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VW Jetta Tires and Wheels

27 messages,  Last post on May 28, 2009 at 5:27 PM

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#21 of 27 Re: Question about alignment/tire wear problems [xbob360] by ruking1 May 21, 2009 (6:24 am)
Replying to: xbob360 (May 20, 2009 7:39 pm) It appears some trouble shooting might be in order. here. The anwer is mostly no. 03 Jetta TDI (118,000 miles) got 112,300 miles from "crappy" OE GY LS-H tires. It received an alignment 100,000 miles which it did not need.  two reasons: 1. a GTG special 2. I was intensely curious as to the EXACT specifications.   . Upshot 100,000 miles, it did NOT need the alignment as the vendor offering the "special price said it only changed ever so slightly from "dead bang on" due to normal settling. I did not want to stiff him since it takes time to prepare the car for the procedure. While on the alignment rack, it was adjusted back to "dead bang on".   The car was routinely run in higher speed touring (close to xxx for hours) at a time and commutes on the 2nd worse roads and commutes in the NATION, behind LA, CA , 25,000 miles per year   Suspension is still OEM stock. Tires were/are rotated at oem recommended intervals 10,000 miles (5 tire cross rotation). Tire pressures is 38-36 psi fronts with 38-34 psi rears. I run that range as I can ignore tire reading for 2 months at a time (normal loss of 1# per mo ).   After app 6,000 miles on the new Toyo TPT's, it appears wear is similar to the oe GY LS-H's. Replies to this message: jim314 (May 21, 2009 11:41 am) ruking1 (May 21, 2009 12:17 pm)
#22 of 27 Re: Question about alignment/tire wear problems [ruking1] by jim314 May 21, 2009 (11:41 am)
Replying to: ruking1 (May 21, 2009 6:24 am) You got 112,000 miles from one set of 5 OE tires? Truly amazing! Replies to this message: ruking1 (May 21, 2009 12:17 pm)
#23 of 27 Re: Question about alignment/tire wear problems [jim314] by ruking1 May 21, 2009 (12:17 pm)
Replying to: jim314 (May 21, 2009 11:41 am) I would have no issues using 1/3 as a spare, other than the now 6 year "aged rubber" issue.   Almost all (VW gen IV) owners vilified the GY LS-H's. Among other issues, they last TOPS, 50,000 miles. I did have to have them rebalanced app 70,000 miles ? (not sure without the records) as I experienced some front end shimmie highway speeds.   After some research, I did purchase the Toyo TPT's 40-45k miles. I (as you can imagine) proceded to WAIT 72,300 miles- 67,300 miles. I actually pulled the GY LS-H's early, as the Toyo's by default were working well into the "6 year aged rubber" issue. I did buy 3 right sides. (5 TPT's as they are "uni directional ), as there is a little acknowledged tire related "inference".   The Bentley's makes note ( the 2003 gen IV) that the front passenger side's: brake pads, rotors, struts, strut hardware and bearings wear faster and to inspect accordingly.   By "INFERENCE" only, greater/faster right side tire wear. (It is a design torque steer quirk) I read very early on, the differences can have as much as 1/32 in greater tire wear on the right side WITH oem recommended 4 tire front to rear and vice versa rotations.
#24 of 27 rims sizes by thatcher54 May 26, 2009 (11:48 am)
I need to replace my rims on a 2006 jetta TDI. If I look for OEM rims what years are compatable in regards to lug bolt spacing and offset?
#25 of 27 225/45/R17 by kator May 28, 2009 (11:05 am)
I own a 2009 Jetta SEL with 8000 mi that came with continental 225/45/R17 tires, so far i had to replace three of them one from a blowout and two others that developed bubbles on the side wall. Driving in the streets of NYC with huge potholes can be treacherous. My question is can i replace the original oem tires with a thicker one 225/50/R17 or 225/55/R17 - thanks Replies to this message: jim314 (May 28, 2009 11:56 am) jim314 (May 28, 2009 5:27 pm)
#26 of 27 Re: 225/45/R17 [kator] by jim314 May 28, 2009 (11:56 am)
Replying to: kator (May 28, 2009 11:05 am) Have you had any damage to the wheels in these pothole encounters?   Be sure the existing tires are inflated to the highest pressure recommended by VW for the Jetta SEL with the 17" wheels. Given your driving conditions you might consider inflating the tires to higher than the recommendation on the tire sticker, say midway between the vehicle recommendation and the tire limit. So inflate to 40 psi if the vehicle recommendation is 36 psi and the tire maximum is 44 psi.   The course of action with the least risk of unexpected problems is to buy a more durable tire in the OE size--225/45-17.   If you wanted to go to a higher profile tire, I think you would have to go to 16 inch wheels, and mount say 205/55-16 or 215/55-16 ( which have almost the same overall diameter at the tread as the OE 225/45-17). According to Edmunds, 205/55-16 is OE on the Jetta S.   But you would have to find out from VW whether the Jetta SEL would accept 16" wheels. It could be that the brake and suspension components of the SEL are larger than those in the lower trim level Jettas that come with 16" wheels OE, and would not fit inside the 16" wheels.   The higher profile tires in 17" that you are considering would have a larger overall diameter at the tread and at the very least would cause the speedo and odo to be inaccurate. The actual speed of travel with the 225/50 and the 225/55 would be higher than the indicated speed by 3.6% and 7.1%, respectively. But more of a problem you probably would get contact of the tires with the wheel wells, frame or suspension. The rubbing might only occur near steering lock and if so would increase the turning radius, reducing maneuvering capability in tight situations like parking lots and making U-turns.   Overall diameters at tread of these tires are shown below. The usual recommendation is when changing sizes the overall dia of the new tire should be within 2% of the size specified by the manufacturer.   Dia 225/45-17 = (225 mm)/(25.4 mm/in) x 0.45 x 2 + 17 = 25.0 in (24.97 to 4 figs)   Dia 215/50-17 = 215/25.4 x 0.50 x 2 + 17 = 25.5 in (25.46 to 4 figs)   Dia 205/50-17 = 205/25.4 x 0.50 x 2 + 17 = 25.1 in (25.07 to 4 figs)   Dia 225/50-17 = 225/25.4 x 0.50 x 2 + 17 = 25.9 in (25.86 to 4 figs)   Dia 225/55-17 = 225/25.4 x 0.55 x 2 + 17 = 26.7 in (26.74 to 4 figs)   Dia 225/55-16 = 225/25.4 x 0.55 x 2 + 16 = 25.7 in (25.74 to 4 figs)   Dia 215/55-16 = 215/25.4 x 0.55 x 2 + 16 = 25.3 in (25.31 to 4 figs)   Dia 205/55-16 = 205/25.4 x 0.55 x 2 + 16 = 24.9 in (24.88 to 4 figs) Replies to this message: jim314 (May 28, 2009 5:27 pm)
#27 of 27 Re: 225/45/R17 [jim314] by jim314 May 28, 2009 (5:27 pm)
Replying to: jim314 (May 28, 2009 11:56 am) Tire Rack says staying within a 3% increase in overall diameter is a general guideline.   "For cars and vans, staying within a 3% diameter change is desirable. Pick-ups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are usually engineered to handle up to a 15% oversize tire. Most tire dimensions can be calculated. For more information review the Tire Tech article, "Calculating Tire Dimensions." While at first a 3% diameter increase or reduction in tire diameter may sound very limiting, in most cases it allows approximately a 3/4" diameter change."

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