New wheels

[mattlittle]

Due to an 'incident' (not me driving) which resulted in v badly kerbed wheels, I am looking at getting some replacements to put my 225/40/18 winter tyres on. 

As I have to send the original wheels away for 4 days and have also been a bit worried about changing tyres on the original wheels twice a year, it might make sense to get some cheap alloys, put the winter tyres on these and then just swap them myself. I already own the tyres so do not want steel wheels or anything smaller than 225/40/18

I have looked through various posts to understand which wheels I need, including one: http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=267064.msg2453496#msg2453496

As I said, I already own the tyres and they are 225/40/18.

The website AlloyWheels.com suggests these: http://www.alloywheels.com/8x18_Inch_Wolfrace_Scorpio_Silver_Alloy_Wheels_Only

But I am not sure if they fit. From the previous post on the forum, it suggests that I need:

18 X 7.5
PCD 112 X 5
ET 49
Tyres 225 x 40 x 18

The ones on alloywheels.com are:

18 X 8
PCD 112 X 5
ET 42

As I understand it, the wheels will be wider (18 * 8 rather than 18*7.5) but the lower ET means that wheels sit further out from car.

If they don't fit, can anyone point me to cheap (new) wheels that would fit and I could mount 225 /40/18 tyres on?

Thanks

[jv]

Those will be fine and a bit of a steal for 'proper' brand wheels!

[Exonian]

Yes, those wheels will fit fine and will fill the arches out a bit better too (with the added bonus of being slightly easier to kerb!) making the car look a bit more meaty!
Here's another good site for inexpensive alloy wheels http://www.tyreleader.co.uk

[mattlittle]

Thanks for the rapid replies - can I reuse my existing locking wheel nuts or will I need something different?

[mattlittle]

And I guess that these ones would fit too: http://www.tyreleader.co.uk/alloy-wheels/dezent/td/7.5x18-5x112-et51-70.1-100605?car=59120

(and stick out from the car a little less and therefore be less easy to kerb!!)

Has anybody used TyreLeader before? Can you recommend them? (other company seems to get some shocking reviews online re supplying wheels that don't fit/aren't the ones ordered).

[Exonian]

Yes, I used tyreleader for my wheels as, like you, I already had tyres.
Those Dezent wheels look easy to clean and look after and are of decent quality.
tyreleader are ok, the service is pretty quick but communication a bit lacking maybe if I were to nit pick.

With most aftermarket alloys you will need to use different bolts.

MAK do a wheel called "Wolf" which looks quite OEM and will take original bolts and caps.

http://www.makwheels.it/EMP0000000218.asp

[mattlittle]

Yes, I used tyreleader for my wheels as, like you, I already had tyres.
Those Dezent wheels look easy to clean and look after and are of decent quality.
tyreleader are ok, the service is pretty quick but communication a bit lacking maybe if I were to nit pick.

With most aftermarket alloys you will need to use different bolts.

MAK do a wheel called "Wolf" which looks quite OEM and will take original bolts and caps.

http://www.makwheels.it/EMP0000000218.asp

Nice wheels but I can't find a UK supplier (other than ebay and they are £150 each on there).

If I go for the wheels from tyreleader, where can I get suitable wheel nuts and do I need anything else (fitting kit, spacers, etc)?

[Exonian]

Yeah, the MAK wheels aren't well supported in the UK which is a shame.


Tyreleader will send the correct bolts and spigot rings (google if you don't know what I'm talking about) so the wheels will fit; hence why you pump in your model etc before ordering - as they're German they will only supply stuff TUV approved for your vehicle which is just what you want!

If you use locking wheel bolts then wait until the wheels arrive, check the length of the bolts and whether they're radius fitting and just order some high quality locking bolts from ebay or wherever.
Then see if your wheel nut caps fit the bolt holes to cover the bolts - if not then order some Audi or SEAT wheel bolt caps direct from a dealer (cheaper than eBay) as they are hexagonal rather than round and will fit in much smaller bolts holes.

[mattlittle]

Yeah, the MAK wheels aren't well supported in the UK which is a shame.


Tyreleader will send the correct bolts and spigot rings (google if you don't know what I'm talking about) so the wheels will fit; hence why you pump in your model etc before ordering - as they're German they will only supply stuff TUV approved for your vehicle which is just what you want!

If you use locking wheel bolts then wait until the wheels arrive, check the length of the bolts and whether they're radius fitting and just order some high quality locking bolts from ebay or wherever.
Then see if your wheel nut caps fit the bolt holes to cover the bolts - if not then order some Audi or SEAT wheel bolt caps direct from a dealer (cheaper than eBay) as they are hexagonal rather than round and will fit in much smaller bolts holes.

Ok, so I get standard bolts with the wheels and then I just need to buy the 4 locking wheel nuts?

[Exonian]

Yep. Easy as!

Whether it's worth fitting locking bolts is open to debate!