Alloy wheel

[SonnyB]

Hey all, apologies if this has been covered under another thread (please point me in the right direction if so)
I’ve got a 7.5 GTi that I wish to replace the alloys on, currently I have 19”brescia’s on 225/35/R19 tyres & thinking to go for some Bola 19” FLC’s. My question: is it just a matter of selecting the alloys I want from say wheelbase & and as long as they say compatible with my car just having them fitted? Would I need to worry about wheel Offset or anything else?  I believe the Bolas are 8.5j and I think my Brescia are 7.5j does this matter at all? I have never had to purchase additional alloys before so apologies if these are basic questions. Many thanks.

[SRGTD]

If you use a calculator like the one on www.willtheyfit.com and input details of wheel width, diameter and offset, together with tyre size details, it’ll calculate the critical differences (e.g. differences in wheel tuck and poke, speedo reading errors) between your existing wheel / tyre set up and any new set up you’re considering. Offset is an important factor when considering new alloys - too aggressive an offset and you could experience tyre rubbing issues.

If you put your vehicle details into reputable wheel retailer websites such as Rimstyle and Wheelbase Alloys, they should only show you alloys that are suitable for a mk7.5 Golf GTI, which ought to mean you shouldn’t have any fitment issues with the alloys they show you for your car.

Reputable alloy wheel retailers also usually supply a fitting kit that includes;

• new wheel bolts if required. Most aftermarket alloys use tapered seat bolts whereas VW OEM alloys use radius seat bolts, and it’s really important to use the correct bolts for safety reasons, as you’re relying on the bolts to keep the wheels on the car! Note that replacement wheel bolts in the fitting kit are unlikely to include locking bolts, so you’d need to buy these in addition.
  
• spigot rings if required; i.e. if the centre bore of the aftermarket alloys is larger than the OEM centre bore size of 57.1. The spigot rings fit inside the centre bore hole of the new alloys to make it easier to align and mount the wheels on the car’s hub assemblies. If spigot rings are required but not fitted, then you could experience vibration or wheel wobble.

Bear in mind that VW’s centre caps don’t fit all aftermarket alloys, so if having a set of VW centre caps is important to you, you would either need to source a set of the appropriate size, or purchase a set of self adhesive VW emblems that could be attached to the centre caps supplied with the new alloys.

The table below shows the min, max and ideal tyre widths for different wheel widths. Based on the table contents, a 225/35 R19 would be OK on an 8.5J alloy but if the tyres don’t have particularly good rim protection, there’s an increased risk of kerb damage when parallel parking. If you were to go wider than your existing 225/35 R19 tyres, the sidewall height will increase, resulting in the overall diameter and circumference of the new wheel tyre being larger than OEM which will result in your speedo reading incorrectly.

Remember that fitting different alloys to your car is a modification for insurance purposes, so you’d need to inform your insurance company.
 

[Exonian]

Welcome Sonny 

The FLC is a very good looking wheel and will show off the brake callipers nicely. I really like the style of them.

There’s not much more I can add that’s not covered in SR’s typically very thorough reply above.
I played around a bit with alloy wheels on mk7 Golfs in the dim and distant past; the first bit of advice I’d give would be don’t go narrower than a 235/35/19 tyre on an 8.5” wide wheel.
Stick with ET45 offset, this shouldn’t give you any clearance problems unless you’re going to drastically lower the car. The rear arches on a mk7 are cavernous but the fronts do become tight when fitting very wide wheels, so you have to ensure you won’t catch the arch when going over bumps or foul the liners when on lock.
8.5x19 ET45 are on the outer limits for the front arches without arch liner modifications in my opinion.

One last thing: don’t forget some photos (so we can all be jealous) once you’ve got them fitted 

[SonnyB]

Hi,
SRGTD & Exonian, thank you 🙏🏽 , that has helped give me a much clearer insight into alloy wheel fitments, based on that it would seem I’ll end up with a speedo error of just over 1% (doesn’t seem too bad) if I go with 235/35/19, I haven’t lowered (and don’t plan to) the car so am I right I’m saying that I wouldnt have any issues with the larger tyres size with normal everyday use? (have lots of bumpy country roads around me & use for the daily commute).

I do like the Bolas, I think they give the car a good stance,  crazy to think I’ve had 4 golf’s in my time and remapped & modified exhausts etc on each yet I’ve never changed the alloys on on them, & then this GTi I’ve not touched it under hood (only changes I’ve made are superficial - rear spoiler & emblem update)

[Exonian]

I’ve gone from 225/40/18 tyres to 235/35/19 tyres on a good few successive cars without noticeable detrimental effects on the speedo reading, the % tolerance is probably little different to tread wear differences between new tyres and worn ones.

Like yourself Sonny, I’ve been a serial remapper on numerous cars for decades but haven’t found the inclination to touch the ECU’s of my recent cars in the last few years. The only thing I would consider essential on any of the mk7(.5) era cars would be a PedalBox (have a search on here if you’re not familiar with them).

[smak85]

@SonnyB will you be looking to sell your brescias? I'm looking for a set of brescia/santiago/pretoria to replace my austins.

Thanks

[LSBristol]

Might be useful for reference. Some pics of mine on Bola b16 235/35/19 19x8.5j ET45.

Have had no issues whatsoever with the wheel size or rubbing etc. Just a slight drop in mpg likely due to the wider wheels!

[LSBristol]

Also re some of the points from SRGTD - I used wheelbase and they supplied the correct spigot rings for the car. I also purchased some adhesive VW badges to replace the supplied bola ones.

[SonnyB]

Exonian, I will def look into the Pedalbox option in the new year, I’ve ordered black Bola’s FLC’s which should come this weekend, I decided against a package deal with tyres as I’ll get those off my local tried & tested tyre guys, I will prob stick with Pirelli’s pzero’s but any other recommendations are welcome 🙏🏽 .

Smak85, I am going to keep hold of the brescias (at least for now) as I’ll most likely swap them back onto the golf if I sell.

LSBristol thanks for the input & pics 😃 - much appreciated, I ordered the alloys from
Wheelbase too, hopefully mine looks as good as yours do 🙂

[Exonian]

Good going Sonny! 
I’d recommend Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres as they suit the GTI very well.