I have a 03 1.8t stock and it came with 17inch wheels. However, the tires that came with it are 215/45/17 Do you think these tires are too thin? The wheels keep getting f'ed up from auto car washes, stupid mechanics, etc.

For those of you with 17" wheels, what size tires are you running on and do you think if I went wider say to a 225 or 235, it would save some scrapes on my wheels?

 

I have the smallest tires ever! i have 195/45/15 or 16 i think....im definately trying to get bigger tires/rims soon! but i need money for that

 

you can go a little wider for sure, Im running 17s with 225-45-17.
I may go to 235 next if the rims can hold it.

 

17x7.5 and i run 215/45/17

I like the more streched look and when i get 8" wide wheels, im still going to use 215's

 

im running 235/45 17's. but getting 18's today and they are 235/40 18's

 

I have stock wheels and they came with 235/45/17.

 

Well B6's should run 235's, B5's should run 225's...
I wanted some stretch, so I got 8.5" wheels up front. If you run 215's on a B5, or 225's on a B6, you're going to have a tire with a smaller rolling circumference, and you will throw off your speedo somewhat.

 

Isn't the 215,225, 235 in reference to width of the wheel? How can that affect the rolling circumference? just curious. Next set of tires I get, I'm gonna get 225 at least. Plus before summer is over I need to get myself some winter tires. Any suggestions on how I can accomplish this efficiently? ie get 4 tires with the wheels so i can just swap (maybe like 15's or 16") or just get winter tires for the 17's?

 

Well, 215, 225, or 235 are all in reference to the width of the tire... but the next number in a tire's size is the aspect RATIO. So a 215/45/17 will have a shorter sidewall than a 225/45/17, therefore making rolling circumferance smaller. Go to tirerack, pick any brand of tire, then click on 'specs'. It'll show a list of tire sizes, and you can compare rolling diamteres and see for yourself.

To give you some perspective, I've got 225/40/18's up front, and 255/35/18's in the rear. If what you thought were true, I'd have smaller (in terms of rolling circumference) rear tires than fronts. However, that's not the case. They are identical.