An 18 inch Work Of Art...

[RedRobin 1]

....Thanks to Oli and much encouragement from you guys (LeMan and emcee in particular - ), my Throbbin' Red one is now booted with brand new 18s with Bridgestones.

First of all I can understand why Oli went for the BBS CH 19s - They look ultra smart (smucking fart) on his Diamond Black pearlescent. Personally I don't think many wheel manufacturers get even close to BBS. He was kind enough to allow me a little drive locally and I didn't find that I felt I was on 19s at all. He's got a great little family business in Bognor - I could tell that they were all a happy crew and Oli clearly sets very high standards. I look forward to seeing him and his GTI at a Brighton meet in due course.

Early impressions of my 18s? - It's still early - I drove just over 100 miles home on them and being new tyres I didn't throw the car into corners much. I thought at first that I heard more road noise but now I don't think so. The ride is NOT harsher than on 17s but the whole feel is a tad stiffer (I think!) and, if so, that's a positive thing.

I didn't need to swop to 18s - The 17s are a truly great wheel that suit the GTI....But the 18s suit it even better! The 18s look 'duller' and less shiny but they really are a work of art and look much better on the Tornado Red car than I anticipated. I have absolutely no regrets about originally ordering 17s and it costing more to change later and I'm glad of the experience of kerbing (once and only slight).

For anyone who is stretching their budget for the Mk5 GTI, there's no shame in having 17s and it may even make more sense to the individual. We've already discussed 17s versus 18s to death and the fact is that it's great that we have such choices.

I'll add pics and further comments to this thread in due course.

[stevie_d 0]

Get some pics up mate and change your sig

Good to see that the 18's don't affect the ride quality!

[RedRobin 1]

I've only driven A and M roads so far but no noticeable loss of ride quality so far. I plan to wash the car and take some pics as soon as weather will allow.

[martialyang 0]

Congrats on the 18s Red

I personally went for the 17s, mainly due to budget constraints. I don't regret that decision but would like to swap them for the 18s in the not-too-distant future. I really like the dual-tone effect

Were there any complications with making the switch? Or is it really a simple case of off with the 17s and on with the 18s?

[AndyWoodall 0]

Congrats, I will be speccing 18's when my time comes. Look forward to the pictures!

[RedRobin 1]

A simple case of off and on, including the McGards. The dual tone effect is superb - Even better in the flesh.

[Oli 0]

Glad you are happy mate, she looked good going up the road! And you got to drive a golf with 17s, 18s and 19s back to back. I must agree there was little or no difference between yours on 17s and mine on 19s!

[Oli 0]

I must also say Robins exhuast sounds nice, lovely pop coming down through the box.

[stevie_d 0]

[ QUOTE ]

A simple case of off and on, including the McGards. The dual tone effect is superb - Even better in the flesh.

[/ QUOTE ]

I noticed this! The one I saw in the stealers looked amazing, yet when I look at 18's in pictures they look good, but not much better than the 17's imho! Very strange...

[Oli 0]

The 18s did look so much better than the 17s, very subtle.

[encee 0]

Nice one Red, sorted at last eh ?

Pleased for you mate, and I`m sure they`ll compliment the Eibachs and Konis, not to mention the aesthetic improvement.

Enjoy !

[oxfordlad 0]

Congrats, glad your happy with them.

I agree with you totally about 18"s being a great optional extra for the car and the way you put it is spot. Shame they are not standard.

Pics would be great!

[RedRobin 1]

Cheers, encee .

There were a couple of instances where I dashed through and 'overtook' obviously much slower cars on roundabouts on my way home and I felt that grip was excellent - Not a hint of any pre-ESP slip. Of course, I'm on different tyres too (extremely new).

I got lucky by being able to do the deal with Oli - No way could I have possibly got newer 18s and tyres except by full price from the stealer.

[encee 0]

[ QUOTE ]

Cheers, encee .

There were a couple of instances where I dashed through and 'overtook' obviously much slower cars on roundabouts on my way home and I felt that grip was excellent - Not a hint of any pre-ESP slip. Of course, I'm on different tyres too (extremely new).

I got lucky by being able to do the deal with Oli - No way could I have possibly got newer 18s and tyres except by full price from the stealer.

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely Red, I think you`ve "dropped-on" there, with Oli`s, and, as you say, there won`t be another set around, used, (if you can call them that), with as few miles as yours on, for quite a while, if at all.

[stevie_d 0]

What tyres have you got on those bad boys?

[RedRobin 1]

encee - Plus the sweet thing is that Oli did well too and made a nice profit and contribution to his BBS CH 19s. It's what's called 'Win-Win' .

stevie - Bridgestone Potenza 'Y' rating. I'll have to check out more detail tomorrow. RE050 I think.

[Tarmac_Terrorist 0]

I'm sure they will really enhance the overall look together with the other mods you have...more purposeful look etc.

I hope mine come fitted with Bridgestones or Michelins.

Look forward to seeing some photo's in due course.

[stevie_d 0]

Potenza's have a good rep, decent tyre imho.

[RedRobin 1]

T_T - Bridgestones or Continentals are the most common IIRC. Not so many Michelins on UK cars.

"More purposeful" is an excellent choice of words - Says it in a nutshell .

[Muppetboy 1]

Robin, really pleased for you mate! But get some fecking pictures up!!!!

[RedRobin 1]

....But it's fecking dark! And she's tucked up in her garage. And she's dirty. Hopefully tomorrow .

[lottiefox 21]

Pictures Robin, pictures.....

Chuffed you like them!!

[RedRobin 1]

Hi Lottie . Everyone is a picture junkie on this site!! But you are all quite right....Every picture tells a story.

[Oli 0]

Ive seen it!!!! No need for pictures! HA HA.

The tyres are Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, they were so new they still ahd the colour bandings on them.1 I drove from Euro Imports to my work(5 miles or so) and swopped them straight over - Lucky Red.

Still Ive got a 300 mile drive to look forward to in the morning, shell be well run in by the time I return - Loving my new wheels, and pleased Red is too.

[Muppetboy 1]

Oli you