Help! - Very confused regarding wheels.

Hi all,

let me start by wishing all the members of this great forum, a great 2022.

Now my problem:

I'm going to get some money from an allowance I made a while ago and I'm going to spend a little on cosmetically modding my 1988 mk1 Cabriolet. I've been reading alot about widht, offset, etc… but the more I read, the more I get confused. I know the basics but I still have some doubts.

My car has 14" avus (snoflakes) with 6J width and an ET of 38. Now, I wanted to put on some BBS style wheels on 15" (like Japan Racings JR9, Ronal LS or even the classics ATS Cup).

I want the wheels to stay flush, and I have the black plastic GTI fender guards on my car but i'm very confused about the ET I can use to achieve this. I am also studying the possibility of lowering the car a little bit (let's say 40mm) front and rear. But all of this stuff mixing together makes me very confused about what I can and can't do. I just don't want to order some wheels and then they don't fit right and I lose my money… The use of spacers (washers) is out of question due to MOT in here.

Questions:

1) The offset, let's say ET20, is always the same, no matter what wheels I use? Example: If I install the ATS Cup 7J widht with an ET20, will they be as protruding as the Ronal LS with the 7J width with the same ET of 20?

2) If so, Is this ET20 safe to have the wheels flush and not protunding off of the fenders or should I bet on a higher offset?

3) The ATS cups are my current favourite ones, and I can get them very cheap which is also a good thing, however they're the ones with the 7J and ET20 and I'm afraid of them rubbing on my standard suspension setup. Has anyone here used this set on their cabriolet? I am also thinking about using 195/45 tires with them.

I leave a photo of my car right now. (Yes that top is going to be replaced too)



Any feedback would be great. Thanks in advance! 

Alloy Wheel and Tyre Fitment Calculator. Offset, Tyre Stretch and Speedo Error | Will They Fit
Have a look at this site basically tells you exactly what will happen. I presume from you comment about spacers in mot that your somewhere in Europe. What are the regulations on stretched rubber as this could help if lowering as well with a slightly protruding wheel


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wilko13 said

Alloy Wheel and Tyre Fitment Calculator. Offset, Tyre Stretch and Speedo Error | Will They Fit
Have a look at this site basically tells you exactly what will happen. I presume from you comment about spacers in mot that your somewhere in Europe. What are the regulations on stretched rubber as this could help if lowering as well with a slightly protruding wheel


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Hi wilko13, thanks for your reply. I am indeed in Europe, Portugal. I knew that site but wasn't interpreting the resulta well. Upon playing a bit with the definitions I came to the conclusion that 7J and a lower ET isn't probably a great idea so I should be sticking to 6J.

Don't know if it's easy to find 6J wheels in 15" and a maximum ET of 25. Or 7J with ET up to 35.

Anyone knows a combination of 15" that would work flawessly on an OEM suspension but also on a minor lowering without rubbing?

As yours does not have the bodykit some cabrios have i guess it can be treated as a tintop. So in the past i have run (on a tintop) 7 x 15  et 35 with 195/50 tyres with no issues but only lowered 20 or 25mm. The rear track is narrower on these and would possibly get away with et 10 or 15 as more clearance.

abfmk1 said

As yours does not have the bodykit some cabrios have i guess it can be treated as a tintop. So in the past i have run (on a tintop) 7 x 15  et 35 with 195/50 tyres with no issues but only lowered 20 or 25mm. The rear track is narrower on these and would possibly get away with et 10 or 15 as more clearance.

Thanks for your feedback, abfmk1 that's an option, yes.

But I'm starting to thinking in another path:

Can anyone show me how would some 14" 6,5J ET30 with low profile tires look on 185/45 tires? I'm afraid it makes the all setup seem too small, but at the same time I guess it would let me lower my car with a bigger margin.

Anyone?