[RLHarris]

Hello, just bough a 2011 Golf TDI, and liked the 5 door best with the six speed man. cool car.

I live in east central Indiana and have two preliminary questions, and then maybe a few others. Any help is greatly appreciated.

1. should I get a set of winter tires? Original on the car are 225/45 R17s. I'm a careful driver, and experienced with manual transmsns.

2. If I should get a set, what size to get? A guy at work has a set of steel wheels fm Tire Rack 5x112 with 205/60 15 Blizzaks mounted. Condition is fine, but will they fit properly? Tires are one year old and he had on a 1998 230 Benz, and wheels have wheel covers. I have no idea what off set means, and all this getting the tires/wheels right is new to me.

3. I also don't know if the 15s will work or if I need 16s. Tire rack shows that 195/65 will fit.

4. TPMS; I was told that the 2001 TDI does not have valve stem TPMS, but is in the ABS, so I don't need sensors in my wheels/tires. True?

5. Also, how do splash guards look on a black hatchback? Get or skip?

Thanks, and I appreciate your help!!
Robert.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Moved to mk6 forum, since there is a lot of info here.

1. I don't know but winter tires help immensely in winter. The all seasons are OK but winter tires rubber and tread patterns work better on snow and ice. Even though traction control helps you get going, tires help you stop, especially in the winter.

You can go as low as 15" wheels. Check the hub centerbore - it should be 57.1mm which is the standard VW size. This is the thing in the middle of the wheel that the center cap covers.

Offset is how far the wheel sticks out. If they are too far in they'll hit the brake caliper. If they're too far out they will fling mud everywhere. In both cases it messes with the suspension geometry. Wheel width also determines how far the wheel sticks out.

See this calculator to play with offset numbers. For 7" wide wheel, 50mm of offset is OK on your car. Any more and the wheel will start to stick out. http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/tire-wheel-gearing-calculator.htm

4. Look in the glove box, do you see a reset button? If so you have ABS TPMS. If your tire valve stems are stiff you have sensors.

welcometomyturbodies

 

[RLHarris]

thanks for the guidance and for running this site. I'm brand new to VW, and to these posted message boards, as you can tell. I'll try to figure out the tire calculator, and yes, I have a reset button in the glove box (along with AC vent for the glove box, so thoughtful). If the 205/60 15 Blzks have enough room and correct off set, can you think of any reason why those 5x112 would not work? The asking price is right so if they'll fit, I'd love to have them. Thanks again, Robert.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

The hub centerbore has to be the same. If they're too small forget it. If they're too big, you can use hubcentric spacer rings to fill the gap. 205/60/15 will fit but I don't know what offset or centerbore MB wheels are.