Do 17" inch rims look to small?

[audi-tone]

Hey fellas, ive got the chance to get some niceish looking 17's for a really good price but am worried 17's will be too small on the mk4..
any opinions?
Here's the style of rim in question (still not totally sure about it yet) a bit too jap??

[Speed]

I don't think 17s look too small but I'm an old fart

[GoLfMan]

17s are a little too small for the mk4 IMO. UNLESS they are ridiculously wide with a nice aggressive offset

[audi-tone]

see thats what i was kinda thinkin.. needs dish and offset to pull of 17s.
these are 17x7 et40 so it'll only be 8mm wider than stock..
hmm
then i was thinking the s3 (17x7.5 et32) rims treza has would look schmick. wider offset.. hmm

[noone]

Nah, you need a WIDE rim for the Mk4...

The wider the rim, the more tread you can get on them.

Here is a pic of 8.5 front 9.5 rear front et 44 rear et 38


uk-mkivs.net

[audi-tone]

yeh i reckon so.. i'll just do some saving up and get some nice 18's with nice offset

[Rybky]

But then you end up with stretched tyres ...

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f39/something-think-about-46186.html

I don't get it, looks like you just fitted the wrong tyres!

Adam

[noone]

Huh?

You dont have to stretch the tyres. Also, a little stretch is fine, I'm running 205/17/40's on a 7.5 rim, its well within the spec but still a little stretched. This seems to allow less flex in the sidewall and with a well matched offset, gives the widest stance which should give better cornering weight distribution.

Getting a wide wheel allows you to use wider tyres, some people like the stretched look, some to it so the wheel can sit wider while not having the tyre hit the wheel arch.

[Rybky]

Right, sort of what I meant! If you have that much offset you end up having to have stretched tyres or they will rub. The golf pic you posted looks like it has quite stretched tyres.

Personally I would go for an offset that meant I could have the widest tyre possible on the wheel to give me the most rubber on the road and tyres sitting on the wheel in the shape they were designed to.

Adam

[GoLfMan]

Personally I would go for an offset that meant I could have the widest tyre possible on the wheel to give me the most rubber on the road and tyres sitting on the wheel in the shape they were designed to.

Adam

then it just looks wrong. I say NO to having MASSIVE tyres on a rim.

when i bought my first set of wheels, they had 225/45/17 and it made the wheel look CRAP

with a 205/40 they looked the biz, would have even put on a 185/45 just to make the wheel stand out more.

wide wheels with an agressive offset, a little stretch poke and tuck never hurt anyone

[Rybky]

then it just looks wrong. I say NO to having MASSIVE tyres on a rim. Doesn't suit it one bit.

wide wheels with an agressive offset, a little stretch poke and tuck never hurt anyone

I didn't mean tyres wider than the rim, would like a 4x4 then! Just a vertical sidewall as the tyre was designed to run. If the profile is right then it looks fine.

Adam

[Water Boy]

I think 17's look good on a Mk4. It will handle and ride wheels too..

[The_Hawk]

Depends on the wheel really. It's a combination of wheel size, tyre size and height of the vehicle.

I think for a Mk4 18" is about the sweet spot, but a good set of 17's can look magic.

(I think for a Mk3 anything bigger than a 17" is hard to pull off, the sweet spot being 16/17")

[GoLfMan]

I didn't mean tyres wider than the rim, would like a 4x4 then! Just a vertical sidewall as the tyre was designed to run. If the profile is right then it looks fine.

Adam

i get you now!

I stil maintain it has to be the right set of 17's for them to look good on the mk4. Plus you have to have the appropriate lowz to pull it off too

[Lonewolf1983]

need 18's