Hi guys, I'm on the brink of ordering a set of Schmidt TH Lines for my Mk2 GTI, but can't decide on the best size to buy... I should stress that the last thing I want to do is spend 1.5k on wheels to make the car handle worse than on its standard 6" RAs. And while I'm a huge fan of quality wheels, appearances must be matched by performance - and that means no stretch, no stance, no stupid offsets, no staggered fitments. Here are the two options I'm looking at: 15x7" ET+25mm OR 15x7.5" ET+31mm Now by calculations both of these wheels will sit in the same outer position. They also have the same outer lip size (1.5"), so aesthetically speaking their appearances will be near identical. But considering inner clearance, I have worked out that the 7.5" wheel will sit 13mm closer to the coilover/rear beam. This gives me 3 considerations for my decision: 1) Will the 7.5" ET+31mm wheel actually fit (front and rear)? 2) What about with "proper" tyre sizes? I have a set of 195/45 Eagle F1s that will fit the 7s, but will these be OK on the 7.5s? If not what would the optimum tyre size be on 7.5s and would these fit without any rubbing/scrubbing? 3) Offsets. While a lot of people seem to think that lower offsets are always better, I've been led to believe that I should be trying to get as close as possible to the manufacturer's specification (+33mm I think?). I am drawn to the 7.5" wheel because of this fact, but of course it only makes sense if I can also run the correct tyre size. So while the 7" wheel gives more clearance and will certainly fit, I'm conscious of a detrimental impact on my scrub radius. So I think it boils down to whether I can get away with the 7.5s and correct tyres, or running the 7s with a less than optimal offset. I don't even know if I'm over thinking this and the 6mm difference will even be noticed? Or this compromise could even be outweighed by the fact that the 7" wheel is made of less metal and will therefore have a lower rotating mass?? It'd be great to hear some genuine advice from people who actually know what they're talking about and I'm sure this is the right place to get it. Cheers! Andrew
Thanks for the help Eddie. In the end I was fortunate enough to stumble across a set of SSR wheels in 4x100 15x6.5" et30 which tick all the boxes for me. Roll on spring time!
