Official APEX VW VS-5RS Forged 17" & 18" Wheel Thread

[APEXWheels]

Will it fit the 4-pot 370mm Mk2 TTRS brakes?

We don't have any data on those brakes since its an OEM kit and we would need to physically scan them to test clearances. Unfortunately, we haven't found any cars running those brakes local to our office.

That said, we have tested the new 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS to clear the Brembo 4-pot 365x29mm kit, the Powerbrake/APR 6-pot 380x34mm kit, the Racing line 6-pot 380x32mm kit, and the Stoptech 6-pot 380x32mm kit, all without needing spacers.

Unless the 4-pot MK2 TTRS brakes have a weird caliper shape/position, I would be confident in saying that they should be able to clear this new wheel.

-Geirsen

 

[scrllock]

We don't have any data on those brakes since its an OEM kit and we would need to physically scan them to test clearances. Unfortunately, we haven't found any cars running those brakes local to our office.

That said, we have tested the new 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS to clear the Brembo 4-pot 365x29mm kit, the Powerbrake/APR 6-pot 380x34mm kit, the Racing line 6-pot 380x32mm kit, and the Stoptech 6-pot 380x32mm kit, all without needing spacers.

Unless the 4-pot MK2 TTRS brakes have a weird caliper shape/position, I would be confident in saying that they should be able to clear this new wheel.

-Geirsen

Is the barrel clearance the same as the 18x9 SM-10? I know those fit fine.

 

[APEXWheels]

Is the barrel clearance the same as the 18x9 SM-10? I know those fit fine.

Its tough to say, as the 18" VS-5RS uses a hybrid barrel with a tapered inner diameter that has a slightly different design compared to the SM-10s. This is why certain caliper designs (and placement if a conversion bracket is used), can cause barrel interference issues even in situations where a larger BBK can clear just fine. Though, with the hybrid barrel design, in most cases you can use a small spacer to help clear certain brakes, as you would when spoke clearance is a concern. Hope this makes sense!

-Geirsen

 

[APEXWheels]

Its tough to say, as the 18" VS-5RS uses a hybrid barrel with a tapered inner diameter that has a slightly different design compared to the SM-10s. This is why certain caliper designs (and placement if a conversion bracket is used), can cause barrel interference issues even in situations where a larger BBK can clear just fine. Though, with the hybrid barrel design, in most cases you can use a small spacer to help clear certain brakes, as you would when spoke clearance is a concern. Hope this makes sense!

-Geirsen

Quick edit here, as I misspoke in regards to the barrel design of the 18" VS-5RS. The 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS does NOT have a tapered barrel outside of the drop well, while the 18" SM-10s do have a tapered barrel design. That said, barrel clearance on the 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS should technically be better than the 18x9" ET42 SM-10. However, the reduction in brake clearance for the VS-5RS is actually due to the spoke design compared to the SM-10, which in some cases may require small spacers to clear certain BBKs that the SM-10 can clear as-in.

-Geirsen

 

[bentin]

Quick edit here, as I misspoke in regards to the barrel design of the 18" VS-5RS. The 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS does NOT have a tapered barrel outside of the drop well, while the 18" SM-10s do have a tapered barrel design. That said, barrel clearance on the 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS should technically be better than the 18x9" ET42 SM-10. However, the reduction in brake clearance for the VS-5RS is actually due to the spoke design compared to the SM-10, which in some cases may require small spacers to clear certain BBKs that the SM-10 can clear as-in.

-Geirsen

So the 18 inch version is sort of the opposite of the 17 inch version?

 

[Zipobilrok]

Last fitment question before i buy something - anyone running 245/45 on an otherwise stock set up? If so any issues to note?

 

[scrllock]

Last fitment question before i buy something - anyone running 245/45 on an otherwise stock set up? If so any issues to note?

fender screw mod usually needed.

 

[APEXWheels]

So the 18 inch version is sort of the opposite of the 17 inch version?

The 17" and 18" VS-5RS are very similar in terms of design philosophy and overall profile. The VS-5RS design family has a significantly deeper and narrower spoke style/shape compared to the flow formed SM-10, which is a result of a performance-optimized wheel design with high bending stiffness and an improved strength-to-weight ratio. However, because the spokes are deeper, the VS-5RS has slightly less brake clearance to the back of the spoke when compared to an SM-10 in the same width and offset.

The reason this didn't become an issue with the 17" version is because the kits in question would not fit under a 17" wheel anyway. The 18" VS-5RS clears essentially everything that the 17" VS-5RS does, however we were not able to maintain a few of the 18" only kits we ideally would have liked to clear (again - 380mm RS3 as an example). These larger kits can be supported either with a small spacer using the 18x9 ET42 VS-5RS, or spacer-less with the 18x9 ET42 SM-10, or with the larger 18x9.5 ET41 SM-10RS.

Last fitment question before i buy something - anyone running 245/45 on an otherwise stock set up? If so any issues to note?

fender screw mod usually needed.

A 245/45-17 is a bit tall overall and depending on the ride height and specific tire selection, it will typically catch on the fender screws under compression. In most cases, as long as you are not slammed and are not running 200TW or R comp tires, a fender screw mod should be all you need to run a 245/45-17 without rubbing.

-Geirsen

 

[APEXWheels]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to provide ya'll with a quick update regarding the 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS project. At this time, everything has been officially finalized and approved for production. Currently, we are looking at about 90 days from initial production to shipment to our warehouse. Once production is underway I should have a more specified ETA as to when we plan to officially "release" this wheel and start taking pre-orders. Since this is just a single new wheel spec, we won't be planning on doing a Group Buy at launch but instead we will offer a pre-order retail discount via our main website, which will likely be around what the typical Group Buy discounts have been in the past.

If anyone has any questions, please let me know! In the meantime, I will be sure to keep ya'll updated on progress moving forward.

-Geirsen

 

[Autobahn]

Speaking of brake clearance on the VS-5RS 18x9, will a Brembo 350mm GTS 6-pot require a spacer? I see that’s one of the kits you have speced for the SM-10’s on the site

 

[GTI27]

Also wondering if the 18x9 will clear the wilwood aero6 big brakes some mk7 guys are running

 

[APEXWheels]

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[APEXWheels]

Speaking of brake clearance on the VS-5RS 18x9, will a Brembo 350mm GTS 6-pot require a spacer? I see that’s one of the kits you have speced for the SM-10’s on the site

The 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS will need a 3mm spacer to clear the Brembo 350mm 6-pot GTS kit.

Also wondering if the 18x9 will clear the wilwood aero6 big brakes some mk7 guys are running

We haven't done any testing on the wilwood side for VW. Do you happen to have a .PDF to-scale template of the kit in question? If so, please email that to geirsen@apexraceparts.com and I can run it by our engineering team to check clearances.

-Geirsen

 

[Autobahn]

The 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS will need a 3mm spacer to clear the Brembo 350mm 6-pot GTS kit.



We haven't done any testing on the wilwood side for VW. Do you happen to have a .PDF to-scale template of the kit in question? If so, please email that to geirsen@apexraceparts.com and I can run it by our engineering team to check clearances.

-Geirsen

Bummer… been waiting for the VS-5RS though I don’t really want to run a spacer for track duty. Would the SM10RS provide enough clearance and is there plans to release in an 18x9?

 

[APEXWheels]

Bummer… been waiting for the VS-5RS though I don’t really want to run a spacer for track duty. Would the SM10RS provide enough clearance and is there plans to release in an 18x9?

We intend to offer the SM-10RS in a 18x9" ET42 VW/Audi fitment as well but we are holding off on that project until we make a few tooling adjustments at our factory that will help improve the brake clearance compared to the 18x9" ET42 VS-5RS. Ideally, once those tooling adjustments are made, the 18x9" ET42 SM-10RS should match or even improve upon the brake clearance of the current 18x9" ET42 flow formed SM-10 design (which can clear the Brembo 350mm 6-pot kit without spacers).

With that said, I did want to note that there aren't necessarily any down sides to running spacers on the track, as long as you are using quality vehicle-specific components paired with the correct sized hardware to support them. There are countless dedicated track and race cars out there running spacers without any issues, as there aren't really any additional risks involved with doing so. In your specific case, the only potential "down side" would be needing to run a touch more front negative camber to compensate for the additional 3mm that your front wheels/tires are pushed out.

Hope this helps!

-Geirsen