Looking for opinions on Rims for my TT

[JCrane82]

Hello everyone,

I am having some troubles finding/deciding on which 18" rims to put on my TT Quattro, and I am asking everyone's opinion to help me decide. I am looking for a tire/rim set that will be $850.00 or less (I know I am not giving you much to work with here). Tire Rack has a couple rims that I don't mind, but I am wonder if anyone else knows of any better deals, or if someone is trying to sell their set of 18's.

Here are the two rims on Tire Rack that I am considering:

Sport Edition KM11:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=KM8810035S&wheelMake=Sport+Edition&wheelModel=KM11&wheelFinish=Silver+Painted&showRear=no&autoMake=Audi&autoModel=TT+Roadster&autoYear=2003&autoModClar=Quattro&filterSize=18&filterFinish=All&filterSpecial=false&filterBrand=All&filterNew=All&sort=Price

Sport Tuning Glide:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=G188351005BS&wheelMake=Sport+Tuning&wheelModel=Glide&wheelFinish=Bright+Silver+Paint&showRear=no&autoMake=Audi&autoModel=TT+Roadster&autoYear=2003&autoModClar=Quattro&filterSize=18&filterFinish=All&filterSpecial=false&filterBrand=All&filterNew=All&sort=Price

Below I have attached the PDF files of how they would look on my car.

I have also been looking on Ebay, but I am not really sure I want to buy rims/tires from Ebay. I know Tire Rack is a reliable source, as I have already bought two tire/rim sets from them in the past.

I am leaning toward the KM11 because I like how clean it looks. I am not a flashy person and don't understand the new rim styles with fake rivots (screws) around the outside rim.

Please let me know your opinions, and feel free to suggest anything.

Thanks,
Jesse

[vrjetta98]

Glide I am a fan of a little bit thicker 5 spoke wheels always I don't know why but I am.

[lreven]

Jesse,

I too like the thicker spoked ones. I forget what we got for Lee's tt but they were closer to what came on it (stock 17")

I wonder how well the skinny ones will hold up on Waterloo/Cedar Falls streets?

[IaR32]

umm neither, wait a little longer so you can have more to spend. big 5 spokes or multi spokes look sexy on the tt

[JCrane82]

umm neither, wait a little longer so you can have more to spend. big 5 spokes or multi spokes look sexy on the tt

I wish I could spend a little more, but I am limited by the little lady. It doesn't matter how long I wait, my budget is not going to increase.

I agree, multi-spoke wheels look sweet on TT's. I attached a pic of my old TT with some 18" Borbets.

I really wish I would have kept the wheels when I sold the TT, but the buyer wanted them for obvious reasons (and I was able to sell it for more because of this).

What would be really sweet, is if someone was selling a set of nicer 18's on here. Anybody selling any rims?

[gtiupb2002]

go to http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/index.php?cPath=21 its where i got my RS4 rims they got good prices, about what those rims would cost ya. I got my Tires for $325 shipped from tire-easy.com. it will only be about 30-40 bucks more.

Ok so if you copy and paste that link in the address bar it brings up some other language so just go to google and type in tire-easy.com and it should take you right there.

[John2.0T]

This is a little bit of a skinnier 5-spoke but its one of my favorite designs... not sure if you are familiar with it.

Moda R6:

http://www.tirerack.com/images/wheels/moda/swap/moda_r6_ci3_l.jpg

[05GLISU]

Truthfully that color of blue would look sick with gunmetal wheels with a polished lip. Don't really know too much about Audi wheels but as far as style wise I think it would be hard to beat.

[turboA4]

i know they aren't 18's, but I will be selling my Fat Fives from my TT this spring,

not sure if this is what you are looking for, but they look great on TT's...and they are 17s

[SirRangeALot]

i know they aren't 18's, but I will be selling my Fat Fives from my TT this spring

Mmmmm....do it! I http://www.passatworld.com/smilies/heart.gif Fat 5's. You can't beat the OEM+ look. :tu:

[sic_A4]

Glide I am a fan of a little bit thicker 5 spoke wheels always I don't know why but I am.

Because thin 5 spokes leave too much void and negative space to show off the little stock rotors. Glides for sure.

[OrangeDUB]

I like the glide from the side view but not where the spokes meet the lip.

I always like to browse the 5x100 wheel forum on vortex to get ideas... the prices there are usually very fair and a surprising amount of people will ship. http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=803

[JCrane82]

Thanks everyone for your input. I am still unsure on what to get. I was leaning towards the Glide's from TireRack, but now they just moved up their price on the Kumho Ecsta AST from 66 a tire to 79 a tire. Now I am considering not going cheap on the tires (since it isn't much cheaper anyway), and possibly getting the Kumho Ecsta SPT. I am currently using AST's on my winter rims, but my old set of 18" Borbets has SPTs on them, so I know they are good.

What does everyone think a good, but reasonable tire is? I have always liked Kumhos, they have never done me wrong yet. My question is this: Do I need a W or Y rated tire? I really won't be road racing this car, and I know a 18" H rated tire will more than likely handle better than a 17" W rated tire (of the same quality brand). This may seem like a silly question to some of you, but I am just debating on whether tires should be a place to cut corners.

I checked on the VWvortex forums, and I didn't really see anything special yet.

I really don't have to get new rims yet, I can wait til Spring. Feel free to keep giving suggestions, I will appreciate it.

Thanks,
Jesse

[JCrane82]

Well......I did some searching on the VWvortex forum and found these wheels in Milwaukee:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4215164

I plan on picking these up this Saturday for $525. Compared to what people are selling these for on the forum, it seems like a good deal.

Next question now is what tires should I run with them? I went to tire-easy.com like gtiupb2002 suggested and see about 8 tires under 70 bucks each. Only problem is that I have never heard of any of these tire brands except for Kumho. Does anyone have any experience with Linglong, Diamondback, Sunny, Wanli, Runway, or Triangle tires?

Thanks for the help,
Jesse

[OrangeDUB]

For tires you get what you pay for for the most part. Tires for 18's you should expect to spend around 5-600... Most of the people I know run falkens or dunlops...

[Kelso]

mmmmm sweet....get some potenza's for em. im bias towards them, but they kick ass. :tu:

[iowaboostin]

Sport Edition wheels are crap. Won't you feel silly once you bend the crap out of it on the first pothole you hit? Good choice going with a different wheel.

[OrangeDUB]

Hey I just want to throw it out there that I have been browsing the 5x100 classifieds a LOT lately and I have been seeign a lot of 18" stock wheels with newish tires... and it seems there are quite a few people that are broke/jobless, etc and want to sell stuff cheap to get instant $$$...

Want me to look out for anything particular for you?

[JCrane82]

Hey I just want to throw it out there that I have been browsing the 5x100 classifieds a LOT lately and I have been seeign a lot of 18" stock wheels with newish tires... and it seems there are quite a few people that are broke/jobless, etc and want to sell stuff cheap to get instant $$$...

Want me to look out for anything particular for you?

Well I was planning on picking up those Aristos in Milwaukee this Saturday. I haven't paid for anything yet, so technically I could still keep looking, just in case. Let me know if you find anything for a good deal.

Thanks,
Jesse

[JCrane82]

Well.....the Aristos in Milwaukee was a no go. I got there and noticed that one wheel had a bent inside lip. I walked since I don't want to pay to fix wheels. I was a little upset that the guy selling the wheels didn't "notice" the bent wheel before. I drove 4 hours to pick these things up and came back empty-handed. So I am still in the market for wheels.

TurboA4, What were you looking to get for your fat fives? And do they come with tires? Also, what is the condition?

[turboA4]

TurboA4, What were you looking to get for your fat fives? And do they come with tires? Also, what is the condition?

that blows about the aristos man!

and about my wheels, i am not 100% sure that I am gunna sell them, because then that means I have to buy another set ;)

but chances are pretty good i will be selling them. I would like to get $600 out of them. the wheels themselves are pretty much perfect and they have tires on them, i believe they are dunlops and have one full summer of driving on them.


let me know if you are interested, so i can take some pics for you

[OrangeDUB]

Yeah that does really suck about the aristos :(

[Randerson07]

I like the KM11s

[JCrane82]

go to http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/index.php?cPath=21 its where i got my RS4 rims they got good prices, about what those rims would cost ya. I got my Tires for $325 shipped from tire-easy.com. it will only be about 30-40 bucks more.

Ok so if you copy and paste that link in the address bar it brings up some other language so just go to google and type in tire-easy.com and it should take you right there.

This place does have really good prices. Only question is....what is the quality like? Can you comment on your wheels GTIUPB2002?

I think I would go with these:

http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=166

Whats everyone think of this option?

Thanks,
Jesse

[OrangeDUB]

Those look ok but they might be kinda cheap... what is your budget with and without tires?

[JCrane82]

My original budget was around 800 bucks with tires. I am finding that I am not going to be able to get to that price unless i get some cheap wheels. I was willing to spend $525 on used Aristos, so I would say my budget is $550 on new wheels, and less on used. You think those replicas are cheap? I wonder if anyone has had any experience with that company.

I may also be giving up on trying to find wheels on the vortex forum because I really don't feel comfortable giving someone a wire transfer and depending on them to ship wheels. There aren't many people selling wheels/tires in the midwest on that forum. But then again, I do have some time before summer....so I can be patient.

[OrangeDUB]

I don't knwo I think you aren't going to find a good quality set of aftermartket wheels under a grand so you might want to just stick to oem ones... You might be able to find a set of BBS RC's (oem 18") for around $800 with good rubber...

[JCrane82]

OK, I think I have a plan on what I will do. I like the MK5 R32 replicas from Power Wheel Pro, but I am waiting to hear back from gtiupb2002 on the quality of the RS4 wheels he had bought from there.

I emailed the company to get some more information from them, and they also said they will have the MK4 R32 Aristo wheels available in March. Only question is: which wheels should I get? MK5 R32 or MK4 R32?

MK5 R32:
http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=166

MK4 R32:
http://www.powerwheelspro.com/shop/images/09052008527.jpg

Let me know which one you like better. I am currently leaning toward the MK5 R32 wheels.

Thanks,
Jesse

[turboA4]

hmmm

I personally like the mk4's better, I was actually looking for a set myself for the TT, but they are a little played out

The mk5's would be more unique for sure

[gtiupb2002]

hmmm

I personally like the mk4's better, I was actually looking for a set myself for the TT, but they are a little played out

The mk5's would be more unique for sure

agreed! :tu:

[lreven]

I like them both! (Better than what I have on the wife's tt)

[mshimon]

Def. the Mk5's look snappier.

[sic_A4]

These are new. No one will have them.


http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn13/seansmiddy/londrina_black_rims.jpg



I like em'.

[JCrane82]

I agree. I like those TSW's.......but, I just ordered a set of the MK5 R32 wheels yesterday. I am really excited to get them so I can have some nice wheels on the TT. I just need to pick out some tires now. I am thinking of getting some SPT Kumhos since I have used them before and they aren't super spendy.

I do have another question though......on Tire-Easy.com they sell Nexen tires. Has anyone ever heard of Nexen or used them before?

Jesse

[gtiupb2002]

I just ordered a set of the MK5 R32 wheels yesterday

I do have another question though......on Tire-Easy.com they sell Nexen tires. Has anyone ever heard of Nexen or used them before?

Jesse

Nice choice on the rims:tu:, as for your question.....idk

[JCrane82]

My wheels came today.....after I ordered them on Wednesday!!! Wow was that fast shipping. Attached is a quick pic of them. I will update with a pic of them after I get them installed on the car. I also ordered my tires today. I ordered some Kumho ASX's from tires-easy.com. I have run these tires before on my old car and were satisfied with them. I also plan on running these wheels/tires year round, so an all-season tire will be needed.

The wheels were shipped in good boxes with plenty of foam wrapped around them. Quality seems to be very good, but time will tell on how these will hold up.

Jesse

[gtiupb2002]

Rims Looked good, yeah they do have fast shipping and great cs. Im hoping sometime in the future to get some rims for the a3 and ill def be getting some from them again.

[lreven]

Jesse,

Congrats on the rims...very nice selection. I thought you were going to be like me and kick this around for ever and then decide not to do anything!

My wife always gets a kick out of the people that can't believe she drives a tt roadster in the winter as they don't seem to realize there are winter tires/all wheel, etc.

You ever get odd questions from others about running a roadster in the winter too?

(It could also be the big cheezy smile :D she has on her face when she's driving it!)

Loras