Rims for my golf

[MickeyTDi]

Hi i have got a golf Mk6 silver TDi and im after some nice rims to suit it... dunno what sizes i should get im thinking about sticking with the same size or go 1 or 2 inches up at the most from my 15s. any suggestions? i had my eye on the VW silver and black vision alloys... soooo hot!! but any wheels that look good (maybe a matte black) id defs consider!

Cheers

[REXman]

I reckon if your going to bother getting upgrade rims definitely get at least 17s. Personally, I would get 18s as they look perfect on a golf. 17s are so 90s! A bit too anemic to me, in 2010.

[MickeyTDi]

i just thought a general rule was never go up by more than 2 inches.. any bigger and you would need thinner tyres right?

[REXman]

I'm pretty sure the sidewalk on your tyres will get thinner when you go bigger rims, and want to keep the same circumference. Keeping circumference close to original is important so your speedo is not out. There is a really good thing online which let's you calculate it, I'll post it up if you want it.

The only thing this is, NRMA for instance only allows 2 inches bigger and 1 inch wider without affecting your premium. Check out that, if you care about that sort of thing.

[Manaz]

I'm pretty sure the sidewalk on your tyres will get thinner when you go bigger rims, and want to keep the same circumference. Keeping circumference close to original is important so your speedo is not out. There is a really good thing online which let's you calculate it, I'll post it up if you want it.

The only thing this is, NRMA for instance only allows 2 inches bigger and 1 inch wider without affecting your premium. Check out that, if you care about that sort of thing.

Tire size calculator <- Is that the one?

You're absolutely right - as you increase rim diameter, you need to reduce tyre sidewall height (expressed on the tyre sizing as the profile, which is a percentage of tread width) in order to maintain the same (or very close to the same) rolling diameter so that you don't affect your speedo (too much). Your speedo works by calculating the speed by using a known rolling circumference and multiplying that by the number of revolutions per <time period - hour for ultimate speedo reading, but generally per second when doing the actual calcuation>. If you increase the rolling diameter, the speedo reads lower than your real speed, if you decrease it, the speedo will read higher. Reading lower is a quick way to get a speeding fine...

With regards to insurance companies and the allowed variation in rim size/width - that's based on the road rules (which state pretty much the same thing). Any bigger difference than that, and you technically need the car engineered to remain roadworthy.

[AdamD]

From memory, in SA (so, quite possibly different from NSW), the maximum deviation in terms of rolling circumference is 4%.

User Ozram has bought a set of 17" Denvers (from the GTI) and painted the inners black (as per the 18" Detroit rim) for his 118TSI. Definitely looks the biz. Have a search through his posts - he has posted images. Finding a set of good-condition second-hand Denvers should be fairly straight-forward and cost-effective too.

[Converted]

User Ozram has bought a set of 17" Denvers (from the GTI) and painted the inners black (as per the 18" Detroit rim) for his 118TSI. Definitely looks the biz.

While browsing last week, I came across a manufacturer that does a matt black Denver/Detroit looking rims, if you are after this kind of design/look.
I'll need to check my home pc for the link tonight.

[brad]

If you just go +1 (16") there are lots of rims with good tyres on ebay.

I just bought near new, unmarked 16x7.5 with near new Michelins for $400. $10 for some hubrings (they were 2010 Audi rims with a 66.6mm centrebore) & $5 for decals for the centrecaps to make them look OEM. Tyres by themselves were >$300 new.

[MickeyTDi]

Thanks for the really good advice guys. REXman im with the nrma and i didnt know that so thats something really worth knowing.

@ converted and brad if you have some links id really love to check them out =D

and Manaz is there any way of getting the speedometer sorta re done to calculate the actual speed of the car once u put bigger wheels n tires in? im on my red Ps and speed is something ive really gotta be conscious about if i wanna keep on driving my car

[Brian]

Thanks for the really good advice guys. REXman im with the nrma and i didnt know that so thats something really worth knowing.

@ converted and brad if you have some links id really love to check them out =D

and Manaz is there any way of getting the speedometer sorta re done to calculate the actual speed of the car once u put bigger wheels n tires in? im on my red Ps and speed is something ive really gotta be conscious about if i wanna keep on driving my car

Gidday Mickey, heres a link to some nice VW/ Audi copies:
Tempe Tyres - Product Listing
WRT the speedo, as long as you have the correct profile tyre fitted to your larger rims then the overall diameter of the tyre will be the same as the originals and hence not affect the speedo.
If there is a slight variation (and can happen with different brands of tyres / rims ) then VWs 6% built in speedo error should easily accommodate this.
Brian

[brad]

Thanks for the really good advice guys. REXman im with the nrma and i didnt know that so thats something really worth knowing.

It's actually an RTA thing & it's open to interpretation. You could say +2 on what's fitted; +2 over the largest diameter wheel shown on the fuel flap; or +2 over the largest wheel fitted to the vehicles as OEM (eg: 18" like on a GTI +2 = 20").

IMO, if you have 15" then I wouldn't bother with more than 17" anyway - 17" tyres can be had at a reasonable price.

@ converted and brad if you have some links id really love to check them out =D

just look on ebay and type something like Golf wheels or volkswagen alloys & have a browse.

These
or these
or maybe these
or (shameless self advertising) these
or keep an eye on these but $550 is way too much for 16"

and Manaz is there any way of getting the speedometer sorta re done to calculate the actual speed of the car once u put bigger wheels n tires in? im on my red Ps and speed is something ive really gotta be conscious about if i wanna keep on driving my car

I don't think you get it. You change the rim diameter but keep the overall diameter close to the original & then your speedometer stays constant & no adjustment is needed.

What size tyre are you running at the moment? 195/60x15?

Also have you checked the accuracy of your speedometer against a GPS?

[Manaz]

and Manaz is there any way of getting the speedometer sorta re done to calculate the actual speed of the car once u put bigger wheels n tires in? im on my red Ps and speed is something ive really gotta be conscious about if i wanna keep on driving my car

Use the calculator already linked to to keep things as close to correct as possible by lowering the profile as you increase wheel size (for example, my car came with 16" wheels and 205/55R16 tyres, I'm on 17" wheels and 225/45R17 tyres now and the rolling diameter is practically identical). A good test of how accurate your speedo is at present is to test with a GPS unit.

[MickeyTDi]

Ok yeah i get it now. Thanks again for the advice guys. I dont have a GPS :S i only just got the car about 2 months ago and ive never needed a gps however when i eventually do upgrade ill be sure to make sure everythings kept legal size wise and also everythings in order to do with speed readings as well and if im not sure about something im sure whoever ends up fitting it will know a thing or 2 about whatever question i have. If not you guys seem to know your stuff Thanks again everyone

[MickeyTDi]

what do u guys think of this?? Avant Garde M310 - Matte Black Finish Exclusive (Comparison) - VW GTI MKVI Forum / VW Golf MKVI Forum / VW Golf R Forum / VW GTI Forum - Golfmk6.com

[dylan8]

Thanks for the really good advice guys. REXman im with the nrma and i didnt know that so thats something really worth knowing.

@ converted and brad if you have some links id really love to check them out =D

and Manaz is there any way of getting the speedometer sorta re done to calculate the actual speed of the car once u put bigger wheels n tires in? im on my red Ps and speed is something ive really gotta be conscious about if i wanna keep on driving my car

Speedos on the newer VWs is so far out its not going to make to much difference, as manaz said, run you stock set up (tyre size and wheel size) through the calculator along with your proposed setup.
for example, i went from from stock 15s to 18s with the suggest tyre size (195/65/15 to 225/40/1 and it was slightly bigger so made the speedo slightly better.
Wheel / tire size calculator / comparer - RIMSnTIRES.com try this calculator, i find it good for normal fitted tyres, tells u how much your speedo will be out etc