[tired1]

Hello,

I've got a 2005 Passat Highline 1.9 TDi, and it's awesome. Got it last year, and it's been great at sitting on my drive over the pandemic

Anyway, the car came fitted with 205/60 15" wheels, that look like this

Michigan.jpg

The original alloys are in pretty good condition, only front passenger has some peeling.

I'd really like to put on 16" wheels on it, and I really like these

Road_America.jpg

They are stock Passat wheels, and use the 205/55 16" tyre which is one of the most common sizes, and you can find really cheap quality tyres.

Now, here is my dilemma, I can get cheap set of matching alloys for my car, and just replace the damaged one, or I can add a bit more, I'm talking £80, and get a full set of 16". Or just try and get the existing wheel fixed, or just drive it as is, and hope it doesn't die too soon.
As the car is now fully 16 years old, I'm getting into territory of any big investment is not worth it. Is there a big improvement in ride or something that would justify the upgrade? Ultimately, I'm a family man, and pimpin' up my ride isn't really at the top of my priority.

 

[PZ]

There is a significant upgrade in handling by going with a 16" wheel over a 15" wheel. I would not go with mismatched wheel sizes. The cheapest choice is to buy the 15" set, keep one and sell 3 individually to people in the same circumstance as you.

 

[tired1]

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I had 3 options:

1. Do nothing
2. Repair existing 15" wheels / buy replacement for my damaged wheel
3. Buy 16" wheels

How much of an upgrade is getting 16" wheels over 15" ones? Will I really notice? Will I have to adjust the speedometer?

 

[PZ]

To me, the upgrade in handling was significant enough that I did it not just on my car, but also on my wife's car. Since the wheels are taller, you end up using shorter tires. A 205/55/16 or 225/50/16 tire will keep the speedo the same.
So you get to choose between options 1 and 3.

 

[jowcris]

I upgraded to 16" wheels with some low profile tires, and there's no much difference in ride quality. The road conditions near my place are not bad, though.

 

[Gazwould]

Plenty of B6 17" wheels about .

 

[generationY]

I feel like option 3 will be the best for this car. Upgrading your wheels and tires at the same time makes a difference.

 

[Coache1nine]

I'd go with the 16". There are plenty of good looking factory wheels out there and the price difference between the two is almost moot. Ride quality will not suffer, provided you go with a quality tire, but during normal driving you won't notice much of a difference.

 

[Gazwould]

Any Passat B6 17" Monte Carlo made by Borbet about ?

They look a treat on a B5.5 .

 

[Davethedyer]

17 inch wheels from 2014 Beetles look great....just remove those chrome hubcaps and get the VW center caps