I just bought a used 2009 VW GTI which is a lovely car as you can see from this picture: http://db.tt/SPYQ0HH. As you can also see from that picture I live in one of the many snowy states. The roads now resemble the lunar surface except with deeper craters and potholes.
When I bought the car, I was stupid enough to be talked into a $500 5 year warranty. Or was I? I’ve driven the car for almost a month and have replaced 2 tires due to pothole damage. At this rate, I’m way ahead on the warranty.
The car has 18" low profile tires which seem sensitive to being banged into the rim of potholes. Is there something about my driving that’s causing this issue? I don’t really speed and the last blowout happened at around 30mph. Is this something I just have to live with? Can I replace the tires w/ normal tires?
The solution is to go to smaller wheels (say 17") with higher-profile tires. You can’t put much of a higher profile tire on your 18s without rubbing fenderwells, etc. You have 40 series now. Car and Driver had a good article comparing wheel/tire size combinations, all the way from 15" to 19", and they used a Golf:
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q1/effects_of_upsized_wheels_and_tires_tested-tech_dept
Your only problem is to see if smaller wheels fit. Tirerack.com sells winter tire/wheel sets for your GTI starting at 16", so it sounds like you could go with 16" or 17" if you want to.
I agree with your plan to get a second set of wheels and tyres for winter use. Those low profile tyres just don’t have the room to avoid damage from pot holes. Of corse, the way you drive and where can be players as well.
While I can understand why someone might want the looks of low profile tyres, you have to remember that they are not practical for day to day driving under your conditions. Personally I don’t like the look, but that is just my personal feelings. Many other people disagree with me, and that does not make either of us wrong.
Good Luck
Even worse then when I first posted which was in the tire store waiting for them to get my tires. The right front passenger tire was blown, but two other tires had bubbles in the sidewalls. We decided to replace all four tires since they were having a buy three, get the fourth free. Well, the fourth “good” tire had a big nail sticking out of it. So much being the “good” tire.
Apparently, the firmer suspension on the GTI isn’t helping matters any either.
I’ve ended up with four low profiles back on it because the tire store weren’t sure whether they could simply swap wheels without affecting the suspension. I’ll have to verify that isn’t a problem. If it’s okay, I might simply find a Golf owner who has 17" wheels and wants the cooler 18" wheels and swap.
I saw the chart texasas linked to. It appears that smaller tires not only improve the gas mileage, but actually accelerate faster and are cheaper to buy and maintain. It’s the damn minivan vs. SUV debate all over again: Minivans get better mileage, are roomier, handle better, and are cheaper, but SUVs were way cooler thus are better.
I’ll contact the warranty place on Monday and get them to reimburse me for this round. Teach 'em right for insuring low profile tires on a VW GTI.
Never again with low profiles.
I’d go with a 17 or even a 16 inch wheel rim with a 50 series or taller profile. Personally, I loathe tire profiles that are down in the 40 series range due to a generally stiffer ride and a tendency to suffer damage more easily than a taller series tire.
Open your trunk.
Now, lift up the floor mat.
Remove the cover over the spare tire compartment.
Now look at the spare tire on your '09 VW GTI.
What size is it?
Oh, that’s a 195/65-15 size steel rim and tire, isn’t it?
Where have you seen those before?
That’s right, on the stock, Base VW Rabbit.
So, do yourself a favor, and go buy yourself some stock Rabbit wheels and tires, install them, and save yourself some time and hassle.
BC.
- Watch where you are going and avoid potholes.
Keep using your warranty. When that ends maybe consider a smaller set of rims. Why spend more money than the $500 already spent. They typically laugh with glee when they take your $500, guess who is laughing.
Open your trunk.
Now, lift up the floor mat.
Remove the cover over the spare tire compartment.
Now look at the spare tire on your '09 VW GTI.
What size is it?
Oh, that’s a 195/65-15 size steel rim and tire, isn’t it?
Where have you seen those before?
That’s right, on the stock, Base VW Rabbit.
It also has WARNING, DON’T GO OVER 50 MPH! TEMPORARY SPARE! written all over it too. Not exactly encouraging words.
I’m not going to drive in the area where I had my two flats. The streets aren’t all that great in the area (it’s an industrial area) and I’ll watch out for potholes a bit more. Unfortunately, industrial ares defines most of
New Jersey.
Next time I have to replace my tires (whether due to potholes or they actually last 40,000 miles), I’ll get new 17" rims and non-low profile tires. When I went in on Sunday, I still thought I had three decent and very new tires. It wasn’t until the guy showed me the bubbles in the sidewalls on the others that I realized that I had to replace almost all of them. On Sunday, most of the car shops are closed in New Jersey, and the tire guy didn’t know whether I could simply replace the rims, nor whether the meager selection of rims they had in stock would work.
Now that I know what I want to do, I’m going to start shopping for rims, or find a local VW club and swap the 18" wheels with some shlub with a Rabbit/Golf who wanted the cooler 18" wheels.
I believe the warning is based on the rating of the temporary tire not the rim.
It’s Not Just About Tires. That Pounding That The GTI Is Taking From Those Stupid Skinny Tires Isn’t A Good Thing. Put Some Meat With Cushion On Some New Rims.
CSA
It also has WARNING, DON’T GO OVER 50 MPH! TEMPORARY SPARE! written all over it too. Not exactly encouraging words.
Actually, it shouldn’t.
It is a 100%, full size spare tire.
It is either a Dunlop tire, or a Continental ContiProContact back there.
My friend’s '09 GTI came with Continental ContiProContacts on his car, and the spare tire was a ContiProContact spare tire.
Do whatever you want, but those tires and rims will work 100% for your car.
Remember, you’re the one who bought the car with the 18" wheels on it, and are now complaining because of how expensive they are to replace, and how easily they pick up debris from the road surface.
BTW, the 17" wheels still have low profile tires on them.
225/45-17 size were the stock wheel and tire size for the '09 GTI.
This is what my friend chose to buy the car with when we were shopping for it, just because of the reasons you are now finding out.
He chose the 15" wheels and tires I mentioned above for winter use, and they worked fine.
If you don’t want to believe the one person on here with first hand experience with an '09 GTI, then you’re SOL.
BC.
Remember when the biggest cars like Cadillacs had 15" wheels?
I wish I could put 15" rims and 65 profile tires on my little Toyota Matrix.
16" and 55 profile is too low for me.
The GTI was designed with those wheels and tires on it.
The only extra pounding the car is taking is from the road the owner chooses to drive it on, in the middle of winter.
BC.
“Is there something about my driving that’s causing this issue?”
Yes. Stop running into potholes. If you can’t avoid it, slow down a lot for it.
“Yes. Stop running into potholes.”
That pretty much leaves out the entire state of New Jersey. Until they resurfaced the Interstate by my house, there was a six inch deep trench running between the lanes. I had been very careful not to change lanes in this section of the highway, but the last time my tires blew, a truck swerved into my lane. If the Interstate is in that bad a condition, you can imagine the rest of the roads.
“Remember, you’re the one who bought the car with the 18” wheels on it, and are now complaining because of how expensive they are to replace, and how easily they pick up debris from the road surface."
I bought a used car, so it’s not like I could select from a wide variety of options. If it was a new car, I wouldn’t have gotten the super low profile tires. However, the new GTI from VW comes with 18" wheels – unless you opt for the 19" wheels.
I noticed during the winter months almost all the GTIs around here having that spare tire on one of their wheels.
“The GTI was designed with those wheels and tires on it.”
You canna’ break the laws o’ physics.
A 40 profile tire and rim is going to be fragile, no matter who designed what rides on it.
VW needs a dose of reality, US urban style.
The reason for the dire 50mph warning is to avoid overheating and damaging the differential due to the different size tires on each side of the car when you use it on the front, not because it’s an inherently unsafe tire.
I’m with " blade cutter", and go with the smallest rim, highest profile tire you can find/fit on your car. You may loose some handling, but the tires are often cheaper and ride better. Check “power dog” tire size comparison site and make sure outside diameters of all tires and spares are the same. The rim size difference is immaterial if you can match out side diameters of the tire itself.
BTW, driving bumper to bumper down the 80 mph lane through Mass often makes potholes unavoidable. Don’t know how small cars survive in situations like this. My 265/65r17 clad SUV still shook my teeth.