Alright guys, firstly just want to say how nice all of you seem on here! Only been on for about a week and I'm getting compliments on my car, even though it is 100% standard! Everybody seems friendly and happy to help, cheers guys.

I've got a 2000 polo(E) and want to get rid of the 'trims' and fit some alloys, most probably going to just get some standard polo alloys to fit it.

Few Questions:

-What size should I be looking at? Wanting something a bit bigger than I have at the moment and I'm not really planning on lowering the car.

-I assume they are 4bolt wheels aye?

-What widths should I look at? My wheels at the moment look so skinny!

-Roughly how much am I looking at spending? Don't mind a bit of curbing etc!

-Will they expose or cover my rusty drum brakes?

Thanks in advance guys, loads of questions I know, but I'm on a budget!

Cheers!

Just realised this needs to be in the wheels section, really would appreciate it if it could be moved!

My apologies.

Cheers!

hey mate, loving the olop, what name is that green called? Saw a 6n2 parked near where I live in that green, really like it

hey mate, loving the olop, what name is that green called? Saw a 6n2 parked near where I live in that green, really like it

I believe it is called 'Salsa Green', I love the colour too!

Cheers.

hey mate, loving the olop, what name is that green called? Saw a 6n2 parked near where I live in that green, really like it

I believe it is called 'Salsa Green', I love the colour too!

Cheers.

hi mate, my car is the same colour as that, i just posted the same question as you. i needs alloys, I'm thinkin green and black, what are you thinkin of getting on yours?

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hey mate, loving the olop, what name is that green called? Saw a 6n2 parked near where I live in that green, really like it

I believe it is called 'Salsa Green', I love the colour too!

Cheers.

hi mate, my car is the same colour as that, i just posted the same question as you. i needs alloys, I'm thinkin green and black, what are you thinkin of getting on yours?

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Hey up.

I am probably going to look for some regular VW alloys for mine, if I find anything else on the cheap I will take them! I think black would look a treat, possibly with green rim tape, not too sure at the moment.

Just waiting for wheel sizing and tyre sizes that will fit the polo properly without any problems, if you get an answer before I do can you please post it up here?

Thanks!

if your not lowering, youd probably want 15's or 16's, the pcd is 4x100, and vw centre bore is 57.1mm, however if you found wheels with a bigger centre bore you could use spiggot rings etc, however youd be ok with vw wheels. depends what your lookin to spend on wheels tbh! you could get a set of rims from anything between £50 and £1500 lol.

Standard polo SE alloys are 14" by 6j and should be fitted with 185/55 tyres. They are 4x100 fitment and et38 iirc. I run 185/60 s on mine with lowering and i have no problems.

Of course fitting alloys will expose your drums, but if you paint them black with some hammerite or similar it'll hide them and the rust nicely. On the plus side you can paint your front calipers as they'll now show through!

Mine cost me £100 second hand, they should have been £150 but one of the tyres was knackered and there was a ding in one rim (easily fixed by hammer)

Edited 13 May, 201016 yr by dirt_monkey

Cheers for the replies guys!

I'll look into painting my drums then!

Can somebody please explain the tyre/bolt/wheel dimensions? I'm thinking 15" would be good? Are all 4 bolt wheels the same bolt spacing or not?

This is my first car, I've come from mountain bikes so the difference in measurements is amazing!

Thanks again, really helpful.

Ok so say a tyre size was 195/50 R15:

195 is the tread width in mm

50 is the side wall height as a percentage of the tread width (referred to as profile)

R15 is the rim size in inches

There are many different stud diameters out there, 4 stud VW use 4x100 wheels, most french cars are 4x108

You also need to consider the spigot size, for VW this is 57.1mm (this is the protruding bit of the hub the wheel sits on)

the se wheels are et43, i have a set in the garage which are sandblasted and clearly says it lol.

you get a few varietys of 4 stud, youd need 4x100. running 195/50's would put your speedo out i think as would be a bigger circumferance!

Ok so say a tyre size was 195/50 R15:

195 is the tread width in mm

50 is the side wall height as a percentage of the tread width (referred to as profile)

R15 is the rim size in inches

There are many different stud diameters out there, 4 stud VW use 4x100 wheels, most french cars are 4x108

You also need to consider the spigot size, for VW this is 57.1mm (this is the protruding bit of the hub the wheel sits on)

That is spot on mate.

Any reccomendations?

I was going to try my sisters saxo wheels which are a bit bigger than mine, obviously they won't fit though!

As for the spigot size, as long as it is 57.1mm it will fit right?

I've read a few things about something getting in the way of the brakes? Anything I need to look out for?

Cheers, its been a great help, most appreciated.

Yep or if its bigger than 57.1 you can get spigot rings which reduce the bore. 195/50 15s should be ok as its less than a 3% diameter change and your speedo over reads anyway, only worry about things catching on brakes if you're fitting really small wheels or massive brakes!

the se wheels are et43, i have a set in the garage which are sandblasted and clearly says it lol.

I sit corrected! Was a while ago i furbed mine!

yeah meant to say about the 50 profiles, speedos are ambitious haha

Plus 195/50/15 is one of the cheapest sizes to buy tyres in!

Thanks for all the help guys, I'm going to keep my eyes out for a good buy once I've paid my tax at the end of the month and refer back to this topic.

Really appreciated! This is a top forum with an obvious amount of knowledge.

Thanks again.

MEng in motorsport engineering FTW!

ahhh so thats why u see shops sellin 15's on 50's instead of 45's like they should be, cheapskates hhaa