Model Year 21/22 Changing tyres from 40 to 35 profile

[Veralynn]

Hi all, my current tyres are 245/40/19 on my formentor vz2
My question is can I put 35 profile tyres on without issue, has anyone done it, road noise handling etc.
Cheers.

 

[Karbonfaiba]

As somebody who misses their 40 profile tyres, it would seem like a downgrade to reduce the profile on the Formentor VZ2 imo. My bias is for comfort & lowest road noise to be clear, but, the handling question with lower profile tyres is a point I understand.

My perspective on vehicle handling is that chassis design (particularly with the latest MQB Evo platform) is the key factor in handling - so I put more value on vehicles that handle more predictably as "better" rather than shear cornering feel, weight transfer or speed. I think all vehicles can "handle" regardless of their weight and centre of gravity.

Besides that, the Formentor's handling can be "lofty" on weight change, but still very planted. Changing the tyres isn't really going to improve that element. So I would only consider new tyres to fix issues with traction / road noise.

However, as part of a package of lowering springs to address the "lofty" foremostly, THEN I would consider reducing the tyre profile to refine the Formentor in that direction, like ABT did with their 20R tyres, it makes more sense to address the elephant in the room. Personally I respect the Formentor is a crossover, and is a better daily, being a little higher than the Golf R or Audi S3 equivalents.

Anyway saying that! Stick a new set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6's on lol.

 

[Veralynn]

As somebody who misses their 40 profile tyres, it would seem like a downgrade to reduce the profile on the Formentor VZ2 imo. My bias is for comfort & lowest road noise to be clear, but, the handling question with lower profile tyres is a point I understand.

My perspective on vehicle handling is that chassis design (particularly with the latest MQB Evo platform) is the key factor in handling - so I put more value on vehicles that handle more predictably as "better" rather than shear cornering feel, weight transfer or speed. I think all vehicles can "handle" regardless of their weight and centre of gravity.

Besides that, the Formentor's handling can be "lofty" on weight change, but still very planted. Changing the tyres isn't really going to improve that element. So I would only consider new tyres to fix issues with traction / road noise.

However, as part of a package of lowering springs to address the "lofty" foremostly, THEN I would consider reducing the tyre profile to refine the Formentor in that direction, like ABT did with their 20R tyres, it makes more sense to address the elephant in the room. Personally I respect the Formentor is a crossover, and is a better daily, being a little higher than the Golf R or Audi S3 equivalents.

Anyway saying that! Stick a new set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6's on lol.

Ok thanks for you point of view, it’s purely for aesthetics for me, I have Goodyear eagle f1 on at the minute and the fact there is no rim protection lip on the tyre and the higher profile just doesn’t look right to me.
Cheers.

 

[SRGTD]

@Veralynn - don’t overlook the fact that there’ll be less cushioning effect from the lower sidewall of a 35 profile tyre compared to your existing 40 profile tyres, so your alloys might be at increased risk of impact damage (e.g. buckling and cracks) from potholes and raised or lowered drain covers. With 245/35 R19 tyres, your speedo will also under-read your car’s true speed by just under 4% - probably not enough to be caught by speed cameras or stopped for unknowingly speeding, but bear in mind in the UK it’s illegal to have a speedo that shows less than the actual speed being travelled - see article at the link below, in particular the section headed ‘The law for car speedometers in the UK’.

How accurate is your car speedometer? #AskTCE

Have you noticed that your car speedometer reads faster than your satnav says? Find out why this happens in this week's #AskTCE at TheCarExpert.co.uk

www.thecarexpert.co.uk

 

[Veralynn]

Much appreciated, probably the answer I needed to sway me into keeping 40s, as I said earlier the existing just look wrong without the rim protection on the tyre.

 

[G.P]

Personally I respect the Formentor is a crossover, and is a better daily, being a little higher than the Golf R or Audi S3 equivalents.

Anyway saying that! Stick a new set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6's on lol.

Just out of interest, why is crossover a better daily than a golf/A3?

You need to stay within a certain percentage limit of the outside circumference. May also be insurance issues.

 

[Karbonfaiba]

Just out of interest, why is crossover a better daily than a golf/A3?

Formentor uses a longer wheel base variant than the Golf or A3 - so there's more legroom for rear passengers. The raised ground clearance is generally better for unpaved roads around countryside and wading through deeper water on flooded roads.

In terms of infotainment, Audi is best and maintains the climate control buttons. Golf is the worst having small screen, gloss black plastics, capacitive buttons on the steering wheel. Formentor has good middle ground of largest screen but with unlit capacitive climate controls however maintains tactile steering wheel buttons for best accessibly.

So the reasons are slight, and people will value different aspects over others... but when I did the objective comparison years ago between the S3, Golf R and VZ2. The VZ2 spec had more to offer for the money. The Golf 8 took itself out against the mk7.5 honestly. Then between the S3 and VZ2, the Formentor was the new face in town and with the S3 optioned fairly - took it over the 40k tax threshold.

None of the cars should have been as expensive as they were though.