Replica Alloy Wheels

[seanmcc]

Hi all,

I got some Audi 18" TTRS ROTOR ARM gunmetal alloys "reps" with 225/40 tyres fitted to my VW Golf,

I have only had them on a couple of days I like the look of them for the side and the rear of the car definitely looks more beefy but the handling of the car is not as good seems to loose grip on corners even though the tyres are much wider then the 205,s i had on previously also the car is not as fast and nimble on twisty roads.

Has anybody else out there had similar issues with rep wheels


I suppose you only get what you pay for £610 I will keep them on for the moment to see if I can live with them,If not they will be up on ebay with a lesson lured.

[legg360]

What tyres are you running? Tyres will make a big difference in the handling.

I can't see how changing the rim would make much difference unless there was massive amounts of change in weight

What did you have on before rims and tyres?

[seanmcc]

the tyres are Nexen N3000 fitted to 18*8 wheels,the tyres I had on previously was Michelin Primacy 3 on 16*6 wheels,

I also compared the weight of the rep wheel against the original wheel and the reps are around 6kg to 7kg heavier

[dubber36]

I had a set of RS6 reps on my B5.5 Passat. They effected the handling massively due to a extra weight not wanting to change direction. They were awful. Fuel consumption suffered too. I suffered them to get my moneys worth out of the tyres, but as soon as they were down to about 4mm (so they were still sellable) they were gone.

[golfhappy]

I was going to put a set of those Audi rotors on but opted for MK7 "Rs" had them about 3 days and they've been ripped off the car already...just couldn't like the look. They were fitted with my original tyres and they handled ok. I now sport a replica set of MK6 "Rs" which i had before but with a deeper curve to the centre of the wheel. New tyres fitted. The tyres are Kendo's. It's wet today and i didn't go daft. I treat them like motorbike tyres at least 100 miles to take the slippey sheen off the surface of the tyres. I remember one comment on cheap tyres....they're made from melted down wellies dipped in diesel...that kind of sums up what kind of grip they all have...

[joelee]

Nexen tyres are the cheapest bits of rubber on the market so the price reflects in there performance i had two on a mk4 golf and i took them off due to them being sh!t 

[seanmcc]

Does any body know why the cars wheel arch gap looks bigger with the 18" wheels on? surly I would of thought it would be the opposite and the wheels would fill the arches

[golfhappy]

What size did you have on before? Usually me thinks from 17s to 18s the arch fills up a bit more then you go 19s which should fill up a bit more again. Then you would have to consider lowering it, say maybe 30mm. You then should work it out by using the wheel size and the rolling diameter(radius) which would be the 45 bit of your tyre size. Am nae maths expert but the 215 is the mm width and the 45 is a percentage of 215mm and that gives the height of the tyre. Think ave got lost....

[Snooze]

Does any body know why the cars wheel arch gap looks bigger with the 18" wheels on? surly I would of thought it would be the opposite and the wheels would fill the arches

Going from 16's to 18's it's not surprising. You've raised the car by 2 inches. Will defo need lowering for wheels to fit the arches better. This will help improve the handling too. Getting some decent tyres will make a big difference (Goodyear eagle f1's for example). Personally I'm sure it's worth the risk putting them on the reps tho. I'd just sell the reps and get some decent genuine wheels instead. Oh and put some good tyres on!

[legg360]

Does any body know why the cars wheel arch gap looks bigger with the 18" wheels on? surly I would of thought it would be the opposite and the wheels would fill the arches

Going from 16's to 18's it's not surprising. You've raised the car by 2 inches. Will defo need lowering for wheels to fit the arches better. This will help improve the handling too. Getting some decent tyres will make a big difference (Goodyear eagle f1's for example). Personally I'm sure it's worth the risk putting them on the reps tho. I'd just sell the reps and get some decent genuine wheels instead. Oh and put some good tyres on!

Surely if the car was to rise the it would only be by 1 inch as from the centre of the wheel there would be an inch all the way around to give a total of 2 inches in total?

Also surely you would have lower profile tyres on the bigger rims to keep the total circumference of the wheel would be the same otherwise the speedo would be reading incorrectly? If this it true then the even tho the rim is bigger the overall size is the same so the arch gap would be the same??