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What Wheels to Choose?

Raposo

Raposo

New member
Location
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Hi there everyone! I'm writting my first post of many (hopefully :p).

So I just took delivery of my 2016 VW Golf MK7 1.4 TSI Comfortline and the color of choice was Tungsten Silver.

I'm very happy with the car, it looks absolutely beautiful but one thing that I don't really like is the stock wheels that the car comes with. I've been looking and came with a couple of my favorites and would like to ask your opinion about this and other matters such as lowering springs and how big should I go with the new wheels?

So I've been looking at getting some VWR spring to bring it all together and I'm stuck between 17" or 18" wheels not knowing what's best :confused: .

So here's some of my options for wheels:

VW Durban wheels:


VW Pretoria wheels:


VW Pretoria Black wheels:


VW Santiago wheels:


Audi RS6 wheels:


Thank you so much and apologies for the long post :D .
 
G

gopi_rm

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Germany
Another related query:

Hey guys,

I’m currently driving my 1.4 TSI 125 bhp Estate on stock 16” (205/55) OE alloys with all season tyres. I want to upgrade to 17” (225/45) or 18” (225/40) wheels with good summer tyres for better handling and looks but confused between the two.

Will there be a significant difference in handling and ride comfort between 17” and 18” ?

I want a good compromise between handling and comfort and do not want a harsh ride since it is my daily driver.

PS: The roads in Germany are mostly smoother without any potholes.

Please share your experiences and suggestions.
 
MonkeyMD

MonkeyMD

Autocross Champion
Pretoria are the best looking of the group, in the gunmetal color. Not keen on the black ones. Unfortunately, they only come in 19" which can be a problem in some areas with bad roads.

Durban would normally be my 2nd choice. They look great on the Golf and they're 18". Other benefit is they're cheaper than the Pretoria.

I said normally because the Durban is a 7.5" wide wheel and your last option is the Audi RS6 wheel which depending on which one, is 18x8. Close to ideal wheel size (although some like an 8.5" wide wheel).

Definitely search the forum for pics of each.

Edit: just realized that rs6 only have 19"-21" wheels. Not sure how suitable
 
Last edited:
S

SweetJones_29

Ready to race!
Location
Dallas
Audi RS3 wheels look sick on a MK7.
 
XM_Rocks

XM_Rocks

Autocross Newbie
Location
Austin, TX
Not a fan of OEM because they are usually expensive, narrow and heavy.

Would probably pick the Pretorias if someone twisted my arm.
 
G

gopi_rm

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Germany
I bumped the thread with a query reg wheel size but the replies were for actual question about alloy design
 
MK7 AP2

MK7 AP2

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Tucson, AZ
I give you credit for using the search, probably would have been better off just starting a new thread as this one had 0 replies.


Depends how sensitive you are, personally I can't really tell the difference between ride quality of 17" and 18". I have seen more variance between tires of same diameter depending on sidewall stiffness. Since you are on 16", I'd just step up to 17" which would be an upgrade in just about every way possible.
 
MonkeyMD

MonkeyMD

Autocross Champion
MK7 AP2 said:
This is an old thread, OP hasn't even been on the board in over a year.
Click to expand...

Ha! Didn't even notice.

If you are sticking with stock suspension, even 18's won't make much of a difference as far as comfort, especially if you go with 235 or 245/40 I.e. Something with a little bigger sidewall than 225. Also will fill out the gap. Could be that my comfort gauge is defective :D. Not to say tat there won't be a difference, but unless the roads are really bad, it still rides smoothly.

Now if you're lowered, I couldn't tell you, but consensus is that 17's give a noticeably better ride.
 
2

2015WhiteGTI

Go Kart Champion
Location
Chester Springs, PA
If I'm changing wheels, the last thing I would get are stock VW wheels. The chances of someone else having the same combination are pretty high and would rule out the uniqueness of having something different.

17" is a fantastic way to go. I have 17x8.5 with a 245/40 Michelin PSS (soon to be PS4S).
They give you a nice meaty look and help protect your wheel with some sort of sidewall protection for potholes. Plus the added bonus of a little better ride.
 
XM_Rocks

XM_Rocks

Autocross Newbie
Location
Austin, TX
MK7 AP2 said:
This is an old thread, OP hasn't even been on the board in over a year.
Click to expand...

Good catch.

I didn’t see that.

People wonder why folks don’t respond to these “Hey, I barely post” or “Hey, I’m new, please spend time convincing me XYZ” or better yet “Just bought a new GTI. Wondering about tunes and will 18x8 et45 wheels fit?”

:rolleyes:

Raposo said:
Hi there everyone! I'm writting my first post of many (hopefully :p).
Click to expand...

Brilliant.

He added another 3 posts in his career and hung it up. :D
 
G

gopi_rm

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Germany
Thanks guys for your replies. I’m planning to go for 17 inch (225/45) since 18 inch (225/40) has only 1cm thinner sidewall with same width. Also won’t loose not much in comfort.

Coming to alloys what colour suits tungsten silver well?
Gun metal grey (Enkei Yamato) or bright silver (VW Curitiba) or dark silver (VW Salvador)
 
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