Tire Fitment Opinion

[dubwerkz]

Hey guys,
Just picked up a set of new wheels for the GTI, and had a few questions regarding tires/spacers.

The wheels are as follows:
Front: 18x8 et 35.
Rear: 18x9 et 40.

Thinking of going with this for the tires:
Front: 215/40/18.
Rear: 225/40/18.

and this for the Spacers:
Front: 5mm.
Rear: 10mm.

Looking to have a slight stretch as coilovers will be replacing my **** lowering springs in the next few months.

What do you "wheel & tire" experts think? All opinions welcome! Thanks.

[P Arkus]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

For your reference, this is what 18x8 with a 215/40 looks like. Its a VERY minimal amount of stretch, but still looks really good IMO.



As for your spacers, your front should sit pretty flush, but I think you might be a bit disappointed with how the rear is still tucked in. Unless thats the look your going for.

[tirerub]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

Are you worried about traction/performance? i had a 215 on my old 8.5 wide upfront and it had some stretch.

this is a 8.5 et 25

depending on how low you are planning to go you may want to consider 205 front and 215 out back

this is a 225 on a 10 wide



as said above you, depending on your desired look you may want to bring that rear offset down to 25-20 for a pretty flush / slightly poked fitment

[MechEngg]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

If you are going to be going with coilovers how low do you plan on going? If you are going to keep it at the highest height then I would recommend against stretched tires because the wheels look quite awkward. If you plan on lowering it a significant amount stretched tires are great.

If you don't plan on lowering it alot the tire size you have planned would look quite good i think, the rear would have a smidge more stretch than the fronts because of the inch difference in rim vs 1/2" difference in tire width. As for the spacer sizes i haven't personally run either of those rims so i couldn't tell you exactly but here is my thoughts in regards to the picture posted above. A 15mm spacer will get you down to the et25 which will sit fairly flush (but a bit in) with a 9" rim. (very close to Tracy's 18x8 et35 with 20mm spacer).

With the fronts a 5mm spacer would probably give you a fairly even amount of "flushness" between the fronts and the rears, however if you plan to lower the car more i would suggest going with a larger spacer because the front wheels get sucked in the more you lower it. Along with being significantly lower i would step the tire sizes down to a 205/215 to help you be able to corner at greater speeds without denting your fenders

[dubwerkz]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

If you are going to be going with coilovers how low do you plan on going? If you are going to keep it at the highest height then I would recommend against stretched tires because the wheels look quite awkward. If you plan on lowering it a significant amount stretched tires are great.

If you don't plan on lowering it alot the tire size you have planned would look quite good i think, the rear would have a smidge more stretch than the fronts because of the inch difference in rim vs 1/2" difference in tire width. As for the spacer sizes i haven't personally run either of those rims so i couldn't tell you exactly but here is my thoughts in regards to the picture posted above. A 15mm spacer will get you down to the et25 which will sit fairly flush (but a bit in) with a 9" rim. (very close to Tracy's 18x8 et35 with 20mm spacer).

With the fronts a 5mm spacer would probably give you a fairly even amount of "flushness" between the fronts and the rears, however if you plan to lower the car more i would suggest going with a larger spacer because the front wheels get sucked in the more you lower it. Along with being significantly lower i would step the tire sizes down to a 205/215 to help you be able to corner at greater speeds without denting your fenders

Coilovers are a go in the next few weeks here, will probably go decently low without banging tie-rods, thinking I will go with a 205/215. Thanks!

[MechEngg]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

Coilovers are a go in the next few weeks here, will probably go decently low without banging tie-rods, thinking I will go with a 205/215. Thanks!

Alrighty, if you need a hand let me know, i am available on weekends

[dubwerkz]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

Alrighty, if you need a hand let me know, i am available on weekends

Will do! Thanks for all the input & help.

[Kor]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

Make sure you get hubcentric spacers. Can you get 5mm hubcentric spacers for the front? If they are just the metal disk bolt-through type you may notice a lot of vibrations etc...

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ers-Vibrations

[MechEngg]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

Make sure you get hubcentric spacers. Can you get 5mm hubcentric spacers for the front? If they are just the metal disk bolt-through type you may notice a lot of vibrations etc...

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ers-Vibrations

Think the smallest for hubcentric is 8mm ECS ones, but the lips on it are quite small. The smallest other ones for any other brand are 10mm that are hubcentric.

[Talky]

Re: Tire Fitment Opinion

Make sure you get hubcentric spacers. Can you get 5mm hubcentric spacers for the front? If they are just the metal disk bolt-through type you may notice a lot of vibrations etc...

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ers-Vibrations

You can get an insert for the hub center that extends it out.

http://euroimagetuning.myshopify.com...-hub-extenders