Looking for new wheels to fit track tyres. Help required, sizing etc please.

[phazed]

I have been tracking my modified vRS all summer and have been using a set of Wolfrace Pro-Lite wheels with a set of Federal R-SR 595 tyres, 215-45-17".

 

Looking to hopefully add a bit more rubber in width on another set of wheels. Car is lowered with stiffer AP suspension and I don't have any clearance issues.

 

Can anyone tell me what size wheels I would look for, (offset etc).

What other wheels fit, (i.e. Audi, VW etc).

Possibly one of you guys has a set that might suit sitting at home in the shed!

 

I also have a standard set of vRS wheels with a hardly used set of name brand all season tyres surplus to requirements.

[petrolbloke]

Wheel specs + list of other cars with the same bolt pattern:

https://www.wheel-fitment.com/car/Skoda/Octavia (1997 - 2005).html

Basically it's A3/S3/TT and their Seat and VW equivalents.

There are also some Toyota Celicas and Subaru Imprezas that have a 5x100 bolt pattern. Not sure about offsets and centre bore sizes of those, but you can check for yourself.

 

Use a tyre size comparison calculator to compare the standard size (205/50/R17) to other sizes.

E.g. https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/

 

225/45/R17 is a common choice. These fit fine on the standard 7J rims.

245/40/R17 is also a similar diameter & circumference (1.6% smaller) - pretty sure you would need wider wheels for that size though.

 

225/40/R18 is also near identical diameter and circumference.

 

If you go for wider wheels you might have clearance issues, especially with lock on the front. Wider wheels/tyres on the back won't help with the Octy's FWD understeery nature either. With wider tyres that also means potentially more grip, which won't help with excess wear on the outside edges.

 

Smaller diameter tyres means you're altering the final drive ratio in a way that is better for acceleration at the expense of top speed. But too much smaller and they'll look well out of place.

 

Aftermarket wheels generally should be lighter. VAG wheels are pretty heavy. Lighter wheels are beneficial - less unsprung mass and less rotational mass, but reduced weight could come with reduced strength.

 

What width are your current wheels?

[phazed]

Thanks for your response.

 

Existing Wolfrace wheels are 17" x 7J ET35.

 

I believe these are offset slightly outwards giving a slightly wider track.

 

Car handles very well. Has stiffer springs, uprated front and a rear ARB, Cupra R quick rack, hubs and alloy wishbones.

 

I will have a cruise on Ebay under those suggested headings.

[andy68]

225/45 on your wolfrace, or 225's on your spiders will work just as well, ran 225/45 on my spiders for many track days, spiders are light compared to most other VAG wheels, 9.3KG from memory,

[skinnyman]

On 21/11/2021 at 18:10, phazed said:

Can anyone tell me what size wheels I would look for, (offset etc).

What other wheels fit, (i.e. Audi, VW etc).

Possibly one of you guys has a set that might suit sitting at home in the shed!

 

Both petrolbloke and andy68 have made some good points.  The sizes mentioned all work well and I've used them on my Mk1s over the years.  

 

I'm currently on 225 40 18 Michelin PS4s on a set of OZ Ultraleggera for my daily wheels.  They are really light wheels and combined with the PS4s, they are a great combination giving surprising levels of grip.  Admittedly the current cold weather doesn't suit the tyres but for most of the year they are a good all rounder.  I'm pretty sure the OZ wheels are 8j and have an et of 45.  I'm running them on 10mm spacers on the front and 15mm on the rear with no rubbing issues I'm aware of.

 

I've also got a pretty much mint set of TD pro Race 1.2 up in the spare room with a set of Rainsport 3s on.  They're 17" and again are really light with 225 45 17 tyres.  They weren't run with any spacers on and I always wondered if they needed to be brought out a little.

 

I only changed to the 18" wheels as they popped up in ebay at a price I couldn't resist.  They aren't cheap but definitely do help with the handling.  The Pro Race 1.2s are also a really nice wheel and I'm tempted to go back to them at some point.

 

I've put a couple of photos below so you can see how the car sits on both sets.

 

 

 

[phazed]

Just seen this.

 

I think the standard wheels set into the arches very slightly.

 

My Wolfrace  wheels are ET 35. These seem to set out slightly more without fouling the arches.

 

The wheels with spacers on your car in the second photograph seem to be of similar ET as my Wolfrace wheels.

I am sure spacers are okay for the road but I would not use them on track. Every corner is on the max with huge strain going through the front offside wheel, hub and suspension.

[phazed]

On 27/11/2021 at 15:50, andy68 said:

225/45 on your wolfrace, or 225's on your spiders will work just as well, ran 225/45 on my spiders for many track days, spiders are light compared to most other VAG wheels, 9.3KG from memory,

I weighed one of my Wolfrace wheels with an Accelera track tyre and it was 17 kg.

I weighed a Spider with an all seasons Bridgestone tyre fitted and it was 19 kg.

 

I would guess that the track tyre is heavier as they have much stiffer sidewalls. I guess that is why they call the Wolfrace wheel a Pro-Lite!