Posted by Christian on October 16, 1998 at 13:21:37:
In Reply to: 1999 Passat GLX Syncro (Tires and wheels) posted by Ruben Bonilla on October 16, 1998 at 11:41:59:
I have made the same mistake on my VW Jetta VR6. The tuners I spoke to enthusiastically tempted me into upgrading the performance of my car. Well, the improvements do work in an ideal world. The lowered and stiffer suspension should give better traction assuming you are travelling on mirror smooth dry roads. Basically the upgrades you mentioned are mostly meant for the track. Even with all the changes in tires and suspension, you may only gain a second or two per lap on the track. On the street, you may actually loose traction on bumpy road with a stiff suspension. As for the tire, the 17" tires are just not practicals. A lot of my friends have damaged their 17" wheels from the curbs, and forget about a drive-thru car wash. The 17" tires also give you a bone-jarring ride. In the end, all you ended up improving is the Tirerack's bank account.