Suitable Track Rims?

[End User]

Hey Guys,

I'm looking for a set of cheapish track rims. A friend has some spare 5x100 rims from his '99 WRX.
Does anyone know if these rims will fit?
I have stock calipers.

[Buller_Scott]

hey man,

with the subarus the center bore is different so you'll have to get them bored out from 56.1mm to 57.1mm in order for them to fit onto the hub.

on top of that, the et53 is too high for the polo - you'd have to run like 10mm spacers on the front to clear the calipers, and that's quite a large spacer to be running under stressful track conditions, especially with all the weight and work taking place up front.

obviously there are people out there who've run spacers on the track with no issues, but if it were me i'd go for something with a lower offset that you dont have to drill the center bore out of.

what is your budget for wheels only?

[End User]

Thanks for the info Scott. The price range I'm looking at is $200-$300, excluding tyres.

[Bflat]

Thanks for the info Scott. The price range I'm looking at is $200-$300, excluding tyres.

There are some Audi TT compomotive rims on eBay at the moment, pretty sure their starting bid is at $200 if you're interested.

I've got no connection to them by the way, I just have 5x100 saved as a search item haha.

[kaanage]

with the subarus the center bore is different so you'll have to get them bored out from 56.1mm to 57.1mm in order for them to fit onto the hub.

on top of that, the et53 is too high for the polo - you'd have to run like 10mm spacers on the front to clear the calipers, and that's quite a large spacer to be running under stressful track conditions, especially with all the weight and work taking place up front.

obviously there are people out there who've run spacers on the track with no issues, but if it were me i'd go for something with a lower offset that you dont have to drill the center bore out of.

I'm no great fan of spacers but if they are proper hubcentric spacers, the loading should not be an issue since the spacer will transfer the load from the wheel to the hub. A 15mm spacer (which will give an offset of 38mm) may actually be preferable from this point of view as there will be more room for the spacer to be fully supported by the hub.

ICHIBA V1 15mm HUB CENTRIC WHEEL SPACERS 5x100/112 57.1 14x1.5 BALL BOLT BLACK | eBay

H&R 15mm DR Wheel Spacer 5x100/57.1/14x1.5 Volkswagen Passat 1990-1997 | eBay

[team_v]

if it were me i'd go for something with a lower offset that you dont have to drill the center bore out of.

This.
You don't want to compromise the car/wheels by altering them further.

Anby particular reason you are going for OEM Suby wheels, i thought they would still be weighty.
You should be able to jag some performance alloys (Oz/Enkei) for $200-300 per wheel

[jamesatfish]

I'm a fan of the original TT wheels for the track - they're cheap, fit perfectly even over modified brakes and seem to be readily available on eBay and the like. They are fairly heavy but as a result they're also extremely tough for those times where you ride the ripple strips or just balls things up completely and end up bouncing through scenery into the kitty litter.

I picked my first set back in 2008 for about $500, and a second set a couple of years ago off eBay for $250, so they should fit your budget.

[Bflat]

17 inch Genuine Audi TT Wheels 5x100 | eBay

[Buller_Scott]

17 inch Genuine Audi TT Wheels 5x100 | eBay

there you go!

get on it, End User

[kaanage]

No.

The 17" rims require lower profile tyres and these are

1. Harder to find/fewer options for semi-slicks
2. More expensive
3. No benefit
4. Heavier overall due to the added rim weight being greater than the reduction in tyre weight

for track usage. Get the smallest wheels that will fit over your brakes.

Unless you want to use the 17's for daily drive and use the 16's you have for tracking (assuming you haven't done a wheel size upgrade)

[Buller_Scott]

No.

The 17" rims require lower profile tyres and these are

1. Harder to find/fewer options for semi-slicks
2. More expensive
3. No benefit
4. Heavier overall due to the added rim weight being greater than the reduction in tyre weight

for track usage. Get the smallest wheels that will fit over your brakes.

Unless you want to use the 17's for daily drive and use the 16's you have for tracking (assuming you haven't done a wheel size upgrade)

all true, however will (for example) a 15 inch wheel fit over the brakes?

i know a guy in qld with a red vr6 on here, with my wheels (et43) was running 3mm spacers and that was okay, but the vr6 brakes are 280mm if im right, versus the polo 288mm - would something like a team dynamics 1.2 with et35 fit over polo gti brakes? sweet if so.

End User, maybe you can check out overseas polo forums to see if anyone's running 15 inch "winter wheels" in the snow, so then you'd know that you can go down that route if you so please.

despite tyres options and prices being... well, the opposite of what you and i have (easy to source, heaps of choice, low prices etc etc), those wheels at only $200 starting bid are a pretty tempting proposition.

[kaanage]

That's why I said

Get the smallest wheels that will fit over your brakes.

[seangti]

Perhaps VW Bora wheels? I vaguely recall the V6 Bora Sport wheels fitting, not sure of other models. Pretty certain they also need spacers.

I'm thinking that I'll run a Kumho KU36 or similar as a street and track tyre rather than a dedicated track package. But that's mainly cos I'm currently in a townhouse and have no room to store rims or change them easily (and lazziness...).

[kaanage]

In that case, look for a tyre with the fewest/biggest tread blocks so they don't tear up.

It's too bad the Nitto NT-05 isn't available in Polo sizing (although I think that is a downright dangerous tyre for the uninformed).