UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

genesisGT wrote:Hi just noticed your post!

My squareback has 165/60/14s with 38et wheels and they scrubbed on one side at speeds over 70 when you hit a bump. So i got my rear arches rolled and sealed and no scrubbage at all so i am going to lover it 40 as a dont think it will catch!

if a wasnt lowering it i would probubally fit the width size above the 165s as it looks like they would fit.

hope some of that is of use.

14s dont scrub if you have the right offset. I run 165/55/14s on my GT and have never had any scrubbage probs. wheels are 6Jx14 ET45.

165/65R13 scrub on stock rear arches with 13"x6" ET33 wheels. After rolling my rear arches it was fine 'til I lowered it 40mm, and now it catches on the rim itself...

Am changing to 175/60R13 (stock G40 size) for a little more traction, but going back to 13"x5.5" ET38 wheels (again, stock G40 size). Hoping all should be well on that setup.

Well, I've finally got it all sorted.. wheels are 13", 5.5J, ET38 Golf GTi 9 spokes, with 175/70r13's on the front and 185/60r13 on the back, and *ahem* 'rolled' (read 'dremelled, hacksawed, filed and repainted') rear arches.
For some reason, the left arch was fine, clears even the 185's with no modification (although I chopped a bit out just to be on the safe side).. whereas the right hand side comes straight down on the top of the sidewall. Doesn't seem right to me, surely it should all be symmetrical? Can't find any accident damage on the car though, except that the front nearside corner has obviously been repaired and resprayed at some point.. can't imagine that would have affected the rear axle though.. still, it drives alright now, I can fit 5 people and some luggage in the car and still manage speedbumps.. very slowly.. so I'm happy

GroovyCarrot wrote:Well, I've finally got it all sorted.. wheels are 13", 5.5J, ET38 Golf GTi 9 spokes, with 175/70r13's on the front and 185/60r13 on the back, and *ahem* 'rolled' (read 'dremelled, hacksawed, filed and repainted') rear arches.
For some reason, the left arch was fine, clears even the 185's with no modification (although I chopped a bit out just to be on the safe side).. whereas the right hand side comes straight down on the top of the sidewall. Doesn't seem right to me, surely it should all be symmetrical? Can't find any accident damage on the car though, except that the front nearside corner has obviously been repaired and resprayed at some point.. can't imagine that would have affected the rear axle though.. still, it drives alright now, I can fit 5 people and some luggage in the car and still manage speedbumps.. very slowly.. so I'm happy

looks like were on the same wavelenth GC with repect to wheels. Our mk2's are like twins. Im suprised you get scrubbage from 185s on a 5.5" rim on standard suspension though. Ive had 185s on a 6" rim before now on the back and not had any probs until ive been carrying loads of passengers.

I didnt take any chances this time though and got some uniroyal rallye 680s in 165/70/13 for the GTi 9 spokes going on my mk2. I shouldnt have any problems even if I do put G40 springs on it eventually. dont worry about it only rubbing on one side either, all my polos that have scrubbed have been exactly the same. have you tried putting the 175/70s on the back? theyre the wrong size for the front anyway...

Oh yeah, it's only when I have a load in the back.. but I do ferry a lot of my friends around and I often have to lug PA kits etc around in the back of the car, so I can't really afford any scrubbing at all. I do still have to take it easy over speed bumps with passengers in the back seat, but I can live with that

I've tried the 175's on the back and they do just the same as the 185's - the higher profile means the sidewall bulges out to about the width of the 185s anyway. I just stuck them on the front because they've got a bit more tread on them and the front will wear faster, and also the 185's were rubbing ever so slightly on full right lock on the plastic panel the covers up the hole for the end of the 5 speed box.. What do you mean by the wrong size? Profile or tread section?

If I replace the tyres again before I sell the car, I'll go for 165/60's all round. Only reason for the tyres I have at the moment is that they were on the wheels when I bought them, they're not bad quality and they've got a lot of tread left

GroovyCarrot wrote:Oh yeah, it's only when I have a load in the back.. but I do ferry a lot of my friends around and I often have to lug PA kits etc around in the back of the car, so I can't really afford any scrubbing at all. I do still have to take it easy over speed bumps with passengers in the back seat, but I can live with that

I've tried the 175's on the back and they do just the same as the 185's - the higher profile means the sidewall bulges out to about the width of the 185s anyway. I just stuck them on the front because they've got a bit more tread on them and the front will wear faster, and also the 185's were rubbing ever so slightly on full right lock on the plastic panel the covers up the hole for the end of the 5 speed box.. What do you mean by the wrong size? Profile or tread section?

If I replace the tyres again before I sell the car, I'll go for 165/60's all round. Only reason for the tyres I have at the moment is that they were on the wheels when I bought them, they're not bad quality and they've got a lot of tread left

Wrong profile I meant, by two sizes, should be 175/60 or 165/65 on a 1.0 if you want wider than standard tyres that are readily available.

Its fair enough about the tyres though. I got some very good tyres with the wheels that are on my GT in my sig pic below. but they were miles too big 185/60/14. but with them being good makes (2 good continentals and one pirelli, the other was a continental but tracked out) I got a fair bit of money for em. So they might be worth selling but then youve got to justify new tyres on an old car. And from the sounds of it you wont be keeping it much longer?

With these wheels/tyres Ive got though id put them on another car if my mk2 bites the dust, Im gonna stick with my polos for a few years yet.

Two sizes too big.. guess a bit of mental speedo recalibration is in order in that case Although, I went past one of those flashy light-up 30 warning sign thingamajigs last night at an indicated 30 and it didn't set it off, so it can't be that far out.

Well, I'll be keeping it a few years, but it'll be garaged for three years while I'm at uni.. the plan is to use it for the rest of this year, garage it at my grandma's house while I'm at uni and don't need / can't afford to run it, then use it for a year or so afterwards so I can build up some NCB before I move onto something a bit bigger and more powerful. So really the tyres will only be getting another 15,000 miles or so use, and I don't push my tyres very hard most of the time.

I'd think about selling the tyres and getting some 165's, but 13" tyres don't tend to go for much, it's 14"+ that people usually want.. and whilst they're perfectly reasonable they're nothing amazing. The 175's have 7mm tread left, the 185's have about 4-5mm left, both sets are sort of upper mid range, nothing special.

Just taken some pics of my shiney new wheels

GroovyCarrot wrote:Just taken some pics of my shiney new wheels

Now doesn't that look better

Baby MKI GTI with a bit more luggage space

bstardchild wrote:Baby MKI GTI with a bit more luggage space

...without the power
I do like my car though, people keep mistaking it for a golf, even people who are relatively switched on about cars. I don't tend to correct them

GroovyCarrot wrote:

bstardchild wrote:Baby MKI GTI with a bit more luggage space

...without the power
I do like my car though, people keep mistaking it for a golf, even people who are relatively switched on about cars. I don't tend to correct them

Yeah someone called my mk2 a golf the other day at the petrol station. Damn them all say I. Looking good GC, I can Imagine what mine will look like now. (without having to photoshop it) Does your car have tinted windows?

Not that I've done myself. The glass does have a bit of a green tint to it, although I'm not sure if that's actual VW tinted glass or just the colour of the normal glass.. hard to tell without something to compare it to I think it just looks dark in that picture because it was a cloudy day

the standard windows have no tint at all. I will try and find a pic of my mk2 to show ya.

sorry the pic is so big, but its already uploaded and it saves me re-sizing and uploading it again.

yeah it was an optional extra throughout the range as far as I know. They came as standard on late mk2s (from about F reg on) but when they switched over to mk3's they went back to being optional again. My GT has tinted windows and the medium blue metallic GT I used to have had them as well. But its quite rare to see an early mk3 with them. (and an early mk2 I would imagine)

Edit -Hmmm, this was a reply to a post that has now disappeared!