What did you and your Polo do today?

Chat about your 2018+ AW/BZ model Polos here!
S_94
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by S_94 »

They look great SRGTD! Would love to see some pics where you put them on. :)
SRGTD
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by SRGTD »

S_94 wrote: Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:31 pm They look great SRGTD! Would love to see some pics where you put them on. :)
Thanks. Yes, I will post up some pictures when they’re on the car. Being an expensive time of year, I might need to delay getting tyres until after Christmas. I wanted to make sure I got the wheels now though as they came from Germany. I didn’t want to get hit with an import tariff in the event of a no-deal Brexit scenario!
Stuart_Rendall
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by Stuart_Rendall »

They look great! I have the same in black and 17's. I think they look similar to the Golf R Pretoria alloys and suit the car very well.
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SRGTD
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by SRGTD »

Stuart_Rendall wrote: Thu Dec 10, 2020 2:31 pm They look great! I have the same in black and 17's. I think they look similar to the Golf R Pretoria alloys and suit the car very well.
Thanks Stuart.

I also think they look quite OEM and suit the car. For me, the criteria for replacement wheels was;
  • definitely not diamond cut.
  • colour; anthracite / grey / gunmetal.
  • size; as close to OEM spec as possible (they’re identical spec to the Brescias that’ll be coming off).
  • style/design; I like a 10 spoke alloy (that’s what I had on my last car), so ideally a 10 spoke design that’s not ‘fussy’ and is an easy style of wheel to clean, with easy access between the spokes for cleaning the wheel barrel and brake calipers.
They meet my criteria on all of the above and I’m looking forward to getting them on the car now.
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PO10ASH
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by PO10ASH »

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Went for a drive down to Birmingham over the weekend, they've got lots of fields and dirt, which fits nicely with the theme of my car currently.
SRGTD
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by SRGTD »

New wheels fitted to my GTI+; RC Design RC32, 7.5J x 18” ET51 in Ferric Grey Matt powder coat finish, which replace the original Brescia diamond cut alloys. I was going to wait until after Christmas to get them fitted, but couldn’t wait that long! 🙂. I also gave the car a pre winter clean and wax (Collinite 845 Insulator Wax) a couple of days ago.

A ‘plus’ for me with the new wheels is they’re easier to clean than the Brescias. Another plus is that being powder coated, they won’t suffer from white worm corrosion, which unfortunately seems to be pretty common with VW’s diamond cut alloys at around 2+ years, and sometimes sooner.
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S_94
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by S_94 »

They look brilliant mate. 8)
SRGTD
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by SRGTD »

S_94 wrote: Thu Dec 17, 2020 11:45 pm They look brilliant mate. 8)
Thanks. I’m pleased with how they look. They’re a bit lighter in colour than the anthracite grey Motorsport alloys I had on my previous model GTI - I’d probably describe them as being a dark silver rather than grey.

I have to agree with @Stuart_Rendall that they do have quite an OEM look to them. If VW had offered a similar style of painted / powder coated wheel on the GTI when I bought mine, it would definitely have been my choice.
S_94
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by S_94 »

Yeah they definitely have an OEM look about them. Easier cleaning is a definite pro as well.

I've been looking at the Borbet Y Alloys in Gloss Black but can't decide if they'll go well with a White car. Don't get me wrong I love the Brescia alloys but do fancy a change... :roll:
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POLO Clive
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by POLO Clive »

That's probably the best wheel/car colour combination I have ever seen on the Polo, good choice SRGTD 8)
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by SRGTD »

POLO Clive wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 6:24 am That's probably the best wheel/car colour combination I have ever seen on the Polo, good choice SRGTD 8)
Thanks! I was already researching my wheel choice long before I got the car. My second choice was BBS SR’s in Himalayan Grey if I wasn’t able to get the RC32’s. The RC32’s were also identical in terms of spec compared to the Brescias, although they have a higher weight limit so should be able to support a heavier car. I’m hoping that also means they’re quite strong and sturdy.

I’m almost looking forward to washing the car, now it’s got the new wheels on 😅.
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by SRGTD »

S_94 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 12:48 am Yeah they definitely have an OEM look about them. Easier cleaning is a definite pro as well.

I've been looking at the Borbet Y Alloys in Gloss Black but can't decide if they'll go well with a White car. Don't get me wrong I love the Brescia alloys but do fancy a change... :roll:
Black does generally tend to go well with White cars IMO. There are some of the alloy wheel retailer websites that have a configurator on them, so you can see what the wheels you’re thinking of buying will look like on your car before you actually buy them.

There’s a configurator on the Tyreleader website and they do have Borbet Y alloys to fit the Polo (8J x 18” ET40), although they’re not gloss black (they’re a Matt Titan Grey, which I think looks good) but it gives you an idea of what they’d look like on the car. Here’s a picture of a screen shot from their configurator of a White Polo GTI with Titan Grey Borbet Y alloys;
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S_94
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by S_94 »

Thanks SRGTD! The Titan Grey does look really nice, with the red brake caliper it would love even better I think.

This may sound like a stupid question, but as I've got Michelin Pilot Sport 4s in the size 225/40/18 does that mean I would only be able to fit 18' Alloys to that tyre? Reason I ask is because you can get the Borbet Y in a 17' for a bit cheaper.

Also struggling to understand offset and what would fit on the Polo. The Brescia's have an offset of 51 if I'm not mistaken, so I'm wondering if a lower offset Alloy would fit okay on the car.

Some of the options for the 17' and 18' Alloys:
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SRGTD
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by SRGTD »

S_94 wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:55 am Thanks SRGTD! The Titan Grey does look really nice, with the red brake caliper it would love even better I think.

This may sound like a stupid question, but as I've got Michelin Pilot Sport 4s in the size 225/40/18 does that mean I would only be able to fit 18' Alloys to that tyre? Reason I ask is because you can get the Borbet Y in a 17' for a bit cheaper.

Also struggling to understand offset and what would fit on the Polo. The Brescia's have an offset of 51 if I'm not mistaken, so I'm wondering if a lower offset Alloy would fit okay on the car.

Some of the options for the 17' and 18' Alloys:
Yes, only 18” wheels would fit your existing tyres.

As for offset; the lower the ‘ET’ number, the more aggressive the offset, which means the wheel will protrude / ‘poke’ outwards further, so an aggressive offset does increase the risk of the tyres rubbing the edge of the wheel arches, depending on how aggressive the offset is. There’s a really useful calculator on www.willtheyfit.com. If you input the details of both your existing and new wheel / tyre set up, it’ll calculate the critical clearance differences between your existing and new set up, which will help you determine whether or not you’d have any fitment issues with specific wheel / tyre combinations you might be considering. Pretty much all the reputable on line wheel retailers will only show you details of wheels that will fit your car when you input details of what car you have on their website, but don’t forget that your tyres are wider than a 7.5J or 8J wheel, so this additional tyre width needs to be factored in when considering rubbing / clearance issues.

I wanted wheels that were as close as possible to the spec of the Brescias so I wouldn’t have any clearance / rubbing issues. My wheels are exactly the same size / spec as the Brescias (7.5J x 18” with an offset of ET51), so they fitted fine. The centre bore was also the same size as VW’s ‘standard’ centre bore size (57.1), so there was no need to fit spigot rings to ensure the wheel fitted snugly on the hubs. The bolt holes in the wheels also took the standard VW radius seat bolts as well. With many aftermarket wheels, the bolt holes either have a tapered or flat profile, so new bolts are needed with a seat that correctly fits the bolt hole profile in the wheel. The wheel retailer should supply a fitting kit that includes new bolts if these are required, along with spigot rings if any wheels you’re thinking of buying have a centre bore that’s larger than the Polo’s 57.1.
S_94
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Re: What did you and your Polo do today?

Post by S_94 »

Thanks for the write up mate, much appreciated.

Regarding the centre bore, if I wanted alloys that weren't 57.1 does that make fitting them much of a hassle?
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