Sportline Alloy Wheels

[Danish_David_T5]

Hi Everyone, I have a VW California T5.1 MY2015. It has standard alloys 17x7.0J ET55 and 235/55R17 tyres.I have bought some genuine VW Sportline wheels 18x8.0J ET53 and intend to fit 255/45R18 tyres. When I test fitted the rims (without tyres) on the front axle, the outside edge of the brake calliper just touches the inside of the spokes on the wheel. In order to fit, it will need a spacer and longer bolts. Wheel I’ve plugged the data into online offset checkers and included a 5mm spacer, it looks like my wheels will be poking out approx 20mm and sticking in (towards suspension strut) 5mm.
Has anybody encountered this same problem? Does the above increase in width cause any issues with wheel arch or MOT ? What was the best solution?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Danish_David_T5]

Wheel pics

 

[colintfcolintf]

i have the same wheels, with spacers.
i have the recommended 18" tyre sizes (cant remember if 245 or 255 off top of head, but think 245)
no problems with MOT

 

[Danish_David_T5]

i have the same wheels, with spacers.
i have the recommended 18" tyre sizes (cant remember if 245 or 255 off top of head, but think 245)
no problems with MOT

Wow. Thanks for the quick reply. Do you recall what size spacers you fitted? I want to go as small as I can, say 3 or 5mm. Also, where did you get them to be sure they were load tested? Did you need longer wheel bolts too?

 

[Danish_David_T5]

This is what an offset calc shows

 

[colintfcolintf]

255/18's fitted on these wheels by previous owner, so dont know spacer size well enough to recommend (i just went out in the dark to check tyre size)

 

[Danish_David_T5]

255/18's fitted on these wheels by previous owner, so dont know spacer size well enough to recommend (i just went out in the dark to check tyre size)

Appreciated. Sorry it’s a bit early for all this.

 

[colintfcolintf]

mine is also lowered by 30mm, again by previous owner
no wheel arch / tyre problems experienced

 

[Danish_David_T5]

mine is also lowered by 30mm, again by previous owner
no wheel arch / tyre problems experienced

Great. Thanks very much for the help and information. If anyone has any more info on best spacer sizes and sources would also appreciate those. Thank you

 

[Danish_David_T5]

mine is also lowered by 30mm, again by previous owner
no wheel arch / tyre problems experienced

Also, did it make any big impact on your insurance ?

 

[colintfcolintf]

Also, did it make any big impact on your insurance ?

they were a dealer fit option i believe - so no impact, and the supplying dealer did the 30mm drop as well (also an option at time of ordering new, but this was done soon after previous owner had the Cali from new)

 

[Danish_David_T5]

they were a dealer fit option i believe - so no impact

Thanks

 

[andyinluton]

they were a dealer fit option i believe - so no impact, and the supplying dealer did the 30mm drop as well (also an option at time of ordering new, but this was done soon after previous owner had the Cali from new)

Sorry to be pedantic but it matters when insurance is involved.

Those wheels were not a dealer fit option on bigger engined vans for anything newer than a T5 , in fact they were listed as not being suitable due to the clash with the brakes. The spacers were not a vw option either.

 

[colintfcolintf]

Sorry to be pedantic but it matters when insurance is involved.

Those wheels were not a dealer fit option on bigger engined vans for anything newer than a T5 , in fact they were listed as not being suitable due to the clash with the brakes. The spacers were not a vw option either.

thankyou for the education, i was unaware of that

 

[Danish_David_T5]

Sorry to be pedantic but it matters when insurance is involved.

Those wheels were not a dealer fit option on bigger engined vans for anything newer than a T5 , in fact they were listed as not being suitable due to the clash with the brakes. The spacers were not a vw option either.

 

[Danish_David_T5]

So, back to my question:
Has anybody encountered this same problem? Does the above increase in width cause any issues with wheel arch or MOT ? What was the best solution?

 

[Danish_David_T5]

Sorry to be pedantic but it matters when insurance is involved.

Those wheels were not a dealer fit option on bigger engined vans for anything newer than a T5 , in fact they were listed as not being suitable due to the clash with the brakes. The spacers were not a vw option either.

Hi, Andyinluton, what’s the “list” you’re referring to please. The one that lists these wheels as unsuitable ?

 

[mattpartridge]

Wheel pics

View attachment 131090

View attachment 131091

View attachment 131092

Hi, I have those exact wheels on my T5.1 180 SE. When I put them on all was fine, after a service and new front brake pads, we then had the same problem as you. The garage explained that it was due to the new pads being 5mm wider, pushing the caliper against the wheel. Result was I had to get spacers, think I got 15mm on the front and had 20mm on the back. I went with the H&R spacers which were fitted by CRS in Cannock, and are TUV approved. I am happy with the change of appearance of the van as I felt the wheels were inset in the arches too much with both these wheels and the wheels the van had from the factory. I did speak to the insurer and they were happy with the spacers because the wheels were genuine VW Sportline, and because the tyre size (245 width I think) was a standard VW option. Matt

 

[Danish_David_T5]

Hi, I have those exact wheels on my T5.1 180 SE. When I put them on all was fine, after a service and new front brake pads, we then had the same problem as you. The garage explained that it was due to the new pads being 5mm wider, pushing the caliper against the wheel. Result was I had to get spacers, think I got 15mm on the front and had 20mm on the back. I went with the H&R spacers which were fitted by CRS in Cannock, and are TUV approved. I am happy with the change of appearance of the van as I felt the wheels were inset in the arches too much with both these wheels and the wheels the van had from the factory. I did speak to the insurer and they were happy with the spacers because the wheels were genuine VW Sportline, and because the tyre size (245 width I think) was a standard VW option. Matt

Thanks Matt, that’s a really helpful reply thanks. I was worried I’d made a BIG mistake buying these Sportline wheels. I like to keep things as the manufacturer intended where possible, except when an obvious improvement. So, I’m not a big fan of spacers but I have had them on a previous car as a specified option.
Does your van drive OK with the spacers and wheels or does it impact the steering and/or handling. Thanks, David

 

[Danish_David_T5]

Thanks Matt, that’s a really helpful reply thanks. I was worried I’d made a BIG mistake buying these Sportline wheels. I like to keep things as the manufacturer intended where possible, except when an obvious improvement. So, I’m not a big fan of spacers but I have had them on a previous car as a specified option.
Does your van drive OK with the spacers and wheels or does it impact the steering and/or handling. Thanks, David

Hi, I have those exact wheels on my T5.1 180 SE. When I put them on all was fine, after a service and new front brake pads, we then had the same problem as you. The garage explained that it was due to the new pads being 5mm wider, pushing the caliper against the wheel. Result was I had to get spacers, think I got 15mm on the front and had 20mm on the back. I went with the H&R spacers which were fitted by CRS in Cannock, and are TUV approved. I am happy with the change of appearance of the van as I felt the wheels were inset in the arches too much with both these wheels and the wheels the van had from the factory. I did speak to the insurer and they were happy with the spacers because the wheels were genuine VW Sportline, and because the tyre size (245 width I think) was a standard VW option. Matt

Bit I don’t understand is why changing your pads would affect the clearance. I thought the calipers would be static in relation to the wheels and only the pistons would be moved to a deeper position with the new pads. I may be missing something here which may matter as I could end up going too small with the spacers. I’ll take a look at H&R website to see what I can discover.

 

[larrylamb]

Hi, Andyinluton, what’s the “list” you’re referring to please. The one that lists these wheels as unsuitable ?

Basically, these Sportline alloys are for the T5 not the T5.1 180 like yours due to bigger brakes. The T5.1 Sportline Alloy is different.

 

[mattpartridge]

Bit I don’t understand is why changing your pads would affect the clearance. I thought the calipers would be static in relation to the wheels and only the pistons would be moved to a deeper position with the new pads. I may be missing something here which may matter as I could end up going too small with the spacers. I’ll take a look at H&R website to see what I can discover.

I didn’t fully get it, but it may be the Brembo front discs and pads I went for as better and cheaper than the OEM ones.

 

[mattpartridge]

Thanks Matt, that’s a really helpful reply thanks. I was worried I’d made a BIG mistake buying these Sportline wheels. I like to keep things as the manufacturer intended where possible, except when an obvious improvement. So, I’m not a big fan of spacers but I have had them on a previous car as a specified option.
Does your van drive OK with the spacers and wheels or does it impact the steering and/or handling. Thanks, David

Van drives fine, no problems with ride or steering

 

[Danish_David_T5]

Van drives fine, no problems with ride or steering

Thanks - that helps

 

[TripleBee]

This rims are certainly not original, as you stated in your first post, mentioning they are genuine.
Secondly, original 18" rims have ET50.
And then concerning spacers. Something I personally would never do. Most will not have problems, but the wider the spacers, the more the bearings suffer. Just a few mm won't do much harm, but you can sometimes see spacers of a few cm.

And on a personal note, if I would be in the market of buying any vehicle, and I see non original rims and/or spacers, it would be a big no for me.

But, everyone can make out for themselves what they want to do with the vehicle.