New wheel day.
Bola B16 8.5jx19 et45 in Crystal silver. (The fitment is absolutely great. My only slight niggle is the fronts are maybe 1 or 2 mm further out than I'd choose, but it's a very fine margin.
I took the opportunity while the wheels were off to give the arches and brake callipers a scrub, and also to hammerite the very rusty hubs as the thinner spoked wheels would show them off horrendously.
Incidentally does anybody have any tips for getting the car up on axle stands at the front? I could find anywhere suitable to put the jack that left room to slot the axle stand in once it was up. Or do I need the audi jacking points to do it safely? Ended up doing the fronts one wheel at a time on the jack in the boot.
And the final product!
I'm absolutely in love with them, they make the car look so much better than the stock wheels. This was mainly an aesthetic upgrade for me, and honestly I was slightly terrified I was going to ruin the ride with the 19s and wider tyres. I did go for goodyear eagle F1 asy5 though as they seem to be well rated and I hoped the upgrade from the Bridgestone would offset the loss in comfort from the wheel size increase.
The conclusion: My lord. It's a completely different car. It feels no less comfortable than on the 18s, the tyre noise is noticeably quieter than the Bridgestones (something that disappointed me about the car when I bought it) but most of all, the handling is out of this world. It feels like I've fitted a differential not new wheels. Before the car always felt hesitant in the corners, almost like it was going to roll over, and I've always thought that even my OH's 2007 fiesta felt more sure of itsself. With the new wheels and tyres it feels like it's on rails. I can feel the outside front tyre driving me through the corner and it's much flatter, whereas before it felt like the tyres were hanging on for dear life.
Plans now are to fit mud flaps which are currently in the post (the wider wheels means they poke out slightly around the side skirts and want some protection from mud and gravel being flung all up the side of the car) and also I'm very tempted by some eibach pro lowering springs, as the 19s lift the ride height slightly compared to the 18s.
I never really believed all the hype about tyres, and was honestly expecting to feel no difference, and regret spending the extra. I could not stop smiling on the first drive, it now looks and drives like a proper GTI. I can't put it all down to the tyres of course, with so many variables having changed such as wheel diameter, wheel width, tyre profile, wheel weight, age of tyres etc, but whatever it is, I bl**dy love it.
