18" Detroit Alloys

[Golf Houso]

Howdy Folks,

I understand the Denver 17" are made by BBS, any ideas who makes the 18" Detroit Alloys

Cheers

VW, just like the Denver's. They're made under lisence by BBS in countries like the Czech Republic, not actually by BBS in Germany.

[GHW]

just out of curiosity, why does it matter who make them?

[nikamichi]

just out of curiosity, why does it matter who make them?

I was just surprised when I saw a BBS stamp on a 17" Denver wheel, and it got me thinking

[stevie_t]

18" Detroit's look awesome.
Everyone is raving on about them.
In the pics Ive seen, they definitely add a more aggressive stance to the GTI.

Does anyone know though, if the 18's affect performance and ride/handling?
Any with a few cents worth regarding 17 vs 18 regarding performance/etc?

Thanks guys. Appreciate it

[Maverick]

18" Detroit's look awesome.
Everyone is raving on about them.
In the pics Ive seen, they definitely add a more aggressive stance to the GTI.

Does anyone know though, if the 18's affect performance and ride/handling?
Any with a few cents worth regarding 17 vs 18 regarding performance/etc?

Thanks guys. Appreciate it

18's are a few seconds slower on the Golf around a track (back to back comparison by Evo mag in the UK plus a number of other reviews have shown this). The 17's offer better performance, tyres are cheaper, the ride is better, you have better protection against rim damage from potholes or kerbs because of the taller sidewall. Really the only reason to go 18's are looks.

[moniker]

Yeah I think it was Top Gear Australia that reviewed a Commodore or similar, and they said (I think it was 19's compared to 17's) that on that particular car it really upset the handling - probably not as dramatic in the Golf case, but basically it was a lot of sacrifice just for looks...

[Golf Houso]

18's are a few seconds slower on the Golf around a track (back to back comparison by Evo mag in the UK plus a number of other reviews have shown this). The 17's offer better performance, tyres are cheaper, the ride is better, you have better protection against rim damage from potholes or kerbs because of the taller sidewall. Really the only reason to go 18's are looks.

you forgot brake clearance mav, definately something to consider when people go for a brake upgrade down the track...

[stevie_t]

18's are a few seconds slower on the Golf around a track (back to back comparison by Evo mag in the UK plus a number of other reviews have shown this). The 17's offer better performance, tyres are cheaper, the ride is better, you have better protection against rim damage from potholes or kerbs because of the taller sidewall. Really the only reason to go 18's are looks.

Unbelievable guys! Never would have thought!
Guess it goes back to the "All show or All go"

Prior to this i was convinced with getting 18's, thinking they were better in most ways... Good points presented.

Thanks Mav

[pulse]

i test drove a gti with stock 17s and today picked up my gti with 18 detroits - the ride on the 17s will def be better but the gti is such a well refined car that with the 18s the ride is still amazing.

and they look hot which is what sold them

[Maverick]

Unbelievable guys! Never would have thought!
Guess it goes back to the "All show or All go"

Prior to this i was convinced with getting 18's, thinking they were better in most ways... Good points presented.

Thanks Mav

For the record I have R32 18" wheels fitted to my GTI and would probably do it again but I didn't fit them for performance reasons. And different surfaces/conditions might give better results although I doubt the 18" times would pass the 17".

Here's the excerpt from the EVO Tyre Test.

"Is Bigger Better?

The GTI has always felt pretty good on 18" wheels and slightly lower profile tyres so day one of the test provided a big surprise. For familarisation laps of the wet circuit Bovingdon used the GTI Anniversary on it's standard 18" rims to which Bridgestone had fitted RE050-As. On the fractionally higher profiled 17" tyres, Bovingdon noted significantly more turn in bite and the Golf was around 2.5seconds a lap faster....

Lap times 17"

1. Goodyear F1 Assym 58.06 seconds
.........
10. Yokohama 65.56 seconds"

So 2.5 seconds is a decent improvement considering a lap is 60 seconds.