Aftermarket wheel fitment

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Sobek
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Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by Sobek »

Hello,

I drive a 2020 Polo R-Line and I've been looking at buying a set of aftermarket wheels for the car but wondered if I would run into any issues with fitment with the wheel size I want to choose.

The existing setup is the Bonneville black diamond 7J x 17" ET:51 5x100 with a tyre that is 215/45R17 and I wanted to fit an 8.5J x 18" ET:45 with 215/45R18 or 225/45R18.
Not too great with wheel sizing and specs so if any info is missing my apologies but I was just wondering if I would run into any rubbing issues or if they would fit in the first place.

Thank you
Stuart_Rendall
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by Stuart_Rendall »

If you use the Willtheyfit.com website you'll see the info there which will help but looking at it I think the new wheels won't fit. They'll rub against the wheel liner and probably poke passed the arch too far and won't look great.
Sobek
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by Sobek »

Yeah, I'm personally not great with how to size up wheels so I'd have to go with the same size wheel if I can find any that I like but I'll give the website a shot thank you.
SRGTD
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by SRGTD »

The calculator on www.willtheyfit.com is useful tool for anyone considering changing their wheel / tyre set up. By inputting details of the existing and proposed new wheel/tyre set up, the calculator results will help you decide whether or not you will have any clearance or rubbing issues, as it will tell you how much more or less the outer face of the wheels will poke out or tuck under the wheel arch and how much closer or further away the inner wheel face is from the suspension struts.

If you’re planning on going to an 18” wheel, then to minimise or eliminate speedo reading errors, you should go for either a 215/40 R18 or 225/40 R18 tyre rather than 215/45 R18 or 225/45 R18 tyre to minimise differences in the overall rolling radius of the new wheels / tyres compared to the originals.

Other factors to consider;
  • Wheels for the Polo need to have a PCD (bolt pattern) of 5x100. If it’s anything different the bolt holes in the wheels won’t physically line up with the holt holes in the hub assembly on the car, so you wouldn’t be able to bolt them on.
  • The Polo’s wheel centre bore is 57.1. Many aftermarket alloys have a larger centre bore so if you buy wheels with a larger (than 57.1) centre bore, then it’ll be necessary to fit a set of spigot rings of an appropriate size inside the centre bore of the wheel to reduce it to 57.1. Not doing this would mean the entire weight of the car would be supported on the wheel bolts which would be potentially dangerous and unsafe.
  • VW OEM wheel bolts have a radius / ball seat. Many aftermarket wheels use bolts with a conical seat and it’s important to ensure the correct bolts for the wheel are used, otherwise the bolt seat will not sit flush against the mating surface in bolt hole on the wheel. If aftermarket wheels do use different bolts, remember to keep a set of your original wheel bolts in the car for the spare wheel, in case you need to fit your spare.
If you are buying new alloys, then a reputable alloy wheel retailer should supply a fitting kit that includes the correct bolts and (if required) a set of spigot rings.

If buying used alloys;
  • Ask the seller to confirm they’ve not suffered structural damage (cracks, buckling). Also bear in mind that if you’re considering used diamond cut alloys, they can usually only be cosmetically refurbished a maximum of two times - more than twice and the structural integrity of the wheel can be compromised.
  • If considering a set of used OEM VW alloys, ask the seller for pictures of the reverse side of the wheel so you can check for the presence of part no, safety certification marks, size / offset, and manufacturers name (often - but not always - VW alloys are made by one of the more well known manufacturers such as Ronal, BBS, Borbet).
If buying replica alloys off the likes of eBay, I’d avoid any of the cheap Chinese imports as the quality of finish and construction may be questionable.

Finally, fitting different alloys is a modification for insurance purposes, so you’d need to inform your insurer.
Sobek
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by Sobek »

Thank you!

I plan on getting genuine reputable brand new wheels I made sure the bolt pattern is the same at 5x100 and that sort of stuff but couldn't work out the tyre size I should put on so thank you for that.

maybe the wrong place to ask but with notifying insurance would they just fall under the "Alloy wheels" section of the modifications or "wider wheels" or does that depend on the insurer and their policy as I have looked into it but wouldn't know what to tell them

Thank you for the help
SRGTD
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by SRGTD »

@Sobek; you’re very welcome.

I dare say that each insurer’s approach to modifications will be specific to them - some may ask for more information than others.

When i changed my wheels and notified my insurer, I’ve phoned them and told them I’ve fitted a set of aftermarket alloys. They didn’t ask for details of the size. They did ask for the value of the wheels and wanted confirmation that I had locking wheel bolts fitted. My policy documentation shows ‘alloy wheels’ under modifications on my policy schedule document.
Sobek
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by Sobek »

@SRGTD Been a great help

I'm with AXA right now and haven't really looked into their stand on modifications but they should have a similar process only difference would be my age playing against me as I haven't modded a car before as this polo is only my 2nd car being 19 but all that should be fine.

With the aftermarket wheels am I still able to use the factory wheel bolts or should I buy some to come with the wheels?
SRGTD
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by SRGTD »

Sobek wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:43 pm @SRGTD Been a great help

I'm with AXA right now and haven't really looked into their stand on modifications but they should have a similar process only difference would be my age playing against me as I haven't modded a car before as this polo is only my 2nd car being 19 but all that should be fine.

With the aftermarket wheels am I still able to use the factory wheel bolts or should I buy some to come with the wheels?
Most aftermarket wheels use bolts with a conical seat - like the bolt on the left of the picture below. VW OEM wheel bolts have a radius seat (also referred to as a ball seat bolt) like the middle bolt in the picture below. It’s really important that the profile of the bolt seat and the bolt hole in the wheel are the same, so the mating surfaces between the bolt seat and the bolt hole in the wheel are a snug, tight fit. If radius bolts are used on wheels that should be fitted with bolts with a conical seat, then it won’t be possible to get that snug fit between bolt and wheel, so there’s a risk the bolts could work loose or fracture.

When buying alloys from reputable alloy wheel retailers, they should automatically supply a fitting kit that include bolts of the correct seat type for the wheels being bought, along with spigot rings if required (if the centre bore size of the wheels needs to be reduced the the Polo’s 57.1 centre bore size).
20A093D6-2F13-4882-A49B-8703D83D6355.jpeg
20A093D6-2F13-4882-A49B-8703D83D6355.jpeg (56.97 KiB) Viewed 2317 times
Sobek
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by Sobek »

Thank you that's a huge amount of help.

The wheel brand should supply them and if not I can go and find some that'll fit whether they are sold by the company or another one they shouldn't be too hard to get.
Also, I looked into the center bore sizes and need to get spigot rings to bring 73mm down to the OEM 57.1 which are easy enough to source as I have found them already.
SRGTD
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by SRGTD »

Should have added to my previous post that if you are getting wheels from a reputable alloy wheel retailer and they don’t provide a fitting kit, then it usually means the the existing OEM bolts can be used. I have RC Design RC32’s on my Polo GTI+ and they are exactly the same spec as the OEM wheels they replace (7.5J x 18” ET51, PCD 5x100, Centre Bore 57.1) and they also use the existing OEM VW radius seat bolts, so they were a straight swap, which was what I wanted.

If wheels bolts aren’t supplied, I’d contact the alloy wheel manufacturer to get details of the specific bolts that are required to fit the wheels to your car, as in addition to the bolt seat type, wheel bolts come in varying lengths, thread sizes and thread pitch.
Boxerboy
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by Boxerboy »

SRGTD wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:01 pm ......

Other factors to consider;
  • The Polo’s wheel centre bore is 57.1. Many aftermarket alloys have a larger centre bore so if you buy wheels with a larger (than 57.1) centre bore, then it’ll be necessary to fit a set of spigot rings of an appropriate size inside the centre bore of the wheel to reduce it to 57.1. Not doing this would mean the entire weight of the car would be supported on the wheel bolts which would be potentially dangerous and unsafe.
....
I think you’ll find that the 5 wheel bolts are in fact Doing All The Work.

As in most flanged fittings.

The centre spigot is simply a “loose” fit to assist with mounting the wheel.

You don’t “need” a spigot ring to secure the wheel, but it helps mount the wheel.
SRGTD
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Re: Aftermarket wheel fitment

Post by SRGTD »

Boxerboy wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:55 pm I think you’ll find that the 5 wheel bolts are in fact Doing All The Work.

As in most flanged fittings.

The centre spigot is simply a “loose” fit to assist with mounting the wheel.

You don’t “need” a spigot ring to secure the wheel, but it helps mount the wheel.
Apologies - my mistake; agree that the spigot ring helps to centre the wheel on the hub. 😳
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