WHEELS thread

[John Phillips]

No traffic lately, so maybe someone can help me with wheel selection...and we can all use this thread to list wheel options and fitment info as it becomes available? Hope so!

Here's where I am on wheels so far: building beta #1, ready (almost) to put her on the ground as a roller. Want to use the new wheels and tires. Talked to Mark, and am convinced I want the same tire size all 4 corners, probably 235/40-17, maybe 245's. SOooo, I can use 8" wide rims all round, and I prefer 17" diameter. Mark says to search out wheels for Subaru WRX 5x100, ~47 offset. I'll track and autocross the car some for fun, but don't need ultimate lightweight racing wheels. I want simple 5-SPOKE rims for ease of cleaning! So far I've been looking at Drag, Ronal, Koenig online...confusion reigns!

I've forgot all the various brands of wheels that have been mentioned from time to time on this forum, and am not patient enough to look back through ALL THE POSTS to find em. Any ideas to match these specs will be really appreciated, and I'm trying to stay well below $200 per wheel. THANKS for your input.

[4229GL]

ronal stopped importing in the US a while ago.
1552 imports Schmidt if you want something German and Compomotive (English) if you want a proper offset.

1552 makes a remake of the original rabbit "snowflake" but in 18X8.5

Shop | fifteen52.us

1552 also makes the tarmac in 18X8.5 (and available with custom offsets)

Shop | fifteen52.us

be warned - subaru wheels have a smaller centerbore than VW wheels.

[4229GL]

Oettinger also makes german wheels, but 18 is as small as you'll find. they make a 5 spoke though:

Product Listing at Oettinger North America

[4229GL]

or you could always buy my ridiculous wheels (17X8 w/ adapters):

VWVortex.com - custom ronals $1100
$700 w/ tires

OR my 18X8.5 OZ Opera II's (which now have mirror polished titanium face bolts)

$700 w/o tires

school eats money. everything must go!

[dukegrad98]

John P -- I'm on exactly the same page as you about an affordable wheel/tire set for this car. We should be able to get all four corners attractively outfitted with metal and rubber for a thousand bucks. (It was easier back when the wheelset was part of the complete kit, personal choice aside.)

Originally Posted by 4229GL

1552 imports Schmidt if you want something German and Compomotive (English) if you want a proper offset.

be warned - subaru wheels have a smaller centerbore than VW wheels.

Haven't I read negative things about 1552 and their ability to deliver? No personal experience -- I just feel like I've read "run as fast as you can" about them. The centerbore issue is news to me, but I'm not into mix-and-match with almost-fit Subie parts here anyway. I want some bolt-on VW stuff. Maybe with spacers. Anything that involves the machine shop is out of the question.

Originally Posted by 4229GL

Oettinger also makes german wheels, but 18 is as small as you'll find. they make a 5 spoke though...

Nice...but $400+ a pop?? Please!

Someone show me the cheap wheels designed for this cheap donor car. I think I'm just going to shop Tire Rack or Discount Tire Direct for Jetta-fitment wheels and trust that they will work. Any reason they shouldn't? None that I can see, but I'm not pulling the trigger quite yet. I've got no interest in trying to re-mill a wheel to make it fit -- bolt 'em on!

Does anyone have Mark's source of the spacer needed for the rear? He is using something like a 1.5" billet unit with pressed-in studs to run same-width tires at all four corners. We're going to need those to avoid a really stupid offset look issue with the rear fenders. Unlike the Cobra, I don't need or want 315s under the back of my TDI G3F. Tire rotation is a good thing.

Cheers, John

[dukegrad98]

Here we go... Sport Edition F2, silver, 17x7.5, 5x100, 35mm offset - $79 on close-out at Tire Rack, a supporting vendor here.



Not the prettiest wheel ever, but for $320 at all four corners? Not bad. Not bad at all.

Here's a $113 Momo wheel from Discount Tire Direct -- five spokes and easy to clean:



I'll need to talk with Mark a little more about fitment and recommended tire sizes (to keep speedo and/or tach and/or odometer accurate -- apparently I have to pick which since VW couldn't synchronize all of their instrumentation), but it's good to know there are some reasonable options out there for this project!

Cheers, John

[4229GL]

Originally Posted by dukegrad98

Does anyone have Mark's source of the spacer needed for the rear? He is using something like a 1.5" billet unit with pressed-in studs to run same-width tires at all four corners. We're going to need those to avoid a really stupid offset look issue with the rear fenders. Unlike the Cobra, I don't need or want 315s under the back of my TDI G3F. Tire rotation is a good thing.

Cheers, John

I'm currently running what seem to be the EXACT spacers I saw at his shop during my last visit. They're cheap and not H&R quality - but I've run them for a year with my wacky green Ronals without issue. they're hubcentric machined, but NOT wheelcentric:
A-DAPT-IT USA Wheel Adapters

[MJN]

Just sitting in the local VW dealer waiting for some warranty work to be completed and they have at least 4 sets of these wheels and tires sitting there for sale. Yes it's a VW wheel but at this price for 4 wheels and new tires it could be a nice option. The dealer in the post is where I am looking at the wheels. The post price is less than the $785 they have the wheels tagged at but I'm sure you could get the lower price. VWVortex.com - 17" VW Akiros wheels tires and sensors $699

[John Phillips]

Mike, you got me going on those Akiros wheels/tires, mega-deal I think. However, the bolt holes are 5x112, and we need 5x100. DARN!

This is closer to the kind of price point I was hoping to find though... I'm not looking to put maximum dollars into the rims & tires for a daily driver. Thanks for the ideas, keep em coming and I'll post whatever I find.

[MJN]

Sorry John I didn't recognize the difference in bolt pattern

[John Phillips]

Mike, I bet we could still use the Akiros! I went to the adapter/spacer site 4229GL listed...they make adapters to go from 5x100 to 5x112...and since we're going to use adapters anyway to extend the track of the front and rear, maybe this would work. I'll try to call Mark if I can today and see. Pretty darn snappy to get a set of new cool-looking wheels and tires delivered for near $800. I kind of like the idea of using VW wheels if they're good looking, and these are, IMHO.

[MJN]

John.

While I was picking up my car in the service area I noticed at least 6 more stacks of wheels and tires so they are sitting on 8 to 10 sets of those. I also found that they have these that are the correct bolt pattern http://www.keffervwparts.com/partloc...catalogid=8217

[dukegrad98]

Originally Posted by John Phillips

...we're going to use adapters anyway to extend the track of the front and rear...

John...this is the first I've heard / read about spacers in the front. What'd I miss? (Well, besides another $100 in the budget!) I thought they were only necessary to fill out the fenders in the rear.

Cheers, John

[John Phillips]

John, I THINK I use a spacer up front because of the picture of the prototype having one in it...don't think I ever asked Mark specifically about it. Good question tho! Will see if I can find out if things slow down enough here for a call.

[Will382]

Just wanted to update the thread with some info I got from Mark.

Mark told me that the Subaru fronts or stock Jetta wheels require a 1.25" spacer to fill the wheel well.

In the rear the same wheel as the front would require a spacer
OR
Use the larger 17 x 9" wheels at 15mm offset and NO spacer.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

[4229GL]

Originally Posted by Will382

OR
Use the larger 17 x 9" wheels at 15mm offset and NO spacer.

or 1552's 18x8.5 custom wheels with 5mm offset and no spacer.

Originally Posted by dukegrad98

Haven't I read negative things about 1552 and their ability to deliver? No personal experience -- I just feel like I've read "run as fast as you can" about them.

I think you've been reading about Compomotive - not 1552:
compomitive group buy?
I've only heard good things about 1552 on their turf at vortex. Nothing but satisfied customers. In re Compomotive - I still think it would be really cool to offer exclusive Smyth Performance wheels - even if it is just an option. I think it would be a real cool idea to have unique wheels for a unique car with perfect fitment and no spacers.

[Bill Shaw]

I'm starting to think about wheels. Anybody had any experience with Formula 43? They make wheels to order with custom offsets starting at about $900. Not as cheap as the ones above but it would eliminate the 2" spacers.

[4229GL]

Originally Posted by Bill Shaw

I'm starting to think about wheels. Anybody had any experience with Formula 43? They make wheels to order with custom offsets starting at about $900. Not as cheap as the ones above but it would eliminate the 2" spacers.

never heard of them. 1552 custom offsets at $299 (+100 for custom offset). I think that's going to be your best deal if you don't want to run spacers. 900 a piece gets real expensive real fast.

[4229GL]

here's a link for 8.5:
Shop
here's a link for 9.5 width for $20 more:
Shop

[Bill Shaw]

Originally Posted by 4229GL

never heard of them. 1552 custom offsets at $299 (+100 for custom offset). I think that's going to be your best deal if you don't want to run spacers. 900 a piece gets real expensive real fast.

That's $900 for a set of 4.

[manual_tranny]

Originally Posted by Bill Shaw

That's $900 for a set of 4.

I got kinda excited when I saw this, so I called them up to make sure. Unfortunately their custom wheels start around $850 a piece.

:\

[Bill Shaw]

Crap, back to the drawing board. I don't like the spacers.

[Bill Shaw]

Mike, I've been searching all over facebook for the past hour or so, looking for Mark's comments on backspacing with no luck. I think he said 43 or 41 offset in the rear and I just don't remember the front. Can you find those numbers? Maybe documenting them here in this thread is a good thing.

Thanks -

[4229GL]

Originally Posted by manual_tranny

I got kinda excited when I saw this, so I called them up to make sure. Unfortunately their custom wheels start around $850 a piece.

:\

hate to say it team, but those 1552 wheels are a peach at 1600 a set with custom offset. only other conceivable option is some BMW or corvette wheels that have been redrilled as they have a fairly low offset (unless the wheels are especially wide - as is the case w/ vette wheels)

[bzeien]

I need to get the car on it's feet yet, but I'm considering BMW wheels with ET20 offsets and using thinner (20mm?) 5x100 to 5x120 adapters. $166/ea. for the wheels: Wheel Detail

and $250 for adapters: Home Page > ES#2182 ECS 5x100 To 5x120 Wheel Adapter & Hardware (20mm) - ECS5X100TO5X120K

The adapters are hub centric for the VW but would also require a set of hub centric rings to change from the wheel's 74mm to 72.5 hub.

[manual_tranny]

Originally Posted by Bill Shaw

Mike, I've been searching all over facebook for the past hour or so, looking for Mark's comments on backspacing with no luck. I think he said 43 or 41 offset in the rear and I just don't remember the front. Can you find those numbers? Maybe documenting them here in this thread is a good thing.

Thanks -

To clarify for all future readers, (not for you Bill!) ...



On the TDI G3F we are using Subaru 8" width (9" actual measurement) wheels with approximately 47-48mm positive offset. Spacers obviously "add" negative offset overall, so we simply subtract the spacer's widths from the positive offset. The TDI's rear spacers are at 1.75" (44.5mm) and its front spacers are at 1.25" (32mm). So, our Subaru aftermarket 8" rear wheel is at (+)47.5mm offset, subtract the 44.5mm spacer and get (+)3mm offset. A custom front 8" wheel would be 47.5mm, subtract the 32mm spacer to get approx (+)15.5mm offset.

There is almost an inch of clearance between the inside of the rear tires and the inexpensive coilovers with our 235/45R17 tire mounted to our 8" Subaru wheels. A custom (rear!) 8" wheel could probably look pretty good throughout the (-)5 to +10mm range. (But please don't go out and buy custom wheels unless they're returnable, which they generally aren't!)

The car is designed for 235/45 R17, 235/40 R18, or similar sized outer diameter and width on all four corners. However, we know that many of you will choose wider tires for the rear for looks and/or for drag racing.

A 9" wheel can be fit to the rear only, but we're all on our own at this point with the exact specs. I think that we have a total of (-)15mm offset with the 9" wheels on the VR6... these wider wheels can only work with the expensive coil-over option as our inexpensive coilovers would rub on the inside of the wheel.

Wheel purchases are extremely expensive and we're putting off our final $1600-$3000 wheel purchases until after we've experimented with our cheap wheels and spacers. I'd like to find out what the best offsets/tire combinations are through trial and error on the track. Someday, not too soon, I'd like to have two sets of the custom wheels because I hate tearing up the same rubber I drive on daily.

If all the stars align, 9" wheels with a maximum of 275/40R17 (or 18" equivalent) will fit on the back. We are not yet confident enough about the ideal offset to advise our customers to drop mad money on wheels just yet.

Originally Posted by 4229GL

hate to say it team, but those 1552 wheels are a peach at 1600 a set with custom offset. only other conceivable option is some BMW or corvette wheels that have been redrilled as they have a fairly low offset (unless the wheels are especially wide - as is the case w/ vette wheels)

I agree 100%, but unfortunately it is a very limited selection at that price, and the Ken Block fat 5-spoke wheels don't really appeal to me. I'm going to have to make a decision soon though... :P

[4229GL]

Originally Posted by manual_tranny

I agree 100%, but unfortunately it is a very limited selection at that price, and the Ken Block fat 5-spoke wheels don't really appeal to me. I'm going to have to make a decision soon though... :P

well how about the remake of the VW snowflake in 18"? That also has customizable offsets AND is a throw back to the original GTi:
Shop

[manual_tranny]

Aha! I was wondering if those were customizable as I browsed their page but because of the way it was listed I figured it was not. I really like it!

Originally Posted by 4229GL

well how about the remake of the VW snowflake in 18"? That also has customizable offsets AND is a throw back to the original GTi:
Shop

[Bill Shaw]

Yes, that looks pretty good!