17inch alloys and low profile tyres

[cart]

Hi All,
All being well I will pick up my new VY Executive (well secondhand) next week sometime.

Every thing is fitted as from the factory,I have the opportunity to buy some secondhand 17 inch alloys with low profile tyres on them,not sure of actuall size,sorry.

If I do fit these how much will it effect my ride in regards to comfort, I suppose, will I feel the rough roads more,if u drive the princess hwy from Geelong to Portland u might have an idea of the surfaces I am on about.

My existing car an AU series one sedan,I had lowered with Pedders sports suspension and had 15" alloys on and I found that even though it rode well the smoother ride was not there on rougher roads.

Will the low profile cause a simular feeeling?

Also putting the VY on gas,would it be recommended and r there any long term problems?

Cheers

Cart

 

[Genesis]

Low profile tyres will make the car ride more harshly, especially at speeds and on rough roads.

It's always a compromise between looks and ride. There's no escaping it.

However, if the suspension is stock, it will be a much smoother ride than your old lowered suspension. Soft suspension with 15" wheels and normal tyres give the smoothest ride. 20" wheels with low profile tyres give a rough ride, but look much cooler...

 

[HoldenMan7]

Low profile tyres will make the car ride more harshly, especially at speeds and on rough roads.

It's always a compromise between looks and ride. There's no escaping it.

However, if the suspension is stock, it will be a much smoother ride than your old lowered suspension. Soft suspension with 15" wheels and normal tyres give the smoothest ride. 20" wheels with low profile tyres give a rough ride, but look much cooler...

Yeah couldnt of said it better my self, ive got 18" alloys with low profile tyres and the stock FE2 sports suspention and its not the smoothest ride though it handles and looks good, so i cant complain hehehe

 

[Calaber]

Cart

Replacing the standard 15 inch wheels and 215/65 rubber with 17's and probably 235/45's will improve the appearance and the handling noticeably, not only because of the wider tread, but also because of the lower profile, stiffer sidewall with the 17 inch tyres. As some of the guys have already stated, the trade-off is a firmer ride. The quality of the ride will then be determined by the set up and condition of the suspension. If you want to keep a reasonable ride quality, leave the standard suspension set up (springs/shocks/bars), but make sure that the suspension is as good as you can make it. One often overlooked component in modern suspensions is the rubber bushes found throughout Commodores front and rear. These little beggars do a lot of hard work and eventually, they clap out. n Replacing them with nolathane is not always a good idea as nolathane is much harder than the standard bush rubber, and stiffens the ride whilst providing firmer control of suspension movement.

It is likely that your VY won'e have too many k's on it yet, so the bushes are probably still in fair nick, but remember them as you modify the suspension and put k's on your car. They are not expensive to replace and renewing them when necessary can transform the car's ride.

I hade a VR Berlina which had travelled over 250,000kms. There was one particular spot on my journey home from work where we would drive over a couple of sharp bumps and the car always crashed and tap danced its way along for a few meters. Turned out the rear suspension rubbers were history in a big way and replacing all of them transformed the car. By the time I sold it, it had over 330,000 and still rode like a new car.

Regards

pj

 

[cart]

Thanks guys for your responses,thats the general feed back I am getting from tyre dealers as well.

I have elected to just put a set of 15" Alloys on, using my existing tyres and keep the more comfort ride, at 50 yrs old I need the comfort now adays.It would be nice to put a bigger set on but time to mellow out some I think:cry:

The car has done 58000klms so hopefully I should get some good k's out of it.

Much appreciated on your comments.

Thanks

Cart

 

[Lumps of cheese]

Hey cart, i'm in warrnambool and know the roads here are **** so if you don't want to loose comfort then yes, stick with the 15's.
I've got 18" rims and pedders sports ryder and although i'm very happy with the overall proformance it is still rougher to ride in than the stock alloys it came with.
But having said that, it's not as rough as i thought it would be.

 

[cart]

:thumbsup: Thanks juzo, u know where I am coming from with our roads.

I did find one thing out, that getting new 15" are a bit like finding hens teeth,it seems bigger the wheel the better now adays.

Nice car as well juzo,just sussed out your pics:thumbsup:

 

[Flat_White]

Also putting the VY on gas,would it be recommended and r there any long term problems?

No, no problems, although alot of people on this forum will disagree, the truth is VY's run fine on LPG

 

[cart]

Thanks sam.lk7,
I got the car put on gas runs like a dream and oh so nice on the pocket when filling up

 

[Flat_White]

Thanks sam.lk7,
I got the car put on gas runs like a dream and oh so nice on the pocket when filling up

Nice work mate,

tell us what brand you got and how much it cost...

cheers.