Rim upgrade

Hello trying to see if there is any benefit to get aftermarket Rims.
Would having Lighter rims make any difference?
Handling? MPG? Performance?

Thank you

I think you'd be splitting hairs to be honest. The "cheapest" route would likely be the standard A5 low level 15" steel wheels, they'll net the highest MPGs due to the lowest rolling resistance AND they'll last the longest.

you won't notice anything.

I went from 15" steel rims on my Skoda to crap aftermarket Al rims...after a year, they were scrapped because they failed structurally.

Unless, you have money for TÜV certified rims...keep stock ones because they are bomb
proof.

My last rims are from OZ Racing/MSW 85...pretty good and durable for my rally chassis...still holding its shape even with some passion with kerbs.

Larger wheel size/lower profile can and will help performance, but will hurt MPG. Cheap fix for my tuned PD as it helped limit wheel spin in first and second.

Unless you are making a drastic change it won't be noticeable. I went from stock 15" alloy on my Golf to 18" BBS. It was harder to get consistent mpg with my mix of city and highway. Stop and go ate up fuel faster. But within 1-3 mpg on highway trips.

Now handling was drastic - got rid of tall squishy sidewalls and it the body roll was much less noticeable. Felt like a whole different car. Not as good as full suspension setup, but bang for buck was very high.

As far as trying to find lighter wheels same size or slightly smaller/larger - a head wind or small traffic change will make bigger change.

Jason

I'm with oilhammer on this one. (Actually I almost always am as his advice is quite sound.) VW's factory alloy rims are very good, will last longer than you care to have them, and to get lighter wheels, you'll either be buying junk or will have to pay far more than is reasonable for a street car.

Remember that with wheels, just like most other engineering exercises, you can choose any 2 of the following: strong, light, cheap.

Cheers,

PH

"Would having Lighter rims make any difference?"

IMO, an emphatic yes! Personally I think the sweet spot is 16" rims.
Both rims and tires are lighter than the "performance" bigger wheels.


Unsprung weight makes a big difference in driveability and response. My current combo, check my sig, comes in at ~35# @.
I lucked out and found my XXIOs on Craigslist for $200.

I lust after a set of Enkei RPF1 racing rims at 13.7# @, but circa $900,
is pricey.


For a factory rim, dig around for a set of Le Castellets, they run about

20#s. Tirerack has good data, including weights of tires and rims.




My $.02,
R+2