MKIV TT wheels questions

[A. Jay]

I want to get them, but I want to make sure of what I'll need first. Since the stock mkiii wheels are the same width and offset all around, I'll have to do something about the mkiv wheels so that they'll have the same distance from the outer edge to the rotor in respect to each other.

Mkiv tt wheels are 8"/9.5" wide front/rear, +50 offset all around. That means the rear wheels will "stick out" more than the fronts, and my solution will be to get a spacer for the fronts. I made the calculations, and it looks like the rears stick out 19.05mm more than the fronts, so I'll need 20mm spacers. The results will be like .7" farther out than stock all around. My goal is to only have to buy one pair of spacers while still having the wheels stick out more, which seems like it's possible.

From searching, I've found that bolt-on spacers are better than slip-ons, and Project Kics are recomended. Here's what I can't seem to find: Are the studs on the car too long? Would the studs and nuts hit the wheel mounting surface? If so, how would I shorten them without throwing off the balance? Would I have a problem with rubbing if I went with the stock tire sizes (I have stock tems shocks/springs, and upgraded swaybars)? If so, which tire sizes wouldn't? Oh, and if someone could double-check my math, I'd appreciate that, too.

 

[Keros]

MkIV TT rims fit without any modifications. The rear 9.5" wide rims are quite close the spring, and they do actually touch at full droop... thankfully though, unless you're driving like the dukes of hazard, you're never going to get the wheel to droop fully to have it rub slightly on the spring. I've ran mine for years without issue.

As for spacers, a 20mm spacer pushing a TT rim out may make it rub on hard compressions unless you roll the fender, depending on your tire choice. If you're putting 235/255's, probably not a problem. 245/275 tires, will probably be a problem with a 20mm spacer.

My recommendation is to get the rims, put them on, see if you like the fit, and if you do, call it a day. Otherwise, get the spacers later when you can measure and fit. I assure you, the rims fit without modifications... if yours do not, something is bent.

Wouldn't it be lame to spend $150 on spacers and $50 on hardware to put the spacers on... only to find out you prefer it without the spacers? That would suck.

 

[A. Jay]

MkIV TT rims fit without any modifications. The rear 9.5" wide rims are quite close the spring, and they do actually touch at full droop... thankfully though, unless you're driving like the dukes of hazard, you're never going to get the wheel to droop fully to have it rub slightly on the spring. I've ran mine for years without issue.

As for spacers, a 20mm spacer pushing a TT rim out may make it rub on hard compressions unless you roll the fender, depending on your tire choice. If you're putting 235/255's, probably not a problem. 245/275 tires, will probably be a problem with a 20mm spacer.

My recommendation is to get the rims, put them on, see if you like the fit, and if you do, call it a day. Otherwise, get the spacers later when you can measure and fit. I assure you, the rims fit without modifications... if yours do not, something is bent.

Wouldn't it be lame to spend $150 on spacers and $50 on hardware to put the spacers on... only to find out you prefer it without the spacers? That would suck.

*Ricky Bobby voice* "It sure as heck [would]."

I'll probably just go with 235/255 since I wanna be able to drive like an ass from time to time and not worry.

I'll think about what you said about the spacer, it's just that I've seen a few pics of with/without spacers and, even though the fronts actually stick out exactly as much as the stock mkiii's do, it doesn't look good compared to the rears. Things could appear different in person though. Thanks Keros for the reply.



I'd still like to know: Incase I want spacers, would the studs on the car be too long? Would the studs and nuts hit the wheel mounting surface? If so, how would I shorten them without throwing off the balance?

And new question, will I need to get hubcentric rings for the Project Kics spacers? What bores?

 

[R3N5LOW]

Get 25mm up front.
Here's how it looks with 245/45 on d2 coils with rolled fenders

 

[super.secret.supra.club]

had 255/275 on mine and went canyon carving for a long time. never had a problem with them

 

[giterboosted]

Ya, I go nuts in the mtns sometimes up here in ga and I've never had a single issue and I have no spacers either btw

 

[A. Jay]

Get 25mm up front.
Here's how it looks with 245/45 on d2 coils with rolled fenders
[THUMB]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/R3N5LOW/DSC_0132-2.jpg[/THUMB]

Looks good, but I have stock shocks/springs and don't plan to change that for a long time. Any problems/modifications when installing the wheels and spacers? Can you still use the wheel well liner when you roll the fenders?

had 255/275 on mine and went canyon carving for a long time. never had a problem with them

Suspension/ride height? Spacers?

Ya, I go nuts in the mtns sometimes up here in ga and I've never had a single issue and I have no spacers either btw

Suspension/ride height? Tire sizes?


Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming, still wanna know about hubcentric rings, too.

 

[HIDPLANET]

Hubcentric centering rings for spacers are more for centering the spacer on your hub versus it being a alignment guide for your wheels. While you would love to have hubcentric guides to mount the wheels to ensure they are centered and not lugcentric, its not going to happen with the centering rings for the spacer. The centering ring for Project Kics (the ones I have) mount snug on to the hub on the car promoting solid centering of the spacer so you know it is mounted true when you torque it down.

Also if you are using TT wheels with the wide trac spacers that have their own lugs, you might want to make sure that the wheels have space in between the lug holes to accommodate for any exposed threads on your OE lugs. With a 25mm scpaer this may not be an issue, but I know with 15mm spacers, your wheel must have a void between the lug hols to allow the OE lugs to clear.

 

[A. Jay]

Hubcentric centering rings for spacers are more for centering the spacer on your hub versus it being a alignment guide for your wheels. While you would love to have hubcentric guides to mount the wheels to ensure they are centered and not lugcentric, its not going to happen with the centering rings for the spacer. The centering ring for Project Kics (the ones I have) mount snug on to the hub on the car promoting solid centering of the spacer so you know it is mounted true when you torque it down.

Also if you are using TT wheels with the wide trac spacers that have their own lugs, you might want to make sure that the wheels have space in between the lug holes to accommodate for any exposed threads on your OE lugs. With a 25mm scpaer this may not be an issue, but I know with 15mm spacers, your wheel must have a void between the lug hols to allow the OE lugs to clear.

In that case I would still like to have the rings, do you know what size I need?

I know that bolt-on spacers can cause a problem for some wheel/car combinations...

I want to get them, but I want to make sure of what I'll need first. Since the stock mkiii wheels are the same width and offset all around, I'll have to do something about the mkiv wheels so that they'll have the same distance from the outer edge to the rotor in respect to each other.

Mkiv tt wheels are 8"/9.5" wide front/rear, +50 offset all around. That means the rear wheels will "stick out" more than the fronts, and my solution will be to get a spacer for the fronts. I made the calculations, and it looks like the rears stick out 19.05mm more than the fronts, so I'll need 20mm spacers. The results will be like .7" farther out than stock all around. My goal is to only have to buy one pair of spacers while still having the wheels stick out more, which seems like it's possible.

From searching, I've found that bolt-on spacers are better than slip-ons, and Project Kics are recomended. Here's what I can't seem to find: Are the studs on the car too long? Would the studs and nuts hit the wheel mounting surface? If so, how would I shorten them without throwing off the balance? Would I have a problem with rubbing if I went with the stock tire sizes (I have stock tems shocks/springs, and upgraded swaybars)? If so, which tire sizes wouldn't? Oh, and if someone could double-check my math, I'd appreciate that, too.

..and since many have intalled mkiv wheels with spacers on an mkiii I was hoping one of them would chime in and let me know if there was a problem with that specific combination and, if so, what they did to solve it. I'm trying to avoid getting is300/mkiv studs and slip-on spacers.