[chittychittybangbang]

The tires on the stock 16" bioline wheels were almost gone and I had these tires/wheels already mounted on another car. They were removed because the other car got winter tires. Here is my comparison:

16" bioline wheels were 6.5" wide with an offset of 50. The tires were 205/55/16 goodyear assurance tripletread, mostly worn. They fit the car correctly but ride was a little harsh due to the tires. Stock VW wheels are also fairly heavy, see the wheel gallery overview for a listing of weights. Handling and response was good, noise was fairly high which could have been because the treads were worn.

The 16" BBS VZ wheels are 7.5" wide with an offset of 37. Tires are 205/60/16 michelin primacy mxv4, almost new. Wheel+tires weight is about 1-2lbs lighter than the biolines. The 60 aspect ratio adds about .2" of tire sidewall and combined with the different tire, completely changed handling and comfort/noise. The lower noise is probably due to the new tires but the handling and comfort is much softer. Michelin primacys have a rounded sidewall and soak up the bumps very well. The downside is that there is noticeably delayed turn in compared to the goodyear triple treads. I do like the higher sidewall because it raises the car by about .4". The car needs all the ground clearance it can get.

The 205/55 tire size also has a wider tread width compared to 205/60. I expected 205 (the width) to remain constant but the goodyear tripletread has wider treads due to a more square sidewalls. The 205/55 goodyear have a tread width of about 7.4" and the 205/60 michelin have rounder sidewalls with a tread width of about 6.5". Because the weight of the car is unchanged, narrower treads are better for wet/snow but worse on dry.

Since these came off another car, the offset is also too low. They stick out about 1" further and about .5" too far. The inside clearance is the same but there's plenty of room on the inside. If you get 7.5" wide wheels I suggest an offset of 50. 7" wide could get by with 45. You don't want to have the wheels stick out too far because this changes the scrub radius the tires spray the sides of the car with dirt. They work on the Passat because there isn't very much inside clearance due to the multi-link suspension. On the Jetta with it's strut suspension there is plenty more room for tuck-in.

Here is an pic showing the front with the new wheels. It's not just the angle, it sticks out too far by about .25", if it were tucked by about .5" that would be even better. This would be an offset of 48. (stock is 50).

Here is a before and after of the rear. The front and rear wheel hub offset is different so how far the same wheel sticks out will be different on front vs. back. 37 offset with 7.5" wheels is OK on the back but too low on the front.

 

[fstjetta]

Looks nice. It looks pretty tight, do you think 206/65 or 215/60 are better?

 

[chittychittybangbang]

IMHO, 205/60/16 is the optimal size for most 6.5-7" TDI wheels. This is a nice balance between the off road tire look, handling, height, and comfort. 205/55/16 is a more sporty tire. I wouldn't want to go any lower so if you want a more sporty ride I would look for 17" or 18" wheels.

215/60 should be wider, but each tire model is different so the tread width is unknown. Even the same tire model in a different size could be different. Tire rack doesn't list all info since not all manufacturers list this info. 205/65 is a bit on the tall side.

 

[Wav99]

Those tires as is look kind of large compared to the rest of the car. It must be the angle.

 

[bigshow]

It looks cold!

 

[Cooper]

This is weird timing. We have BBS VZ wheels as our winter wheels.

Just put the winter wheels and tires on the JSW and my wife's 2002 snap orange New Beetle GLS on Wednesday.

As they were on my 2003 Audi A4 Avant 3.0q, the tires are slightly larger than OEM: 215/55-16.

Ended up washing the OEM wheels in he dark, and it dipped below freezing.

Waxed them yesterday and put them away for the winter.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Nice choice:nana2:

 

[Cooper]

We are in New England, so the winter wheels are on the car for a fair part of the year. I didn't want to go with steel wheels for that reason.

We moved here in 2003 from NJ, where winter tires really aren't needed. I wanted my wife to get winter tires, as she was driving to the train station very early in the morning, and the back roads she used may not be clear.

I was showing her wheels at tirerack.com. She sees one wheel and states, "those are nice."

"Yes, and they are also $450 each. Keep looking."

The BBS VZ wheels were only $179 each. Other wheels that were a possibility were $149 or so. We got the BBS wheels for just a little more money.

I got them, too, in 2004. We pulled into a parking spot at the outlet shopping here. Someone had just gotten out ofa BMW, and he's staring at my car.

I get out, and he asks about the wheels. I state that they are my winter wheels, and he was amazed that I'm using BBBS wheels as winter wheels. I mentioned that they were only $179 each. he said that he was going on tirerack as soon as he got home.