as title says really just wondering if anyone running 15's on a mk3 coupe as I'm running 15 x 7j and lowered supposedly 60/70/80 cant remember now so as you can guess i was gettin alot of rubbin!! but no pulled the arches and not as bad now but just wondered who else is running them as not seen any pics on here yet

I'm about to mate, what tyres you put on them?

195's will rub on a 7j

175's for a nice stretch, mines down 60 all round on 15x7 with 175's on and i get no rubbing

I'm running 195/45/15s 7j but only lowered 40mm all round. Arches dont catch at all. Not even on speed bumps :)

165/50/15 Bridgestone potenza's mate ..

This question gets asked alllll the time and those tyres are alllwayyysss the answer .. Schweet tyres

Can i get a "Search Bar"

my opinion of 15's on a mk3..... not worth the hastle,ruins the handling!

14's ftw on a mk3 tbh

my opinion of 15's on a mk3..... not worth the hastle,ruins the handling!

I'll agree with that too, 14's or 13's are much better. Unless you are going silly low there is no need for 165's either. Why have stretch if you dont need it, just looks silly IMO. I had 195/45/15's on a 7 and they never rubbed when I got Toyo Proxes on with a nice rounded shoulder on them. All your choice of course.

14's ftw on a mk3 tbh

13s FTW

G60 steels on standard ride height. Only catches when i hit a big bump at speed on 195/45/15 A539 Yokos.

well I've tried most concievable choices, 13s 14s and 15s, wide tyres, low pros and i have to say my fav combo has to be either 175/50 r13 cos it made my old gt rev like a nutter or the 15s i have on my g40 at the mo running 165/50s no the tyres are not stretched, yes the car is low IRO 80mm and it handles superbly on a flat road. was previously down 40 and was great fun on any road surface, so much so I'm gonna higher my polo!

i really dont understand why people insist on putting really wide tyres on a mk3! they dont need it.

7's are a bugger with big tyres as it will scrub on full lock + every bump on the front.

i used to run 6's with 165/50/15s and they were fine lowered 60mm.

currently running 7's on front and 8's on the back lowered fuckin silly with flared archs

KiZ

i really dont understand why people insist on putting really wide tyres on a mk3! they dont need it.

Gunna have to agree with this, i had a variety of wheel sizes and tyres on the my mk3 and i can honestly say i much prefer'd the car on 165/50/15 bridgestones. Steering felt reasonably light i.e. how it felt factory but you had the confidence of plenty of grip couple with a nice lowering kit and chassis mods.

I'd be inclined to look at chassis mods / renewing worn sus parts before just banging some wide tyres on and expecting great handling.

Good point about not requiring wide wheels. Ultimately you might end up with more traction but that's not always desirable. There is a reason light weight car makers like Caterham and Lotus don't use big wide wheels, a little bit of slip at slower speed provides a better driving experience than a sudden give at high speeds. Wide wheels are more prone to aqua planing as well, which is never desirable.

I think from a looks/ride/handling point of view the best options are a 13" wheel with a good bit of side wall or a 14" with 195/45 or 185/50. I can see no draw backs from my 14x6J wheels with 195/45 fitted. Car is lowered 60/40 all round, it handles really well, doesn't scrub when driven hard with people in the car, cuts through standing water and generally behaves really well...it's a no compromise choice.

15's can look good, StueyB, Alex and a few others have proved that...just requires some more careful choices.

I found my car lowerd 40mm on 6J 15" wheels was extreemly fun to drive . Alot more grip than the standard mk3 wheel dimensions and a really direct fun feel to the car .

I dont see why peopl ethink it adversly effects the handling . Fair play the speedo is going to be out i also had a bit of hastle with wheels bearings but at the end of the day it was superb fun to drive !

I found my car lowerd 40mm on 6J 15" wheels was extreemly fun to drive . Alot more grip than the standard mk3 wheel dimensions and a really direct fun feel to the car .

I dont see why peopl ethink it adversly effects the handling . Fair play the speedo is going to be out i also had a bit of hastle with wheels bearings but at the end of the day it was superb fun to drive !

Mine had 7x15" et20 Ats cups fitted with 195/45/15 Toyo proxies,lowered 40mm all round. Despite having the metal wing lips removed under the arches my fronts used to catch on bumps and rip the tyres to shreds.On even slightly bumpy roads the car didn't really feel stable.Yes it used to grip well, but there was no warning when it was about to disappear!

Then i swapped to standard g40 bbs's..... There is less physical grip, but i find i can push the car a lot harder on any road surface as i can actually tell whats happening underneath me. The loss of grip is much more progressive and doesn't suddenly spit you out unless you're really provoking it.

just my 2c

Which is what you want...that's why god invented side walls...progressive handling. I doubt the physical size of the wheel offers any benefits at all when it comes to handling. You'll have probably upgraded to a better tyre or fitted new suspension at about the same time as ditching the old wheels..that'll be where the grip comes from. Bigger wheels increase the unsprung weight on the suspension, they take longer to accelerate and decelerate due to the extra mass. The normal reason for fitting large wheels is to cover some larger brakes...and there is no need for 280mm+ on a Mk3 Polo....so at the end of the day its an aesthetic mod rather than a performance one and it only rarely pays off.

Personally having run 13s, 14s and 15s I prefer how my car drives on the 14s/15s. And my steelies had good tyres.

I've got 195/45 tyres on et35 6.5J wheels, the rear arches are rolled, fronts aren't. It's fine. I've had a car full and no scrubbage.

But I've had to go down to 14s for this weekend's trip to the Nürburgring. The reason being, I did a driver training day in my car, and under really heavy cornering the rear tyres just scuff the spring seat. It'd be bad having that happen on the road, but after a weekend on the Ring the tyre will be fucked. So they're having a break and I'm rolling some 14" Speedlines, on 195/45 Toyos. :)

Personally having run 13s, 14s and 15s I prefer how my car drives on the 14s/15s. And my steelies had good tyres.

I've got 195/45 tyres on et35 6.5J wheels, the rear arches are rolled, fronts aren't. It's fine. I've had a car full and no scrubbage.

But I've had to go down to 14s for this weekend's trip to the Nürburgring. The reason being, I did a driver training day in my car, and under really heavy cornering the rear tyres just scuff the spring seat. It'd be bad having that happen on the road, but after a weekend on the Ring the tyre will be fucked. So they're having a break and I'm rolling some 14" Speedlines, on 195/45 Toyos. :)