Scirocco Register

Hi all. Ive just bought some 15x7 rh classics with an et of 25. Im looking to lower the car 40mm front and 30mm rear. Any ideas if a 195/50/15 will rub?

Thanks

as per fb - 45 series.

Check my A16 GTX thread out re the Mim's I had in same size a few years back.

sravenhill wrote:Hi all. Ive just bought some 15x7 rh classics with an et of 25. Im looking to lower the car 40mm front and 30mm rear. Any ideas if a 195/50/15 will rub?

Thanks

I have 15X7 et:25 wheels with 195 50 15s tires (US spelling) on lowered H&R sport springs and they fit fine on my MK2 16V. I have standard struts in the front with Bilstein sport shock inserts and Bilstein sport shocks in the rear. I don't have any rubbing unless I hit a large bump at speed and then the tires just kiss the front inner arch but it is just a kiss. All the springs do not make contact with any of the tires under all conditions. The ride is very nice. Look at the picture to see if this is the ride height you are thinking. It has been so long and I don't recall how much lower my MK2 is from stock. I know others like to drive much lower.

4x100 ET25 wheels are BMW E30 wheel sizes but with a 15 x7 are a good compromise on the Scirocco as the offset gives better clearance on the front and rear struts (and the front calipers) but do not foul the wheelarch lips .

sabre0699 wrote:4x100 ET25 wheels are BMW E30 wheel sizes but with a 15 x7 are a good compromise on the Scirocco as the offset gives better clearance on the front and rear struts (and the front calipers) but do not foul the wheelarch lips .

Sabre,

I completely agree with you that the 15 x7 ET:25 is a good wheel size and I think it is one of the best choices. My wheels are BMW Motorspot competition spec wheels and the fit is perfect even if they don't have the 80's BBS look. When it comes to tires the game changes a bit. Some tires are standard in the bead area and others have a cantilever that widens the tire. My tires are competition tires and the manufacturer extended the sidewall out to increase the contact patch. As a result my 195 50 15s tires do kiss the inner liner on the GTX version of the Scirocco but only under rare situations. If I increased my spring rate I am sure the tire would not kiss. When fitting it is important to look at the tire design and not just the size. You can find tires that measure greater and lesser than the spec molded on the side wall. You can increase camber to help with the clearance but be careful.



You can see the cantilever that widens the tire. Same wheels on my MK1:

On this car the struts are not standard OEM parts. You can see the fit and the tire cantilever:

i used 45 profile for the above reasons, definately does not rub on 45`s
you really dont want to be messing with your camber angle as its a pain to set back up once moved, plus due to the steering geometry any movements to the camber will put the tracking out.
if you are going to move the camber first whittle a piece of wood to fit snug between the inner part of the rim and the suspension leg on either side then if your adjustments all go to pot you can insert the wood and readjust the camber back to original position.

james butler wrote:i used 45 profile for the above reasons, definately does not rub on 45`s
you really dont want to be messing with your camber angle as its a pain to set back up once moved, plus due to the steering geometry any movements to the camber will put the tracking out.
if you are going to move the camber first whittle a piece of wood to fit snug between the inner part of the rim and the suspension leg on either side then if your adjustments all go to pot you can insert the wood and readjust the camber back to original position.

Some more things to think about when selecting tires.
Factory tire dia. is 22.7" and a 195 50 15 is near perfect at 22.7" in most cases. The availability of 195 50 15 is good.

With 195 45s you will see more torque with the gearing change of shorter overall dia of about 21.8". You will lower your car and have less side wall. You will possibly bend wheels more often with shorter side wall. The availability of 195 45 15 is not as good as 195 50 15.

I do have several sets of low profile tires and I will agree that there are advantages to smaller dia. and lowering correctly. You do have to consider your oil pan too....

Doug T wrote:

james butler wrote:i used 45 profile for the above reasons, definately does not rub on 45`s
you really dont want to be messing with your camber angle as its a pain to set back up once moved, plus due to the steering geometry any movements to the camber will put the tracking out.
if you are going to move the camber first whittle a piece of wood to fit snug between the inner part of the rim and the suspension leg on either side then if your adjustments all go to pot you can insert the wood and readjust the camber back to original position.

Some more things to think about when selecting tires.
Factory tire dia. is 22.7" and a 195 50 15 is near perfect at 22.7" in most cases. The availability of 195 50 15 is good.

With 195 45s you will see more torque with the gearing change of shorter overall dia of about 21.8". You will lower your car and have less side wall. You will possibly bend wheels more often with shorter side wall. The availability of 195 45 15 is not as good as 195 50 15.

I do have several sets of low profile tires and I will agree that there are advantages to smaller dia. and lowering correctly. You do have to consider your oil pan too....

with this in mind what about 185/50/15?
will a little stretch help prevent rubbing?

james butler wrote: with this in mind what about 185/50/15?
will a little stretch help prevent rubbing?

I am not sure about the UK but we in the US don't have many tires if any in that size.

https://www.jaxtyres.com.au/tyres/sizes ... /185-50r15
not the cheapest but are available, only on request as they are a rare size