Changing Steel Wheels to Alloys

[tony wright]

My son has just come home with a 2nd hand set of alloys for his Mk4 Golf. They were taken off another Golf but he's not sure what model.

I just need to know if he can fit them straight over. The steels wheels he has fitted are 14" with 175/80 tyres and the new alloys are 15" with 205/50.

[troc]

The new wheel/tyre combo is significantly smaller than what you have now - your speed will be much slower than the speedo measures - by about 8%.

e.g. speedo reading 60 mph - actual speed 55 mph (approx)

google for wheel size calculator or something - there's loads on the 'net.

I'm surprised you have 175/80 tyres but then I know crap all about golfs

[V]

The 15" tyre size sounds wrong to me. The most common alloys of that size for the Golf MKIV would be the AVUS II, and they were 195/65, which gives a circumference the same as you get with 175/80 14" wheels.

[Kevin VRs]

Hi, if the original were 175/80/14 and the new are 205/50/15 then this is not really compatible, the new ones are 8.5% small in circumference. My own rule of thumb is maximum variation of 3%. My reasons are based on changes in gearing, speedometer, milometer variations.

[7ommy]

Sounds like the new alloys are from a mk3, they will bolt on fine asuming they're 5 stud but as above the tyres are too low a profile, i believe even in 16" format they're 205/55 16

[5harp3y]

Doesnt matter what size the tyres 'should be' ... they may have been changed beyond standard VW fit. Lots of people run non standard size tyres

Also, they will physically fit (as long as stud pattern is same ) and the speedo / rev gauge issues are nothing really. a couple mph out is no big issue in the real world

get a picture of the wheels up (either his or same found on internet) and w'll be able to tell you what they came on originally.

[tony wright]

There is an R reg Golf GTI on the Estate that has the same type wheel (not sure of the tyres though)so I think they are off a Mark 3 GTI?

[5harp3y]

Ok well that makes sense as mk3 (GTi and Vr6) were fitted with 205/50/15 as standard.

Wheels could be:


VR6 BBS


BBS Solitudes (Colour Concept)


Standard MK3 Gti 9 Spokes

Edited to say that there could be others, these are just the ones that came to mind in the first instance.

Edited by 5harp3y on Wednesday 24th March 17:53

[cpas]

tony wright said:

My son has just come home with a 2nd hand set of alloys for his Mk4 Golf. They were taken off another Golf but he's not sure what model.

That's the trouble with nicking them in the dark!! I amuse myself sometimes!!!

[tony wright]

They are the same as the bottom wheel. I actually think he did okay, he only paid €100 for the 4 and had a pair of brand new rear brake Discs and new rear pads thrown in.

[V]

OK for the price but not really suitable for the MK4

[tony wright]

Why not suitable? Is there be a safety issue or are you talking about the cosmetic side?

[V]

Because of the tyre size, as explained a few posts up.

[5harp3y]

They will be fine on the mk4, tyres are smaller than OEM but that doesnt 'really' cause any problems.

Only thing about them may be that they are a bit small for mk4 (style wise) as they tend to look better on 16/17 inch wheels.

Plenty of people run smaller tyres on their golfs with no dramatic side effects.

bloody hell, i've run a 195/45 on an 8 inch rim and still had no problems.

[Cupramax]

5harp3y said:

They will be fine on the mk4, tyres are smaller than OEM but that doesnt 'really' cause any problems.

Apart from the speedo miss reading (due to the smaller overall wheel diameter) and if he shunts it the insurance company probably wont cover it for running non standard tyre sizes.

[Kevin VRs]

5harp3y said:

bloody hell, i've run a 195/45 on an 8 inch rim and still had no problems.

Would that be 'stretching' them?

That is not only daft to look at but dangerous as well as the bead is not properly sealed, leaving the distinct possibility of the tyre deflating/detaching itself. Also stretching leaves the driver open to trouble under the C&U regulations.

I still stand by my comments above that any change over 3% is too great.