[uberbeagle]

I've had enough of feeling the rear end float around when cornering (no loss of traction) with the 15" Continentals I have on the car now.

Does anyone know of a 15" tire that provides the best/better lateral stability? Not traction, but stiffness of sidewall to eliminate the floaty feel. There doesn't seem to be a rating for this.

Perhaps this is an unreasonable request and I need to bite the bullet and get 17" wheels?

 

[doctrsnoop]

which conti's do you have?

 

[ashman78]

Can't comment on tires, but 15" tires (in the Passat's aspect ratio) generally have pretty mushy sidewalls. Moving up to a 16" made a HUGE difference to me, because at least you have more hi-po tires to choose from there. 17" even moreso, but you'll also get into slightly harsher ride quality and pricier tires. Your choice :thumbup:

 

[uberbeagle]

ContiProContact 195/65R15 91H on there now. Have been good tires. After more reading, I'm coming to the conclusion that lateral rigidity is probably too much to ask of a 15" tire with high sidewalls such as these.

It would be nice if there was some sort of rating for this, but I can see why this would be costly to provide. Different sized tires in the same line would have entirely different ratings.

 

[doctrsnoop]

According to the tirerack website, the contiprocontact is a grand touring tire, which generally are biased towards comfort and ride. If you switched to a performance type of tire you might get better feel. I guess whether it's enough is hard to say. Might want to try old Rudy at tirerack.com

 

[NotAPreppie]

You have three options (assuming it really is a tire problem):

1) 45+ PSI in the tires. That'll help a bit.
2) ultra-super-dooper-max-extreme-XXX-sport summer tire. Generally, the more aggressive the tire, the harder the sidewall. Pickings will be limited in a 15" size but I'm guessing that somebody makes something adequate.
3) step up to a larger wheel and a lower aspect-ratio tire.

 

[[email protected]]

Go with an Ultra High performance tire with a higher speed rating.

 

[uberbeagle]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Troy Jollimore]

I didn't find mine all that floaty with my Michelin MXV4's, and not even too much with my worn-out Nokian winter tires. I'd definitely check your suspension back there...

 

[uberbeagle]

I will definately do that. The car is FWD though, and there's just not alot back there to go bad.

 

[ashman78]

I went from 15" w/Michelins to 16" w/Michelins about 2 years before lowering. The wheel tire combo alone made a huge difference. You could literally feel the reduction in shoulder roll, even under moderate turning.

 

[JayTheSnork]

a suggestion - Michelin MXV4 Energy tires have pretty stiff sidewalls.

a couple of questions - how old is your car? have you ever done any suspension component replacements?

 

[uberbeagle]

2003 w/ 112k mi. I have never touched rear axle components other than brakes. Last time I checked, the shocks still felt okay if you can believe that.

 

[JayTheSnork]

just clocking in at 7 years old... time to start thinking about a suspension change. you'll know soon enough if the rear tires start cupping.

 

[Troy Jollimore]

I believe it. My '00 (albeit with only 75k mi on it) on stock suspension still feels firm. Not like it needs replacing at all. I know better, though. Just have to convince the wife. Maybe putting the ProKits I have on will blow them out in a more spectacular fashion...

 

[Nopolis]

I had 17" on my car with conti extreme contact tires for a full year before i dropped it. There was a profound difference in the cornering with just new wheels and tires, even to the point that my wife, who knows NOTHING about cars and always rides shotgun (can't drive manual..haha!) said "wow, the ride seems really different..."
think about the 17" wheels...should be able to get a reasonable price on here or Audizine...