mk1 rim fitting

[syncro]

the gti got 175/70 r13's and required lower stress bar because of the extra grip allowed by the wider tyres (according to the design papers) and hence higher forces on the chassis.

The GTI never had a lower stress bar.

[rayray086]

I suppose the only way to solve the rubbing issues is to roll/pull the guards out more or change your tyres.

Your current 185/60 tyres on 14" wheels are 16mm taller in diameter compared with the stock-specced 155/75 tyres on 13" wheels. Fitting tyres with a lower aspect ratio would get it closer to the stock figure, and may minimise your rubbing issue. For example, 185/55 tyres on your 14" wheels will be 2mm shorter than the stock-specced wheels, and it'll be closer to the stock rolling diameter, meaning less speedo/odometer variation. The gap between wheel and fender would be increased too (though only by 9mm, seeing as the wheel is mounted in the middle).

Another solution would be to fit on slightly narrower tyres, e.g. 175/60 or 165/65 on your 14x6 (which will be respectively 4mm and 8mm taller than the stock-specced rolling diameter, so no issues with speedo readings). It'll decrease the amount of tyre bolge on the edges, which may help with clearance. I don't know how bad it is to stretch tyres, but it seems to be really popular with the VW scene in the US and Europe? It allows the user to fit the widest possible wheel on, and by fitting as narrow a tyre as they can, they can drop it real low without (too much) rubbing issues... I suppose this picture illustrates this concept quite well:



Personally, I think it's insane, but people do it

By the way, this was the website I used for finding the rolling diameter measurements: http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp

[syncro]

Golf 2 wheels (14x6) with 185/60x14 tyres will fit without any problems, but the Golf 3 wheels of the same size with more inset have been known to rub on the struts of some Mk 1s.

[gldgti]

The GTI never had a lower stress bar.

your right..... it had something though... some kind of chassis stiffening mechanism..... possible some plate fillets welded inside the engine bay somewhere or something.... i dunno.. something

[gldgti]

sorry, meant to say that ET40 is about the most offset you can have on a mk1 without spacers (with a 6" wheel) for the reason synchro mentioned about rubbing on the struts.... hence the standard ET38 mk2 wheels are great, and my late model wheels at ET35 even better.

[NiGhtCRaWlEr]

sorry, meant to say that ET40 is about the most offset you can have on a mk1 without spacers (with a 6" wheel) for the reason synchro mentioned about rubbing on the struts.... hence the standard ET38 mk2 wheels are great, and my late model wheels at ET35 even better.

most of the UK (and Euro) 'Dub' scene will utilise wheels with an offset of between 35 to 40 as standard, but with the newer 'Cleaned' Euro look, there seems to be an influx of smaller rims with spacers being used .. such as porche teledials etc theres a few of the guys over her that have ET's at about 25 or so but the wheel rim is possibly only a 12 or 13 inch diameter

[gldgti]

sorry about that.... your right syncro, however heres the little peice of information that i was thinking about, for everyones general interest...

"The bottom of the two front struts were then linked together with an anti roll bar to increase stability under hard cornering. At the rear of the car the trailing arm suspension arrangement was also supplemented by the addition of a further anti roll bar. Once more the damping rate was changed and the springs were shortened. To complete the suspension transformation, the car was equipped with 175 section tyres on 5½-inch rims in place of the standard 155 tyres and 5-inch rims. According to measurements taken by Volkswagen engineers at the time, these modifications served to cut the maximum roll angle whilst cornering from 6.5°, to under 4.5°. At the same time the maximum sustainable cornering-force attainable at a steady speed was raised from 0.73g to an impressive 0.81g" (Motor 1976 p 7).

[syncro]

Sounds like a German translation. Who was the journalist?

[gldgti]

not sure of the auhor of that part, but the document it came from is a PhD thesis.

[syncro]

your right..... it had something though... some kind of chassis stiffening mechanism..... possible some plate fillets welded inside the engine bay somewhere or something.... i dunno.. something

You might be thinking of a swaybar.