505 GTI tyres

luthier

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I fitted a set of 195/65/15 91V to my beast but it has too much body roll.

I put it down to the tyre profile . Maybe it's the shocks and springs but I tend towards these tyres as the problem.

I once had the original series 1 executive that handled el supremo but this series 2 doesn't feel as good.

I was talked into 195/65 /15

But I'm thinking 205/60/15 is where it should be.

So please 505 buffs, could you tell me where I went wrong?
 
I am not sure about the GTi, but I know the V6 recommended size is 195/60 or 205/55.

I tried 195/65 on my V6 once and quickly changed it back to 195/60, based on how poor the handling became.

Ikenna351 - Monk.
 
Put some more air in them.
 
195/60 15 are the standard size and 65 profile makes them about 2cm bigger -- 504/604 diameter. A few years ago, I bought 195/65 15s for my 604, but picked them up fitted to my 505 GTI. By the time I got home I was glad to change back to the 60 profiles. Felt vague and unresponsive. Didn't expect an extra cm of height to do that. Maybe more air would have helped. New tyres were fine on the 604.

Have fun,

Rob.
 
S2 cars do seem to be softer. Late STis (same suspension as S1 GTi) with the 190 TRXs are the best.
 
I always seem to inflate front tyres to a number starting with 4...
Backs maybe 4-6 psi or so less.

Jo
 
What's missing in this thread is information concerning the tyres in question. What brand & what type makes a considerable difference & one type of 195/65 might well be crisper than another tyre type in 195/60.

Tyres in the same size also vary in how well they respond to pressure changes & not just all-round raising & lowering but changing the front/rear balance.

The key dimension change from 195/60 to 195/65 is sidewall height & it's an 8.7% increase of about 10 mm.This would be noticeable but would likely be able to be tuned out by pressure increases. (Note that not all tyres are very responsive to that & those with an unstable shoulder are not.)

The stand-out best tyre on any performance parameter in 195/65 is Continental's PremiumContact5 & if that is what you have fitted, then pressure tuning should succeed. It's worth trying as the tyre is a splendid wet tyre in particular.

In 195/60, the only tyre type which would hold promise of improving matters is Bridgestone's RE003. It's both shorter sidewalled & more crisply structured than the PC5.

In 205/60 the cupboard is bare. 205/55 also has the RE003.

cheers! Peter
 
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