Sorry moley, I'm not a fan.

Maybe if they were bigger? I think the design makes them look smaller than they actually are...

Or if you were to pain them gold ? :p

Lol!

I always knew the BBS would look smaller strangely but it's the wheel that does it for me not the size it looks.

They actually look smaller, but as for you, I also like the design!

Don't worry Magic they might look small but you have made up for it with the size of that picture

Didnt even notice, do even have to scroll on my 30" monitor

Your wheels look like mine, but mine were originally ball polished. So even more bling.

Your wheels look like mine, but mine were originally ball polished

Blimey, I make do with polishing cloths on mine

http://www.bbs.com/en/technology/expertise/technology/inner-shoulder-deformation.html :yes:

With centre caps in

Ok, so I'll admit they look better in the metal

Good to see a few skodas at the Sunday service.

The finished article - fitted, with flush fit valves

Love the finish on your wheels Moley, very shiny!

Liking your wheels too Brimma, wasn't sure of them at first but starting to grow on me.

Bit of tyre gloss and you have a win there Mr Brimma

Yours look good Moley - as I thought, better with the caps in. Any chance of a wider shot of the whole car, with them fitted?

Copy/paste of an email i've had from Niche regaring some 19" x 8.5 VMR V710 alloys:

"Your (standard) wheels are 7.5†wide with a offset of ET51, with a 15mm spacer this mean it has a offset of 36mm @ the moment on a 7.5†wide wheel.

The VMR wheels are 8.5†wide with a offset of ET45, the wheels are 1†wider but you have to take into account the offset is 9mm lower than your current set, the wheels will be 1†wider but the 9mm offset difference means the wheels will be 6mm wider"

Wonder if any of you knowledgeable chaps might offer advice, I am now totally lost again on this. The VMRs will be 6mm wider than a standard car with no spacers, or 6mm wider (i.e. 3mm at each side of the wheel?) that the current set-up with standard wheels and a 15mm spacer?

Help!

7.5" ET51 with spacers 15mm make 7.5" ET51-15= ET36

Difference between 7.5 and 8.5 is 25.4mm in both directions.

Means 12.7mm more out.

But the ET is 45 instead of 36 means 9mm more in.

12.7 more out minus 9mm of the ET are 3.7mm more out

than std Zenith with the 15mm spacer.

The VMRs are exactely 1" wider, 25.4mm.

Means the will be 25.4mm-3.7mm=21.7mm more on the inside.

Ok, so I'll admit they look better in the metal

Good to see a few skodas at the Sunday service.

There were a few there which was nice to see. Love the Scooby Rob, really nice although my personal favourite was the C63 AMG estate, the ultimate estate car.

Help!

Have you really asked yourself why you want 19s in the first place?

I was very tempted, but then considered tyre prices, ride comfort etc, and ruled them out

If you want to turn your car into a show car then fair enough, if not I'd suggest taking Wardy's advice, and stick to 18s

Copy/paste of an email i've had from Niche regaring some 19" x 8.5 VMR V710 alloys:

"Your (standard) wheels are 7.5†wide with a offset of ET51, with a 15mm spacer this mean it has a offset of 36mm @ the moment on a 7.5†wide wheel.

The VMR wheels are 8.5†wide with a offset of ET45, the wheels are 1†wider but you have to take into account the offset is 9mm lower than your current set, the wheels will be 1†wider but the 9mm offset difference means the wheels will be 6mm wider"

Wonder if any of you knowledgeable chaps might offer advice, I am now totally lost again on this. The VMRs will be 6mm wider than a standard car with no spacers, or 6mm wider (i.e. 3mm at each side of the wheel?) that the current set-up with standard wheels and a 15mm spacer?

Help!

Magic is right, but maybe it'd help if i explain it another way?

Compare the oe wheel (et 51 7.5" wide) with the new wheels (et 45 8.5" wide) according to the calculators you'd have reduced inner clearance of 7mm ie the rim will be 7mm closer to the strut. The outer side of the rim will be extended an extra 19mm ie it'll fill the arch more, and be closer to the bodywork.

You've already got a 15mm spacer fitted so you can see how the outer edge looks - your new wheels will be a further 4mm closer to the arch than your neptunes are with the spacer. I'm guessing this is going to be pretty close!

If they fit its going to be pretty tight - personally I'd not take the risk and look at an 8" wide rim.

Magic is right, but maybe it'd help if i explain it another way?

Compare the oe wheel (et 51 7.5" wide) with the new wheels (et 45 8.5" wide) according to the calculators you'd have reduced inner clearance of 7mm ie the rim will be 7mm closer to the strut. The outer side of the rim will be extended an extra 19mm ie it'll fill the arch more, and be closer to the bodywork.

You've already got a 15mm spacer fitted so you can see how the outer edge looks - your new wheels will be a further 4mm closer to the arch than your neptunes are with the spacer. I'm guessing this is going to be pretty close!

If they fit its going to be pretty tight - personally I'd not take the risk and look at an 8" wide rim.

Hmm, it's looking like you might be right rob. I'll measure properly tomorrow but I am fairly confident that extra 4mm on the outside will make all the difference.

Have you seen the guys photoshop of your car over in the photograhy section?

Hope this pic, taken a few minutes ago in the rain using a torch for illumination, would help 'set the scene':

The red ruler is on flat against the flat face of the wheel arch, and it just touches the sidewall of the tyre without seeming to be at an angle.

This pic is one of the back wheels (so has the 15mm spacers). Looks, to me, that the 225 tyre when put onto a 7.5" rim makes the sidewall stick out further than the wheel.

Would I be correct in assuming that a 225 tyre stretched over a 8.5" rim would mean the sidewall would sit in from the wheel face, while still being roughly the same height off the ground if I used a 35 profile?

Not sure I am explaining this correctly. 7.5" rim with 225/40 tyres - sidewall is 'fat' - i.e. tyre is broader than the wheel. 8.5" rim with a 225/35 tyre would mean the tyre is skinnier than the rim, but would still be the same overall height because of the difference of a 18" 40 profile tyre and a 19" 35 profile tyre?

You cannot say that in general. It depends on how the tyre is built.

<sigh>

Ah well, not willing to take an expensive chance on the VMRs, even though I really want them. Looks like I MIGHT go down the Neuspeed RSe14 route, had a quote from Mike @ Awesome GTI so I will make my mind up in the next few days. They are 19" but only 8" wide, and still the ET45 offset.

Thanks to all the chaps on this thread in the last few pages who have offered advice, magic62 especially.

Will update the thread with any 'news' - Mike @ Awesome says if I order this week I am likely to get the wheels around easter.

I'd just make ultra-sure it's 19s you want. Yes they look brilliant, but can you live with them everyday? I know what my answer to that would be. But that's based on the driving I do, and the types of road (and most importantly road surface) I have to navigate.

I'd just hate to see an expensive mistake being made.

Fine for a show car and boulevard cruiser, but for real-life, day-to-day? Not in my book.

Cheers,

Steve

I'd just make ultra-sure it's 19s you want. Yes they look brilliant, but can you live with them everyday? I know what my answer to that would be. But that's based on the driving I do, and the types of road (and most importantly road surface) I have to navigate.

I'd just hate to see an expensive mistake being made.

Fine for a show car and boulevard cruiser, but for real-life, day-to-day? Not in my book.

Cheers,

Steve

Hi Steve,

I've put a lot of thought into this. Difference in the price of a 225/40 18 and a 225/35 19 is about £48 per tyre, which based on the mileage I do I wont need to worry about until well into next year. Especially since i'll be taking the 19's back off again round about October/November time and putting the standard 18's back on again for the winter.

Comfort-wise I haven't noticed a big difference since getting the coilovers fitted, and I would HOPE that going from a 40 profile to a 35 profile won't make the the ride comfort considerably worse. I am willing to sacrafice a little bit of ride comfort for the enhanced look of the 19's though; I only work 3 days a week and the journey too/from work is MOSTLY motorway so the pothole issue isn't as relevant as it would be if I had miles and miles of b-roads to go down. From my house to the motorway is about a mile and half, then from the motorway to my office is about two and a half miles. Both roads @ either ends are B-roads but are fairly built-up well-used B-roads so the condition of the surface is pretty good.

The one concern is the 2 days a week when my 3yr old daughter is in the car. I don't want her to be made to feel uncomfortable when she is in my car, although again most journeys with her in the car are short town-hops locally.

I've never had a car with 35-profile tyres before so perhaps there IS the chance that I may be coming on here moaning in 4-6 weeks time that my fillings are falling out etc, or that i've damaged a wheel on a pothole, but at least i'll have given it a shot and although it may be an expensive lesson to learn it will be learned!

I did manage to wreck an 18" alloy on my Focus, a week and a half before I traded it in for the Focus. Ran over a rock that was in the road near a building site. No way it could be repaired, and cost me nearly £220 for a new alloy and tyre. Ouch!

One thing that I have thought about is: these wheels are not kept in stock (as far as I am aware) in the UK, they are ordered from the States and can take 3-4 weeks to arrive. Concerned that if I ever do damage a wheel i'd need to swap all corners back to the 18's while I wait for a replacement, which would be a pain.

Now - should I choose 225/35 19 tyres, or 235 35 19's? magic62 - your expert calculations may be required again!

Oh, and here is a photoshop that RickB did for me on another section of briskoda:

I'd just make ultra-sure it's 19s you want. Yes they look brilliant, but can you live with them everyday? I know what my answer to that would be. But that's based on the driving I do, and the types of road (and most importantly road surface) I have to navigate.

I'd just hate to see an expensive mistake being made.

Fine for a show car and boulevard cruiser, but for real-life, day-to-day? Not in my book.

i would pm harry_vRS,,

he runs 19s and would tell you the day to day practicalities i'm sure

Oh, and here is a photoshop that RickB did for me on another section of briskoda:

See - I told you - no spoiler = cool!