UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

How many have replaced their wheels with aftermarket ones?

I have a GTI+ and hit a pot hole not long ago and bent one of the wheels beyond repair. Now VW want over £700 for a new wheel and not being a huge fan of diamond cut wheels anyway im considering just replacing them all for something different as I can get a nice set of Bola’s for similar money and should I hit a pothole again in the future, a replacement would be alot cheaper.

My question is that the standard wheel size is 18x7.5 and all the wheels im looking at are 18x8, will these still fit without issue or am i going to cause clearance issues with wheelarch liners and shocks?

You need to consider offset as well as the width of the wheels in order to determine whether or not you’ll have any clearance / rubbing issues. Also, if you’re thinking of changing your factory tyres from 215/40 R18 to 225/40 R18 like quite a few forum members have done, that will also add additional width.

Use the calculator on www.willtheyfit.com which will calculate the differences in the critical measurements between your existing wheels and any new wheels you’re thinking of getting. Don’t forget to factor in the width of the tyres too, as both a 215 or 225 tyre are wider than an 8” wheel (215 tyre - approx 8.5 wide and 225 tyre - approx 8.9 inches wide).

You also need to ensure the PCD (bolt pattern) of any new wheels you’re considering is 5x100. Centre bore needs to be 57.1 or greater - if it’s more than 57.1 then you’ll need to fit spigot rings to reduce the centre bore size to 57.1 to ensure the new wheels fit snugly on the hub assembly. Aftermarket wheels usually require new bolts, but if you’re buying new wheels from a reputable wheel retailer, they should supply a fitting kit that includes the correct bolts and spigot rings if these are needed.

I got some new aftermarket wheels about 2 months onto ownership, that was going to be the plan all along and then I plan on selling my stock 17inch alloys when I get time. The new wheels were the exact same size as the old ones so can't really give you advice on how much it would interfere but I do know if the wheel size was all the same except the width being different at 8 instead of the stock 7.5 the alloy will be 6.3 closer to your suspension and have 6.3 more poke. You'll also need to consider your tyre choice if you want a wider alloy.

My recommendation is get some that are pretty much the same size as your currents unless you know someone who has an alloy you can test fit to double check.

There’s a genuine one on eBay for £250 at the moment

Tyre wise I’d have to go up to 225/40R18 as the rim would be slightly wider unless I go for the slightly ‘stretched’ tyre look and put my current 215/40R18 tyres on.

I just can’t seem to find an alloy I like the look of in 7.5j size, I don’t mind it sticking out a bit further as I’ve seen people running spacers on them and it looks good, just don’t want issues on the inside with wheels rubbing arches etc

The Random Dan wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 5:19 pm Tyre wise I’d have to go up to 225/40R18 as the rim would be slightly wider unless I go for the slightly ‘stretched’ tyre look and put my current 215/40R18 tyres on.

I just can’t seem to find an alloy I like the look of in 7.5j size, I don’t mind it sticking out a bit further as I’ve seen people running spacers on them and it looks good, just don’t want issues on the inside with wheels rubbing arches etc

Have you tried MyTyres as that is where I got my RC32 design alloys to the exact size as the stock alloys.

Bola b6 18" 8.0, lowered 35mm with no issues

RichTea wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 3:06 pm IMG_20200803_151129.jpgBola b6 18" 8.0, lowered 35mm with no issues

What ET are those?

The Random Dan wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:09 pm

RichTea wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 3:06 pm IMG_20200803_151129.jpgBola b6 18" 8.0, lowered 35mm with no issues

What ET are those?

Not sure, ill check in the morning. The wheel sticks out of the arch around 1 - 2mm

18" Calibre Suzuka - Gunmetal 18 x 8.0" 5x100 ET45 with MPS4 225/40R18 tyres

Rears needed an additional 3mm spacer to clear inside alloy hub from brake calipers.

Because I waited so long for the car I had the wheels and tyres ready to fit since day one of car ownership.

RichTea wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 10:41 pm

The Random Dan wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:09 pm

RichTea wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 3:06 pm IMG_20200803_151129.jpgBola b6 18" 8.0, lowered 35mm with no issues

What ET are those?

Not sure, ill check in the morning. The wheel sticks out of the arch around 1 - 2mm

Did you find the offset?