Golf gti wheels. are they worth anything!

looking at trading them to a mag shop or would TM be a better place to sell them!

if they sell you will get more from a sale on here than you would trading them in

TM I would have thought would be the place. Be wary about what you replace them with the suspension is highly tuned for their weight etc, its easy to spoil the handling. Also, go for low road noise tyres as the wrong ones can make the Golf really noisy on course chip.

Are they 17's or 18's! You can get a GTI with either from memory.

Hi Jazz, they are 17s, so I should be telling the wheel man he needs to weigh them! or will he know the stats!

I am not really an aftermarket wheel person so others would likely be able to tell you more. I suspect some mag wheel outfits may be a bit iffy so proceed with caution. Bare in mind this is just what I have noticed driving some that have been monkeyed with so there may be ways around this etc.

I know its your car and personal choice but if it were me if I really wanted to change the wheels I would just grab some factory 18's. I would also suggest you look at whats on the A3's in case that is to your taste as those will likely suit perfectly as well.

Yes - I agree. People buy mags for looks, and browsing the online sellers, few actually list wheel weight.One of my car models, people buy flash shiney looking mags, with no consideration for the fact that the OEMs only weigh 4.5kg.It can make a huge difference to how they drive, especially on NZ's bumpy roads.

I agree mm12345, BTW, if it was a Suzuki Swift I would say go for gold and buy some wheels for the looks. Its just with the Golf GTI a lot of the cars appeal is the supurb finely balanced handling and it would be a shame to ruin that.

(not to mention possibly dangerous as they are properly quick cars)

the reason. the original mags are not great cond, I made a deal with the car dealer to have them replaced as I dont trust the tyres and wheels are rougher than I expected, im not after some flashy ones just better condition and good tyres. thinking about it now I guess they are only worth scrap prices with curbing on them so maybe better to trade. I will ask the wheel guys to find some as similar to weight and type already on it but with new tyres

O.K. with that in mind,
Heres what I would do. I definitely would NOT go with any aftermarket wheels. Not only do you risk the handling as explained but you potentially kill some of the resale appeal of the car.

I would suggest you go and see a wheel restoration place and see if they are fixable and at what cost. If they are fixible just ask the dealer if they would mind covering that and some tires. (which should be cheaper for the dealer and better for you)

Otherwise, you can always buy some new or used genuine wheels, again just ask the dealer to pay or at least credit what they were going to pay.

Again, remember to take care with tyres, I would go with something with asymmetric tread and a small block size. They don't necessarily have to be super expensive and super expensive does not always equal quiet.

Its totally worth the effort getting this wheel/tyre business sorted properly as it can potentially make a huge difference to your enjoyment of the vehicle.

Best of luck!

BTW, in terms of function 17's are ideal for NZ roads in terms of handling, comfort and practicality and you will be amazed at what a good wheel restorer can do. I have seen some really badly curbed wheels returned "as new".

send them to rimrite in palmerston north.

Cool thanks Jazz ill look into a restorer and see what happens

You can get the factory rims fixed up, most restoration places to a pretty good job. One really good place is Arrow Wheels up in Auckland. Alternatively there are such things called light weight rims. They aren't rare and are actually very common and pretty much most major brands have light weight wheels in their model range. Talk to a good tyre shop for good advice ie Manukau Auto & Tyre Centre, MagWarehouse, Hyper etc. Its good to stay with well known brands eg Advanti, Enkei, DTM, Konig, Lenso, Koya etc. Also if you want to lower your car without any of the negative side effects associated with it eg harsh ride etc then get H&R gear. Take a ride in any car with even just H&R springs and take a ride in one with factory suspension, the ride comfort will be just the same but handling will be better.

I would say that for any car with fairly sporty intentions (including a Swift )- Manufactures spend a lot of time sorting out the suspension, wheels and tyre packages on cars where the consumer is likely to notice.

Yeah, there's a massive difference in wheel weights.On the Golf GTI's though, I had a quick google, and on older models on 15x7's, BBS wheels were only 13.2 lbs.Yet on models they're selling now, with 18's, some trim options in the US have wheels which weigh 30 pounds each (not including tyre BTW).That's blimmin' crazy - I really doubt the steel rims on my old Safari weigh that much.Would be interesting to see what wheel weights for NZ sold models are - our roads are pretty uniformly bumpy/stuffed.As for light-weight aftermarket mags, yes plenty of manufacturers seem to offer "light-weight" product lines, but I haven't found any local site that actually lists rim weights!A true lightweight wheel and tyre combo can be lifted with your little finger.I know from driving many MX5s that almost all aftermarket wheels are worse then OEM - and you can feel it instantly.So you get new wheels, nek minut you want new springs and shocks, and (if you're lucky) all to get back to where you were in the first place.

Yeah, there's a massive difference in wheel weights.On the Golf GTI's though, I had a quick google, and on older models on 15x7's, BBS wheels were only 13.2 lbs.Yet on models they're selling now, with 18's, some trim options in the US have wheels which weigh 30 pounds each (not including tyre BTW).That's blimmin' crazy - I really doubt the steel rims on my old Safari weigh that much.Would be interesting to see what wheel weights for NZ sold models are - our roads are pretty uniformly bumpy/stuffed.As for light-weight aftermarket mags, yes plenty of manufacturers seem to offer "light-weight" product lines, but I haven't found any local site that actually lists rim weights!A true lightweight wheel and tyre combo can be lifted with your little finger.I know from driving many MX5s that almost all aftermarket wheels are worse then OEM - and you can feel it instantly.So you get new wheels, nek minut you want new springs and shocks, and (if you're lucky) all to get back to where you were in the first place, except with a lighter wallet.

Golf gti wheels. are they worth anything!

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