18" Wheels on a mkV GTTDI

[Paul_mkV_golf]

Been wanting to spruce up the wheels on my Golf for a while now- it's currently on the standard issue 16" Imola wheels- just wondering from your experience if the ride quality suffers much when going to 18" lower profile wheels/tyres? Are there any particulat manufacturers anyone can recommend- there's a few companies seem to do VW replica wheels on ebay for a lot less than vw charge.

Plus- is there any thing else in the way of modifications has to made when fitting 18" wheels- e.g. does the speedo still display the correct speed? Not too sure myself...


Any thoughts...
cheers
Paul

[ian]

hi

i had these 18's put on my mk 4 gt tdi 150 with avon rubbers wraped around them, no problems at all.

190

you can feel it more if you drive in lorry lanes or on the inside lane of a motor way (not very often) where the lorry's have groved the road.:zx11:

i get much better traction with these on than my old 16's

bigger wheels are fractionally slower off the mark but better top end.

dont worry about the speedo, its only a fraction out too, not really worth adjusting.
the down side is that the tyres are more expensive, (worth it though):biglaugh:

[Paul_mkV_golf]

Cheers for the info- seen quite a few mk4s with the big wheel treatment. Well worth the money, going to trawl the web for inspiration!

[ian]

what sort of golf do you have ??

by the pic it looks like one of the newer mk 5's ???

just noticed your location, geordies rule !!

[devonutopia]

I think it's a Mk5 140PS 2.0 TDI. Dad had one, and it had the same 16" Imolas. The ride on that was fairly soft, but responsive. Now he has a new GTI one, with 17" wheels, which is harder, but that could be the GTI suspension too. I would say suspension plays more part in the ride than the wheels, so if you remain with stock dampers, 18s probably will make little difference.

When I went from 14" steels to 17" alloys, first thing I noticed was the car wanting to follow the profile of the road. Under braking, if the road sloped left or right it would try and go that way, and quite hard sometimes. You may also notice mpg/speedo reading changes, if the 18" wheels change the rolling radius much from the 16" - check tyre combos. :) 16" uses 205/55 R16, 18" uses 225/40 R18. According to an online tyre calculator, the 18" combo is 1% bigger, so very marginal speedo "error". Most overrad as stock anyway. My current front tyre choice is around 4% bigger than my 14" steels, and my speedo is still a good 3% under GPS real speed.

Finally - Just DO IT! Looks the dog's danglies!

[ian]

nice motor mate, done anything with the engine ??

[ian]

sounds good, what you got planned ??

[Paul_mkV_golf]

Cheers for all the comments, think 18s are the way to go- was thinking about some mk5 R32 replicas

Think they'd set it off quite nicely! Anyone had experience of any of the alloy companies that advertise on e-bay eg http://www.wheel-base.co.uk/ ?

Had the car nearly a year & still loving it- even at 140ps it seems mega quick :biglaugh: - esp when I came from peugeot 106!! Just starting to think need to make a few changes here and there- wouldn't mind some body kit- nothing chav thou- just subtle!

[devonutopia]

Anything on this page grab you? It's the 18" option from rochford tyres. :)

http://www.rochfordtyres.co.uk/search.asp?numrecordposition=1&strSize=18%22&strkeywords=5x112%20et42,5x112%20et45,5x112%20et48 ,5x112%20et50,5x112/57-1%20et45&strSort=Low&Make=Volkswagen&Model=Golf%20Mk5

[ian]

Cheers for all the comments, think 18s are the way to go- was thinking about some mk5 R32 replicas



nice looking wheels mate but i bet there a ba$tard to clean, mine are bad enough.

[Paul_mkV_golf]

cheers for the link- more choices...

Never even thought about cleaning them- the less fussy the better otherwise it'll take hrs to clean them!

[ian]

Never even thought about cleaning them- the less fussy the better otherwise it'll take hrs to clean them!


you can get special alloy cleaner and tools to help you out (autoglym) have a good range of products.

takes me about a good 45min to wash and rub my alloys down, anything with more spokes would just annoy the **** out of me, so thats why i went for the rs4's.

good look with your search mate, post back and let us know what you gone for !!:biglaugh:

[devonutopia]

But please steer clear from wonder wheels, else it's bye bye to your lacquer....

Takes me about 3 or 4 minutes per wheel on mine. nice easy 5 spoke 17s. :)

[ian]

Takes me about 3 or 4 minutes per wheel on mine. nice easy 5 spoke 17s. :)


great you can do mine while your on buddy, my car and wheels could do with a hose down...LoL :biglaugh:

[Paul_mkV_golf]

went out & bought wonder wheels when I 1st got the car- only because it was highly recommended by auto express mag, noticed lacquer coming away- must be powerful stuff. Not too bothered as they were a bit kerbed anyway when I got the car + it's a reason to change them to.

Might as well use the rest of it for unblocking the sink & get some less harsh stuff!

[devonutopia]

Might as well use the rest of it for unblocking the sink & get some less harsh stuff!

Stripping paint from walls, stripping varnish off timber, stripping paint off your car, dissolving superglue.... :biglaugh: foul FOUL stuff. :approve:

Best alternative I have found (although not designed for this purpose) is autoglym tar remover. Is not too harsh and will work well on concentrated areas of brake dust.

[Aaron Mac]

hi paul,
was just reading there about you lookin for a set of 18s? have you seen a set u fancy? i have a mk5 also only the 1.6fsi came with 15s now have a set of 18inch monzas(gti wheels) honestly looks brilliant! lost count how many people have said how good they look,people actually walk past the car then turn round to hav anotha look! they are 225/40/18,a thought it wud b a bit bumpier when drivin,so smooth still drives good with low profiles

[ian]

can you take a pic and post it for ppl to see mate ??

[Aaron Mac]

i'll take a pic of the wheels next week and post it,ma dads on holiday till tuesday so i'll get his digital camera and try figure out how to upload it onto the site

[Paul_mkV_golf]

thanks aaron mac- like the look of the monzas too- so long as they don't screw up the ride. Mate's gotta a mini with big wheels- think he's got run-flats too- so long as the ride isn't as bone-jaring, that was my only concern.

Monzas it is & ditch the wonder wheels!

[Aaron Mac]

you got around to ordering a set of monzas yet? if you want a could get the number of the place i got my wheels from,guarantee you wont be disapointed with them if you get them!

[Paul_mkV_golf]

Cheers for the offer- bought some though, picking them up tomorrow- will post the results when I get them fitted.

Paul

[Paul_mkV_golf]

Here's the new wheels- went for the gti monza wheels in the end :biglaugh:

V happy- thanks for all the help/advice.

[ian]

nice one mate, looks really good, what rubber you got on them ??

ian

[Paul_mkV_golf]

Nankang Ultra Sport NS-II 225/40/R18. Not a tyre company I've heard of but got them with the alloys off ebay-only a few hundred miles. Tyres seem ok- no worse than the dunlop sports I used to have on the other alloys.