What did you and your Polo do today?

[S_94]

Thanks mate that's good to know.

Feel like a complete beginner with this car!

[Andy Beats]

^ with its thinner spokes, I do think that the Brescia is probably going to be more suited to powder coating in a single colour than the wide spokes of the Parker alloy.

I think I need a photoshop expert to do some pics. I won't pick the Prets colour if it doesn't look good just before the paint is essentially paid for already. As silver paints go, I do like the tiniest hint of blue/purple in it.

Skilled chrome or something else between silver and anthracite also sound good.

I would lose the shadowing around the spoke sides and it being black around the wheel nuts - nothing you can do about that in a single colour.

Here’s the link to the discussion thread on golfgtiforum.co.uk that shows what diamond cut Santiago alloys look like after they’ve be refurbished with a smoked chrome powder coat finish. I think they look good;

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=278775.0

For those who forum members and forum guests reading this who are unfamiliar with white worm corrosion that many diamond cut alloys often succumb to after 2-3 years; the first picture in the linked thread above is a good example - the cloudy, milky white patches you can see on some of the diamond cut sections. White worm corrosion can really only be removed by refurbishing the wheel, and if refurbished with a diamond cut finish again, there’s a good chance the white worm will be back.

Why do I dislike diamond cut alloys so much?;

• poor durability of finish compared to a powder coated / painted finish; susceptible to white worm corrosion, especially if subjected to winter road conditions. In fact many reputable aftermarket alloy wheel retailers state on their websites that diamond cut alloys aren’t suitable for winter use

• more expensive to refurbish than powder coated alloys and because of the refurbishment process (removing the corroded surface by re-cutting a layer of metal off the face of the wheel), they can usually only be refurbished a maximum of two times, otherwise the structural integrity of the wheel can be compromised

• easily damaged by inexperienced tyre fitters or poorly maintained tyre changing equipment. I had two diamond cut alloys replaced under warranty on my mk6 Golf and it took four trips to the dealer before I got two perfect replacement wheels I was happy with (replacements were either substandard manufacture/ damaged in transit to the dealers or damaged by the dealer when fitting the tyres

I suppose that the one downside I can think of in having the OEM diamond cut alloys powder coated is that when the time comes to sell the car, if it’s being part exchanged against another VW, then the dealer could use this as a reason to offer a lower trade in value (probably not such an issue if selling privately or part ex against a non-VW).

All of this is fair comment......but......diamond cut alloys can make the difference to the look of a car.
I've twice had people come up and compliment me about the wheels on my 'beats' edition.
Without those wheels it would just look like every other humdrum Polo.
Same with my Leaf, I only wanted the Tekna spec because of the diamond cut alloys that made an ugly car slightly less ugly.
Same with the wife's Sportage, the DC wheels make it.
It shouldn't really bother anyone on here as the 'white worm/bird poo' effect will just mean a warranty claim.
Nissan replaced several alloys for me (Juke and Leaf) under warranty and I'd expect the same from VW.

[monkeyhanger]

^ with its thinner spokes, I do think that the Brescia is probably going to be more suited to powder coating in a single colour than the wide spokes of the Parker alloy.

I think I need a photoshop expert to do some pics. I won't pick the Prets colour if it doesn't look good just before the paint is essentially paid for already. As silver paints go, I do like the tiniest hint of blue/purple in it.

Skilled chrome or something else between silver and anthracite also sound good.

I would lose the shadowing around the spoke sides and it being black around the wheel nuts - nothing you can do about that in a single colour.

Here’s the link to the discussion thread on golfgtiforum.co.uk that shows what diamond cut Santiago alloys look like after they’ve be refurbished with a smoked chrome powder coat finish. I think they look good;

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=278775.0

For those who forum members and forum guests reading this who are unfamiliar with white worm corrosion that many diamond cut alloys often succumb to after 2-3 years; the first picture in the linked thread above is a good example - the cloudy, milky white patches you can see on some of the diamond cut sections. White worm corrosion can really only be removed by refurbishing the wheel, and if refurbished with a diamond cut finish again, there’s a good chance the white worm will be back.

Why do I dislike diamond cut alloys so much?;

• poor durability of finish compared to a powder coated / painted finish; susceptible to white worm corrosion, especially if subjected to winter road conditions. In fact many reputable aftermarket alloy wheel retailers state on their websites that diamond cut alloys aren’t suitable for winter use

• more expensive to refurbish than powder coated alloys and because of the refurbishment process (removing the corroded surface by re-cutting a layer of metal off the face of the wheel), they can usually only be refurbished a maximum of two times, otherwise the structural integrity of the wheel can be compromised

• easily damaged by inexperienced tyre fitters or poorly maintained tyre changing equipment. I had two diamond cut alloys replaced under warranty on my mk6 Golf and it took four trips to the dealer before I got two perfect replacement wheels I was happy with (replacements were either substandard manufacture/ damaged in transit to the dealers or damaged by the dealer when fitting the tyres

I suppose that the one downside I can think of in having the OEM diamond cut alloys powder coated is that when the time comes to sell the car, if it’s being part exchanged against another VW, then the dealer could use this as a reason to offer a lower trade in value (probably not such an issue if selling privately or part ex against a non-VW).

All of this is fair comment......but......diamond cut alloys can make the difference to the look of a car.
I've twice had people come up and compliment me about the wheels on my 'beats' edition.
Without those wheels it would just look like every other humdrum Polo.
Same with my Leaf, I only wanted the Tekna spec because of the diamond cut alloys that made an ugly car slightly less ugly.
Same with the wife's Sportage, the DC wheels make it.
It shouldn't really bother anyone on here as the 'white worm/bird poo' effect will just mean a warranty claim.
Nissan replaced several alloys for me (Juke and Leaf) under warranty and I'd expect the same from VW.

VW will not entertain a claim where there is white worm propagating from a part of the wheel they consider damaged. Someone kerbs a wheel, that's fair do's, but claiming that it must've happened from a stone chip for which there's no evidence of, that's something else.

I have had warranty replacement wheels from VW before for white worm, but not in this climate of VW really watching the pennies, and Lookers local dealerships seem so petrified of not getting reimbursed, it is hard to get them to do any warranty work for anything that isn't a black and white mechanical failure.

White worm is inevitable if you are keeping the car more than 3 years of full time use - on that basis I don't think they're fit for purpose. You don't expect your car's bodywork to go to s**t after 3 years, same should apply to the wheels that get a wafer thin coat of lacquer that is even thinner on rim edges.

[Andy Beats]

VW will not entertain a claim where there is white worm propagating from a part of the wheel they consider damaged.

That's fair enough, I can understand that.
I'm talking about bird poo lacquer damage when there's no damage.
I'd expect VW to give me a new wheel just like Nissan have done several times.
Either that or it will go back to them at the end of the PCP with the bird poo, I'm not paying to fix it.

[monkeyhanger]

VW will not entertain a claim where there is white worm propagating from a part of the wheel they consider damaged.

That's fair enough, I can understand that.
I'm talking about bird poo lacquer damage when there's no damage.
I'd expect VW to give me a new wheel just like Nissan have done several times.
Either that or it will go back to them at the end of the PCP with the bird poo, I'm not paying to fix it.

I'd covered that in my reply, that has been edited out on the quote. They see no evidence of a stone chip and still say it must've been a stone chip and refuse the claim
"They" being the zealous dealership who are petrified of being refused a claim by VW when they've already replaced your wheel. Most VW dealerships are massively risk averse and end up not entertaining your claim when it seems perfectly legit.

Every VW I've had with diamond cut wheels has gotten white worm at just over 2 to just under 3 years old - without keeping. Diamond cut wheels are crap as a long term proposition, no matter how careful you are.

[monkeyhanger]

SRGTD:

Never been a fan of the Santiago's- overly fussy design, due to the black bits trying to hide the extra support spokes, but that refinish in a powder coat looks markedly better than the original finish.

If I end up keeping both Polos long term, I suspect I'll have to get them done when the white worm kicks in - either through minuscule stone chips on the wafer thin lacquer, or the fact that getting tyres changed is probably too much for the lacquer.

[SRGTD]

SRGTD:

Never been a fan of the Santiago's- overly fussy design, due to the black bits trying to hide the extra support spokes, but that refinish in a powder coat looks markedly better than the original finish.

If I end up keeping both Polos long term, I suspect I'll have to get them done when the white worm kicks in - either through minuscule stone chips on the wafer thin lacquer, or the fact that getting tyres changed is probably too much for the lacquer.

Agree on the overly fussy design of the Santiago’s - they must be a nightmare to clean. I also think they look much better with a smoked chrome powder coat then the original diamond cut finish.

My previous generation Polo GTI that’s now just over 38 months old has a set of diamond cut alloys in pretty much showroom condition. They’re only perfect because they came off the car at just under 4 months old and have been in storage ever since. My powder coated VW Motorsport alloys have been on the car nearly three years and have been through three winters, and apart from a couple of small stone chips, they look like new - I doubt the same could’ve been said about the original diamond cut alloys if they’d gone through three winters on the car - a very good chance they’d have succumbed to white worm by now.

Getting tyres changed on diamond cut alloys makes me nervous because of how fragile and easily damaged the lacquered finish is. On the two cars I’ve had with diamond cut alloys, I’ve fitted new powder coated wheels with new tyres before the tyres on the original diamond cut wheels needed replacing.

[Andy Beats]

I'd covered that in my reply, that has been edited out on the quote. They see no evidence of a stone chip and still say it must've been a stone chip and refuse the claim
"They" being the zealous dealership who are petrified of being refused a claim by VW when they've already replaced your wheel. Most VW dealerships are massively risk averse and end up not entertaining your claim when it seems perfectly legit.

Every VW I've had with diamond cut wheels has gotten white worm at just over 2 to just under 3 years old - without keeping. Diamond cut wheels are crap as a long term proposition, no matter how careful you are.

I'll let you know how my dealer reacts if/when I need it.
IF they refuse a new wheel/s it will go back to them at the end of the PCP deal with the same problem.
It's not classed as wheel damage in PCP returns.

[monkeyhanger]

With the Costco offer ending today on Michelin tyres (£80 off 4), I bought a set to be fitted at a later date - £315. 48 inc discount.

Looking to get them fitted Weds if the new Polo comes early enough to work (the last one was delivered at about 10am) and I can wrangle a half day's holiday at short notice.

Then get the car Iron X'd, C2V3 coat, then Collinite wax.

[JarrydDempsey]

Gave my polo a clean today after finishing the bonnet vent install. Shout out from South Africa:

[l3rady]

Ain't got my Polo yet but new tyres came today.

£314.90 for 4 x MPS4 225/40 R18 Y (92) delivered from blackcircles plus £5.31 cashback through TCB.

Need to find a home for them now for the next 4 weeks or so till delivery of the car.

[S_94]

How much was delivery for the tyres mate? Thinking of ordering mine in the next few days.

[l3rady]

£314.90 was the delivered price. They are running £40 off 4 x Michelin tyres with offer code 4MICH40. Presume the offer is still running.

[S_94]

Cheers. Hoping to find somewhere reliable to fit them now.

[monkeyhanger]

Mine are £315 and pence inc fitment. The only caveat being that Costco will not fit the 225 tyres onto the wheels while they're attached to the car because their computer says the car should have 215 wide tyres and they will not waver on that point...so I'm taking the space saver off the Red GTI+ so I have 2 space savers. Will park up at Costco, take off 2 wheels at a time and get them to fit the new rubber, the refit.

A pain, but I know Costco will look after the wheels.