.

HOWEVER, I personally wouldn't recommend you to install the tyre there, couple of my rims received minor & tiny gutter rush that i never noticed previously. I can even see the mark (/minor dent) which I believe it was made when the machine clamped on the rim. To be fair, I never so closely inspected my wheels, but I am a VERY careful driver and those marks are just very very suspicious......I meant, if it's done by me while parking, the size wouldn't be as small....

On top of that, the wheels were damn dirty with some sort of sticky stuff around the edge of the rim and some thin black marks on the face of the rims after installation. Also, the guy forgot to put the valve cap back (well, he only did 1 out of 4....).

All not major issue, but enough to piss off and annoy the hell out of me...I had to do a tiny detailing on the rim last night....

I can keep rant about it, but I can't be bothered wasting time typing it anymore......outta here to have a cup of coffee..catch ya guys.

[GTI JOE]

^^^^...thanks for the info...have you decided on wheels as in the OP?

[Polo_GTI]

Thanks for the review, it's good knowing what tyres others are running and they're experiences with them.

I was hoping for the asymm2's but unfortunately I haven't found any in a 225/35/18 in stock.
I'm going for the Toyo Proxes T1 Sports now

[Martin]

I was also after the Eagle F1 Asymmetric but they cost a lot more than other options
I've got the Michelin PS3 and they are brilliant wet and dry

I've been through two sets of Bridgestone RE040/RE050
They are a very good tyre in the dry but do shudder on fast take offs
They fine in the wet once they get some heat into them
Dry performance and 45000km are two best features
Wet performance and price both let them down

[Lemonskin]

Does anyone reckon it looks dumb to get a different manufacturers wheels on a Polo? Tempe Tyres has these wicked AMG black/silver 5 spoke 17"s that would look awesome... oh and if they even fit too.

[Hail22]

Does anyone reckon it looks dumb to get a different manufacturers wheels on a Polo? Tempe Tyres has these wicked AMG black/silver 5 spoke 17"s that would look awesome... oh and if they even fit too.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt but......

Got Rice?

[nomadx38]

Looked into those AMG rims a while ago. Biggest problems that made me go NO...:

-Price!!!
-And the fact that they don't fit on the polo. The PCD is NOT 5x100

Do look good though.