I hate my 145/80/13s with a passion. And seeing as how my front tyres have about 0.2mm left of tread from all the FWD drifting I do, I think it's time my car got some new shoes. And feet.

Wheels: Steel 14x6 sound good? I was looking at these: https://www.vwheritage.com/shop/1H0601027/steel-14x6-g60-lookalike-wheel-et45-4x100/

But I'm not sure what ET I'll need - will they fit?

Tyres: I hear the popular thing to do when looking at 14"s is go for 14x6 wheels and 185/50/14 tyres. However this site: http://tire-size-conversion.com/speedometer-calibration/ says 185/55/14s are closer to my current rolling radius. But then again, I don't know how "accurate" my current145/80/13s are in the first place. Should I get the 50s or the 55s?

Suspension: I'm currently on factory suspension but eventually plan to go either 40mm *OR* 60mm lower - I'll either find a kit with some progressive springs, dampers and top mounts - still shopping, recommendations are appreciated, but mainly wondering if the above wheel & tyre setup will fit 60mm nicely, without me having to roll arches or anything.

Brakes: Are G40 calipers a straight swap?

Also, I never understood why Offset is also called ET. Someone explain.

Edited 7 September, 201511 yr by Vio

I opted for the AP 60/50 suspension kit and I think it's perfect if your on a budget...firm but not back breaking like most cheap kits, it's quite a price gap to the next kits up. I found the ta technix absolutely dreadful and wouldn't reccommend it to anyone unless they are surrounded by well surfaced roads all the Time. If you hit a bump you know about it.

I also had 14 inch wheels which had 175/50r14 tyres on (90% certain anyway) and that was much the limit when I was lowered 60mm.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I read a few forums stating that the g40 carriers are different but the callipers can still be fitted to standard carriers then you could use vented discs but have to buy the thinner brake pads.

you need the vwII calipers along with the venter discs and matching pads

Ok brakes sound like way too much hassle given I've no actual performance mods as yet. I'll throw in some braided lines and wait to upgrade the actual brakes till I get an engine conversion or something.

I'd ideally like the car to sit at the same height all round for... unrelated reasons, but 60/50 isn't *that* bad I suppose. Had a look on ebay and they seem to start at about ~£230 from UK sellers, or I could buy em from Germany and have em posted for a total of ~£190. Makes perfect sense

For the tyres 185/50/14 is perfect for a mk2f. I've seen them with 185/55/14 tyres and they look awful! Just well too big and anything more than a 40mm drop and you'll have issues.

Offset you want to keep it around about standard which is ET38? The rear would cope with a bit less maybe upto an ET20 but the fronts you want to keep near enough to standard.

60mm drop shouldn't see you with any issues, you'll still have arch gap at the front the only thing you may notice is on full lock you might get the tyre rubbing on the inner wing with the 185s but it won't be anything to worry about. If you're on a budget try and buy the springs and shocks seperately. The TA springs are usually pretty good to get the height you want, then just buy a decent set of dampers instead of the rock solid TA ones. Remember also with a 60mm drop you want to look at getting the ARB blocks too.

Well I found some with ET38: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vw-Golf-Steel-Wheels-14-X-6-And-Et38-With-Studded-Snow-Tyres-185-65-14-/271978306379?hash=item3f532b9b4b

Not exactly fantastic condition for £90, plus the cost of buying 185/50/14 tyres, having them fitted and balanced etc. However there seem to be quite a lot of reasonably-priced ET45s, I was thinking buy a set of these and use some 7mm spacers? My only concern is how far the wheels are going to stick out, bearing in mind my trims are quite thick by themselves... I don't want to end up looking like this

You'll be nowhere near having your wheels sticking out. I use 25mm spacers on the back of my GT so the alloys are essentially ET13 and they are still in the arch.

There's nothing wrong with 13's, and it does make getting tyres a lot cheaper. Get some of the wider 5.5 inch width wheels (gt/coupe s steels, most of the alloys) and put decent tyres on and it'll grip fine.

A brace between the front ARB mounts helps a lot (often called a Ged bar), as does one between the bottom arms (eg weichers).

Don't worry too much about strut top braces or stiffening the back end.

If youre only going to do one thing, make it wider wheels and good tyres. My coupe s was on standard suspension and avons, it went round corners on its door handles, but it certainly went round them.

Disregard everything previously said relating to suspension, as I have discovered air rides. Will take some saving up, but I can live with factory suspension a bit longer.

In the meantime, I guess 13x5.5s is the way to go. Found some 6n2 steels, wondering if they're usable:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-POLO-MK5-6N2-HATCHBACK-13-X-5-STEEL-WHEEL-RIM-2000-2001-6N0-601-027-D-/331339285439?hash=item4d255c43bf

ET43, but some 5mm spacers can sort that out? ...and price+pnp for a set of 4 totals £67, tough to argue with.

If that's good, just a question of what tyres to get between 155/70 and 185/55. Recommendations?

I'd rather have coilovers than air ride but I suppose not everyone wants to use their car on track.

Wheels will be fine, me personally I'd use 5mm spacers up front and 30mm (bolt on hubcentric) spacers at the rear.

Tyres, 175/60/13 are a good size, standard G40 size and lots of makes to choose from. Even decent tyres won't break the bank in that size. I use Yokohama A539s in that size and even in the wet I'm yet to loose traction on the road under normal driving.

An air ride would be epic for the track, full height round corners then slam it for the straights I need to try this, Blyton 2016 lets goooooo

Wheels will be fine, me personally I'd use 5mm spacers up front and 30mm (bolt on hubcentric) spacers at the rear.

VW Heritage only goes up to 25mm and those are £95 a pair can I live with 5mm all round for the time being?

If you're staying standard-ish height, not a mad slam, 165/65/13 is perfect, nothing wrong with 175, 185's a bit overkill, I personally think Polo's start to feel heavy when the wheel gets too wide, so you lose the fun of driving a light, basic car. 6N steels should be fine, but I wouldn't go spending £60 on a set.

As I say, it's all in the tyres, no point buying cheapies when you can get premiums for under £40 in Polo sizes.

On my old squareback, I ran 175/50R13's on 13"BBS RAs and I loved the thing. I had absolute confidence in the car and the Yokohama A539s weren't too expensive. They were 5.5J but I cant remember the offset. They sat perfectly with just a little bit taken off the arch, but on a not rediculously low car they would be fine.

You can pick up Nankangs for £38 on mytyres but if you are keeping the standard height then they might look a bit lost in the arches.

yeah dont be paying lots for steelies , get down a local breakers or facebook/fre ads etc , people almost give them away with worn tyres

Dammit I already bought the wheels, and now everyone tells me not to Ah well only £67 for the lot, not a huge loss. Tyre-wise the tyre size guide on here suggests 175/60s rather than 175/50s though, and mytyres has Nankang 175/60s at like £30.

Because I'm almost set on having an air ride at some point in the car's lifetime I'm hesitant to touch the suspension up until then... I wouldn't mind throwing on some 40 or 60 springs in the meantime, but I assume I'd also need new shocks, new top mounts, that ged bar thing, a strut brace... there's no such thing as "cheap lows"

On my old squareback, I ran 175/50R13's on 13"BBS RAs and I loved the thing. I had absolute confidence in the car and the Yokohama A539s weren't too expensive. They were 5.5J but I cant remember the offset. They sat perfectly with just a little bit taken off the arch, but on a not rediculously low car they would be fine.

You can pick up Nankangs for £38 on mytyres but if you are keeping the standard height then they might look a bit lost in the arches.

You can, but why would you when there's plenty of better tyres within a few quid? The only good thing you can say about Nankangs is they're not as bad as they used to be.

Aaaah conflicting advice

The A539s are only £45 here which is much better than the £60+ I've been seeing on some other sites, I'd be happy to go with em tbh

I was only giving Vio options. I recommend the Yokos but if budget is the main focus then there are other options. I personally wouldn't run budget tyres on any of my cars but I know lots of people who do.

TBH I thought the Yokos would cost a bit more than £45. That's a lot of tyre for the money.

Ah right, just realised your looking at 175/50, that's why I say go with 165/65 unless it's going to be properly low.

Oops. Was meant to be looking at 175/60s, which I now see are indeed £60 each. Aight, 165/65s it is

Also wheels just arrived, less than 12 hours after I bought them! I'm impressed (and so is the cat apparently)

Edited 11 September, 201511 yr by Vio

Paint them green!!!......just throwing it out there.....

Paint them green!!!......just throwing it out there.....

wont show under the spinner caps

Green? White car, black trim, chrome badges, and green wheels? That's an odd colour scheme