18" wheels on golf w/out body kit - yay or nay

[McDub]

I'm soon to get new tyres, and was almost decided on getting some 18's this weekend.
was basically going to cost me 700 for a set of aristo (r32 wheel) reps

Someone pointed out to me that they actually may look silly, and i definetly don't want silly or attention grabbing, just a nice clean but sporty look.
on the R32 i love these wheels, though take away the body kit, i'm wondering what it may actually look like!

I've google image searched and this is the ONLY pic i could find:



Might be the pic taken a bit below eye level, or it might just be the ride height which seems a bit high, cos it looks a little silly!


compared to the standard gti wheels at standard height:



I know most of you will say 'do what you suits you best', but the problem is i'm not sure what will look better to me because i won't really know till i try them on the car!


I am going to do one of either things:

A)
- stick with the stock 16's
- 10mm spacers on front
- 20mm spacers on rear
- Bilstein coilovers to drop around 25mm

or

B)
- go the 18's
- no spacers, or maybe 10mm on rear (i'll be able to decide once i fit the wheels)
- Bilstein coilovers to drop around 25mm


I definetely plan to get the coilovers (aswell as the refresh stage 2 suspension kit) quite soon, i.e. the next group buy or even before, but i need to make the decision on wheels within the next few weeks because i need new tyres!
This means i might be driving around on the 18's at stock ride height which could look a little funny! But if it looks good once dropped a bit, i wouldn't mind it looking a bit odd for a little.

And yes i realise 17's would be a good compromise, though nothing really stands out to me, unless some decent second hand bbs rx or ch's etc came up... but chances of that are probably pretty low...

and before anyone says anything, i'm aware of the legalities of spacers... so yes obviously safer to get wider rims than spacers...

i'm really stuck on this one!

[Tim]

mk4 looks best on 18s. You dont need a body kit no. Just a nice drop to a level where the profile of the tyre is less than the amount of wheel gap.
If the wheel gap is too large then the car starts to look a bit strange.

[JustCruisn]

They look OK without a body kit. Your lowering plans will bring the good looks.
I run 18" A8 reps they look great with a 30mm drop.
I have not used spacers as I don't do illegal mods, but yes it would look a bit better if the rear was 10-15mm further out.

So what is the offset of the 18 Aristo reps ? you may not need the spacers.
And 700 for the wheels seems cheap where you getting them ? What tyres are you planning ?

[noone]

18's will look good with a little drop.

be aware that you are likely adding a fair amount of unsprung weight and this may change the way the car rides / handles.

Also going from a high profile to low profile tyre might make the ride feel a but rough...

700 sounds pretty good, if you don't like them, you could always onsell at a slight loss.

[McDub]

They look OK without a body kit. Your lowering plans will bring the good looks.
I run 18" A8 reps they look great with a 30mm drop.
I have not used spacers as I don't do illegal mods, but yes it would look a bit better if the rear was 10-15mm further out.

So what is the offset of the 18 Aristo reps ? you may not need the spacers.
And 700 for the wheels seems cheap where you getting them ? What tyres are you planning ?

yeah not sure of the offset, if they are the same design as reps i've seen elsewhere, they'd be +35, and also they are 18x8 rather than the proper aristo 18x7.5, so that's an extra 6mm...
it's a $1500 package from tempe (i know i know!), which i was able to agree on kumho KU31's, so if you take $200x4=800 away, that's where i got the 700 figure from...

ok that's 3 OK's

i've made up my mind now
please no more opinions, dont want to confuse myself!

and yep i'm willing to accept handling not being as good with the increased unsprung weight and the rougher ride etc (fashion over function, right?)

[fuzion]

if you want a kit i have side skirts and rear skirt and hatch wing

[McDub]

if you want a kit i have side skirts and rear skirt and hatch wing

haha, i promised myself i'd never spend money on a kit, don't tempt me!

[dylan8]

i had 18s on my bora without lowering or touching the body, it did look a little odd (but not worse by any means).
a 35mm drop will look nice and clean with the Aristo's if your not game on going lower IMO. Tim (silver dub) has OEM 17s and a little over a 35mm drop on his Bora and its a great stance.
Maybe try Vortex as well? there will be lots more combos in wheels and hieghts to give you a better idea.
Good luck and defiantly post up pictures!!

[anth]

Hey mate, I've got Aristo reps on my Mk4, lowered a bit (I think about 1.5"), looks nice, no body kit, just a GLE. I'm planning to go lower once I get an aftermarket swaybar.

Even moderately lowered they look fine because it's an OEM style rim, so it just looks like a factory special edition if you don't drop it much. That's how I think anyway haha

Here's a link to my car if you want to see...click here

[gareth_oau]

youve offered 2 options, A/ and B/

at least with the 18" option (B) and no spacers, the car will remain legal.

remember that spacers are illegal and will void your insurance.

Based on the pic of the standard GTI, i'd suggest you'd want to drop around 40mm.

Ive recently coilovered my S3 and 40mm looks about right.

an alternative to using spacers and still offering stance is to find a rim thats wider, say 8.5", and/or find a lower offset than standard (std is ET35mm).

Perfect would be a set of BBS CHs, which are 18x8.5, ET30 (if you can afford them!! LOL)

[McDub]

Hey mate, I've got Aristo reps on my Mk4, lowered a bit (I think about 1.5"), looks nice, no body kit, just a GLE. I'm planning to go lower once I get an aftermarket swaybar.

Even moderately lowered they look fine because it's an OEM style rim, so it just looks like a factory special edition if you don't drop it much. That's how I think anyway haha

Here's a link to my car if you want to see...click here

very nice, just what i wanted to see!
though they would look a little different on black as opposed to silver, because on silver car, the wheels can look like an extension of the body work... meaning they may not look as good on silver without a kit, but i think they'll still look good.

regarding dropping it, i didn't want to go much lower than 25mm because i don't want to replace the front swaybar! (plus thats an excuse to have it at a functional DD height!)
so maybe i'll drop it 25, and then just see where that takes me

gareth, yep no chance of affording those!

[ben]

on silver car, the wheels can look like an extension of the body work...

Think they'll look good in silver... but if you dont like them you can always paint them a darker gunmetal or something!

And as everyone is always saying...some decent wheels and a good stance can make just about any car look good

[RedMk2Gti]

This'll give you more idea of how a Mk4 Gti w/R32 wheel looks

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=32396

Does it look silly ??

[gareth_oau]

I think the Mk4 R32 Aristo looks perfect on a GTI.

the rim is a sophisticated sleeper and also does a great job of not trying to show off too much brake, if you havent upgraded your brakes.

there's nothing worse that a big, open design rim that shows off teeny brakes behind it

[anth]

This'll give you more idea of how a Mk4 Gti w/R32 wheel looks

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=32396

Does it look silly ??

looks good to me! (but I'm biased lol)

Aristo's also look like a much bigger rim due to the design, but be warned that they are a pain in the ass to clean!!