If your running on bilstein shocks al round, how much will 18" wheels mess up the ride?

well, I've got good experience of this: my car - standard suspension, standard 16s, Gouki's car - Bilsteins all round, Eibach Springs all round, 18" Azevs. Driven both:

My car, soaks up small bumps in the road ok, big dips in road (potholes etc...) it does an average job. You know how this setup handles etc.... as you must have had it at some point.

Gouki's car: soaks up the small bumps fairly well (say 80% of standard) although it is crashy over the larger bumps. Handles very well, the car is a lot more responsive with this setup and this setup increases the adhesive limits of the car considerably. I found the turn in to be a fair bit sharper also.

If you have fairly decent roads where you live, go for it. If the roads are rubbish then maybe consider sticking with the 16s or going 17s maybe.

Ok, if you are running just the billstein shocks and your car isn't lowered it should also soak up the big divets in the road.

It's only when you lower your car that it almost feels that there isn't enough suspension travel in order to soak up the large potholes.

With the 16s the billstein/eibach combo I had was quite nice, rode the small bumps really well and very composed.

My advice is that the 18s look so much better its almost worth the worse ride. There is a little bit more lateral grip also.

Sometimes I feel that the Billstein cope really well and sometimes I wish that they could be even better.

I agree.. i will be driving this setup (bilstein,eibach and 18) very soon..

cheers

coen

Mine feels better.. more sturdy and definitely more grippy on tighter bends with 18's on..

Hi,

I am hoping to get my hands on some 18's or even 17's (money and girlfriend permitting <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)
I was just wandering do bigger wheels put the speedo out?

Cheers
John

Put the speedo out? What do you mean? Not in my experience at least!

I`ve got 18" and bilsteins...............but up here,we have loads of potholes and ridges on the roads (which this set up does not like) so you have to be carefull when pushing it on,can really knock the car off line and dent your wheels very easily <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
fine on motorways and smooth`ish roads

I am running 17's with a 45 profile my Bravo HGT runs stock my old 15's Am sure my speedo is out in comparison to the Bravo, without GPS though is hard to tell.

not if you make sure the rolling radius stays the same <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> i found std dampers and lowering springs and 18's hardly made a difference to ride. the only thing that made the ride crashy were the coilovers. my 18's are as light as the std wheel/tyre combo though, and this may also affect the ride

on a slighty different tack i,m going to fit 18,s on mine if i get a flat what do u do will the standard spare if fitted still drive or do u have to fill tyres with that run flat stuff any idea,s
cheers

The spare wheel will still fit unless you are going to adapt the hubs - to 5 stud, for example.

http://www.rochfordtyres.co.uk/tyrecalc.asp to see if your speedo is correct with any size of tyres <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

cheers

coen

My 16VT was dreadful in the ride department on 18"'s. I was running standard shocks and springs.

Got 18s with standard shocks and Novitec springs - handling is much better but you feel every pothole and sunken bit of road you hit - its fun <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I have 18's with the Eibach/Bistein combo.

When I bought the car it had standard Plus 16's with Novitec springs and KYB Ultra SR shocks. The handling was out of this world - awesome. The ride quality was pretty bad.

After putting the 18's on the ride quality, as far as I could tell, was no worse.

I then had the Eibach/Bilstein combo would agree with Paul's assessment above; "so you have to be carefull when pushing it on,can really knock the car off line and dent your wheels very easily
fine on motorways and smooth`ish roads"

I have standard shocks renewed / shortened and harder, with apex 60/40 springs. The ride is hard as hell, but it pays up in every way on roads. Handling, curves, ... this is when the coupe gives me a smile on my face.

Ive got 18's with FK coilovers. Handling is excellant on nice flat roads. However bring some B roads into the mix and the ride quality is quite bad. Ive known people in the back seat to lift out of the seats when on a bumpy B road <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

same as mate, without my CG lock i would have dented the roof over bumpy ground by now <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> always makes one of my mates want to pee cos of the bumpy bouncy ride <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

thats why my coilovers are still sitting in their box in the garage over 1 1/2 years after buying them.........one day <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

it really is all down to the type of roads & driving u do......i got FK's as well......i want the 100nm springs to reduce the bounciness........but other than that the comfort level is no worse than with standard suspension..i drive in london...some of the really bad roads u'll feel it.....but for the most part it aint that bad.....i've now got my standard 16" back 2 see if the comfort levels improved but it hasn't.....it's better than standard however

find it hard to beleive that billie's & eibachs would be ANY more comfortable than the Fk's.........i've never had people bounce around that much in my car but then i dont push it in london too much..........no space to !!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

The ONLY thing with 18's is that they get buckled by minor potholes......its bloody annoying!!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />


so to summise........18's, on my car didn't make much diff.....they just buckle easier than standard 16"

I got 18s on my standard suspension set up , the ride fine on a nice road but you do feel bumps worse than before.

Gouki what 18s have you got ?

What size tyres are people using on their 18s?

Mine are 225 35 18s <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I think that's the norm.

Now in theory the complete size of the wheels and tyre wouldnt be much different to the standadr 16" turbo size, but i know in reality due to much less tyreflex etc that this isnt quite so true, so how do people find 18s affect straight line performance? Also, they probably weigh more than the standard 16s - depending on quality i guess.

After reading all the posts on this thread am I right in assuming that 18"s are a little over the top? wouldn't 17"s be a better compromise?

I think you might be right , but the 18s do look cool <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />