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LIGHTWEIGHT Wheels

SaiiBoost

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Gainesville
Car(s)
2016 GTI S
Just bought a set of 18x8.5 ET45 Matte Gunmetal Superspeed RF03RR's for $900.60 at Wheel Haven. They have a 5% off coupon at the top of the page + the wheels are on sale for $263 per.

Gonna be replacing stock Austin wheels on a 2016 GTI S. Hopefully that shaves off some unsprung weight. I think the Austins are 25lbs each corner, while these are 18.1lbs
 
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GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
Just bought a set of 18x8.5 ET45 Matte Gunmetal Superspeed RF03RR's for $900.60 at Wheel Haven. They have a 5% off coupon at the top of the page + the wheels are on sale for $263 per.

Gonna be replacing stock Austin wheels on a 2016 GTI S. Hopefully that shaves off some unsprung weight. I think the Austins are 25lbs each corner, while these are 18.1lbs
18 x 8.5 ET 45 is a great size for this platform.

Post pics when you get them on the car.
 

VL3X

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Delaware
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE
Just bought a set of 18x8.5 ET45 Matte Gunmetal Superspeed RF03RR's for $900.60 at Wheel Haven. They have a 5% off coupon at the top of the page + the wheels are on sale for $263 per.

Gonna be replacing stock Austin wheels on a 2016 GTI S. Hopefully that shaves off some unsprung weight. I think the Austins are 25lbs each corner, while these are 18.1lbs

Just looked those up and I bet they're going to look great. Post up pics for sure! What tires are you going to run?
 

SaiiBoost

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Gainesville
Car(s)
2016 GTI S
Just looked those up and I bet they're going to look great. Post up pics for sure! What tires are you going to run?

Gonna run my current 225/40 Kumho Ecstas until it's time to replace. About a year on them and they have a lot of tread left. When it's time to replace, I'll look at some lightweight 235/40s. Will get pics once I get them on =)
 

j_rad91!

Ready to race!
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Car(s)
2020 GTI
Quick question. I’m about to pull the trigger on some RSe11R’s but can’t get tires yet. So will the stock 225/40/18 fit on the new wheels 18x8.5 ET45? Thanks!
 

urtoinpo

New member
Location
South Coast
Car(s)
2019 Variant 150 TSI
Quick question. I’m about to pull the trigger on some RSe11R’s but can’t get tires yet. So will the stock 225/40/18 fit on the new wheels 18x8.5 ET45? Thanks!
Would physically 'fit' but could not recommend this set-up. 8.5" wide wheels are more suitable for tyres in the 245-265 width range.
Your 225 tyres are a good size in that they are wide enough for road use for most, especially if driven in the wet and/or poorer quality roads.
Rims 7- 8" wide are best suited to this 225 tyre width.
 

scrllock

Autocross Champion
Location
MI
Quick question. I’m about to pull the trigger on some RSe11R’s but can’t get tires yet. So will the stock 225/40/18 fit on the new wheels 18x8.5 ET45? Thanks!
Would physically 'fit' but could not recommend this set-up. 8.5" wide wheels are more suitable for tyres in the 245-265 width range.
Your 225 tyres are a good size in that they are wide enough for road use for most, especially if driven in the wet and/or poorer quality roads.
Rims 7- 8" wide are best suited to this 225 tyre width.
225s are totally fine on an 8.5" wheel. For handling, a good rule of thumb is wheel width as wide as or half an inch wider than your tread width (which varies wildly depending on the tire, the quoted width in millimeters is nearly useless on some performance tires).
Given it sounds like you're using these on a temporary basis, I don't think it matters much, but IMO a 235 is a better size for 8.5". 245-265 would be a 9-10" wheel, depending on the tire.
 

neildorrel

Ready to race!
Location
Diamond Bar, CA
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit DSG
This is an endlessly amusing thread. For background I drive a ‘19 GTI Rabbit Edition on 18x8.5 45 Titan 7 forged TS5 split spoke wheels and 245/35 PSS. I’m very happy with the set up. Perfect stance. No spacers. <19 pounds. And they look awesome.

Unless you’re considering something substantially heavier than around 25 pounds you’re just not going to notice it on ride quality. Have you ever felt how heavy the control arms are, not to mention the whole brake and hub assembly? The difference between 25 pounds and 20 pounds is negligible. Buy wheels that look good to your eye. And avoid spacers if possible.

Rotational mass is slightly more important and five or eight pounds will be noticeable. But you’ll really have to be driving incredibly hard to sense any big difference.
 

GTIfan99

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
225s are totally fine on an 8.5" wheel. For handling, a good rule of thumb is wheel width as wide as or half an inch wider than your tread width (which varies wildly depending on the tire, the quoted width in millimeters is nearly useless on some performance tires).
Given it sounds like you're using these on a temporary basis, I don't think it matters much, but IMO a 235 is a better size for 8.5". 245-265 would be a 9-10" wheel, depending on the tire.
Yep, ran 225's on my 8.5's, no issues. 235 or 245 is a better fit, but I had a brand new set of 225 fk512's I didn't want to go to waste.
 

goodvibes

Go Kart Champion
Location
IL
This is an endlessly amusing thread. For background I drive a ‘19 GTI Rabbit Edition on 18x8.5 45 Titan 7 forged TS5 split spoke wheels and 245/35 PSS. I’m very happy with the set up. Perfect stance. No spacers. <19 pounds. And they look awesome.

Unless you’re considering something substantially heavier than around 25 pounds you’re just not going to notice it on ride quality. Have you ever felt how heavy the control arms are, not to mention the whole brake and hub assembly? The difference between 25 pounds and 20 pounds is negligible. Buy wheels that look good to your eye. And avoid spacers if possible.

Rotational mass is slightly more important and five or eight pounds will be noticeable. But you’ll really have to be driving incredibly hard to sense any big difference.
Actually, heavier wheel ride better but don't track as well. More wheel mass wants to maintain it's position and the tire deflects more instead of the wheel/tire better maintaining it's profile and tracking the surface..
 

JonnyTSI

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
ITALY
finally sold my Brescia OEM ,,,, super heavy ,,,, and bought MOtec 8x19 ET48 .. glossy black ... i love it... weight is pretty nice... 8.9 Kg
 

Autobahn

Autocross Champion
Location
Huntington Beach, CA
Car(s)
'18 Golf R
Finally a light weight wheel for track that’s 9” wide for our platform 🏁

Apex VS-5RS 18x9 et42 17lbs

I can feel a difference between my old Neuspeed wheels at 22lbs vs my 16lb WedsSport wheels. While not a big deal for street use on track braking is greatly improved as well as acceleration and handling

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victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
Finally a light weight wheel for track that’s 9” wide for our platform 🏁

Apex VS-5RS 18x9 et42 17lbs

I can feel a difference between my old Neuspeed wheels at 22lbs vs my 16lb WedsSport wheels. While not a big deal for street use on track braking is greatly improved as well as acceleration and handling

View attachment 288177

View attachment 288178
I've got the 17x9 and like them so far. Finish could be better in a few areas, but for a super cheap and strong rim, they're awesome!

The oem vw dynamic center caps fit them Btw! They look like a nice oem upgrade with the vw center caps 😁.
 
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