# Wheel suggestions for TTS please.



## AUS_TTS (Jan 15, 2014)

Hi All,

I'm picking up my 2011 TTS Coupe this weekend which is Monza Silver and currently has stock 18's on it.

Would anyone like to make some suggestion on wheels. (Ie brand, size, offset and recommended tire size)

I want something black, light weight, not too expensive, ok for track work someday. Prefer 18's wide enough to run optimum track tires (265mm wide??). Just want something that looks good without pushing fitment boundaries and prefer something available on Tire Rack as everything seems to be too expensive in Aust these days. I've done some searches but all the variables just give me headache after a while!

Something around the price of Enkei, Oz, TSW etc etc. I like the look of wheels like the TSW Interlagos or similar.

Thanks for your help.


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## AUS_TTS (Jan 15, 2014)

*Here is a pic of the car if that helps*


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## racerxjin (Feb 13, 2012)

AUS_TTS said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm picking up my 2011 TTS Coupe this weekend which is Monza Silver and currently has stock 18's on it.
> 
> ...


Well I already went through wheel fitment issue on my Audi TT mk2. The main thing you have to worry about is the offset on the wheels.
Current OEM Wheels have offset of 52. Definitely 45+ will not fit on any TT with wide tires. You will have rubbing on the rear where the two pannels meet.
Unfortunityly that means you have to use 48 or greater offset and from what I found you have two choices. One BBS wheels BBS CH or CH-R which have offset of 50 and 48.
Two you can get Factory wheels and get it painted black. For me I bought OEM 19 inches and fitted them wiht toyo 19 255. It work great for me on the track. Just remember you wider the tires on your car the bigger offset you will need on your wheels.

This is a clip of my 19 inch with +45 offset rubbing with toyo 255 tires:
You will hear it on around 1:15 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTDayX4wGUs


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

racerxjin said:


> Well I already went through wheel fitment issue on my Audi TT mk2. The main thing you have to worry about is the offset on the wheels.
> Current OEM Wheels have offset of 52. Definitely 45+ will not fit on any TT with wide tires. You will have rubbing on the rear where the two pannels meet.
> Unfortunityly that means you have to use 48 or greater offset and from what I found you have two choices. One BBS wheels BBS CH or CH-R which have offset of 50 and 48.
> Two you can get Factory wheels and get it painted black. For me I bought OEM 19 inches and fitted them wiht toyo 19 255. It work great for me on the track. Just remember you wider the tires on your car the bigger offset you will need on your wheels.
> ...


You can fit a 19x9.5" et45 wheel with 255/35-19 tires if you trim the edges of the clips of the rear fenders. I had to trim those even with stock 19x9" et52 wheels with stock size tires.

I know some have had success with 275 width tires on 50-52 offset wheels (talk to Black Beauty on here).


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## Fined (Sep 3, 2013)

As far as I know.. the threads for MKII TT Fitment will apply to a TTS. I think there are several floating around on the net on the different forums. You'll be able to find wheel specs, installation notes (like what modifications were needed if any) and even pictures in the TT wheel fitment threads.. browsing those will likely be more efficient than getting info in a new thread like this one.


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## ABQautoxer (Jun 17, 2013)

I have two sets of Forgestar CF5 wheels. I really like them and recommend them but I prefer the F14 styling (got the wheels with the car, otherwise I would have ordered the F14s). Custom offsets so mine are 18x9 ET46. With 275/35/18 I do get some light rubbing on very large bump on the fenders in the rear, front's have zero issues. I think 265 would be ideal and enough of a change to reduce rubbing issues as the 275 Rivals run wide for a 275. Pricing is pretty tough to beat as well though there is up to a 6 week lead time on them.


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## AUS_TTS (Jan 15, 2014)

*Optimum size?*

Thanks for your suggestions. Is there an established optimum size for track wheels/tires on the cars. Mine will end up at around 260kw/350hp at the fly after stage 2+. With that amount of power and Quattro, at what stage is adding more width just adding more unnecessary weight? I assume with that relatively low amount of power grip becomes less of an issue at some stage. Is it 245,255, 265 or even 275? I will most like go 18inch and would be using semi slick R compounds on a track.


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## MaXius (May 20, 2009)

Some guys here in AU use spacers, but from what i've read, they're not road legal and could give Mr Plod something to complain about (if he notices).. in case you were thinking of using them to tweak your offset..


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## i0n (Oct 29, 2012)

Fined said:


> As far as I know.. the threads for MKII TT Fitment will apply to a TTS. I think there are several floating around on the net on the different forums. You'll be able to find wheel specs, installation notes (like what modifications were needed if any) and even pictures in the TT wheel fitment threads.. browsing those will likely be more efficient than getting info in a new thread like this one.


What he said.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...s-here-and-post-up-pictures&highlight=fitment

You might be interested in my setup:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...p-pictures&p=81838603&viewfull=1#post81838603


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## AUS_TTS (Jan 15, 2014)

i0n said:


> What he said.
> 
> http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...s-here-and-post-up-pictures&highlight=fitment
> 
> ...



iOn, I like your aggressive setup. Do you track your car? Do you think 275 wide is too much tire for a 350hp car for track work, taking weight and rotation etc into account?


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## i0n (Oct 29, 2012)

AUS_TTS said:


> iOn, I like your aggressive setup. Do you track your car? Do you think 275 wide is too much tire for a 350hp car for track work, taking weight and rotation etc into account?


I track and autocross my car, but I'm a novice relative to many of the other users here.

I don't think 275 is too wide, and if you tune your car to 350hp you might want something even wider. This setup was perfect for me, considering my current and planned power levels, in addition to the fact that I daily drive this setup in the summer.

Weight is an interesting story. Each of my wheels is ~11lbs lighter than OEM. The 275/35ZR18 Michelin Super Sport tires are actually the same weight as the 255/35ZR18 tires, and *lighter* than the 265/35ZR18 tires. They can also handle a higher load (1709lbs per tire, compared to 1609 and 1477 for the 265 and 255 tires). The 275's are also 1lb lighter than the OEM Toyo's. So, overall, my 18x10 275 wide setup is 12lbs lighter per wheel than OEM.


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## Brd.Prey (Oct 25, 2012)

I love the increased performance from my OZ Racing wheels! I dropped 6lbs per wheel! 19x8.5 stock tire size!


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## Pretarion (Jun 13, 2003)

Go for these...


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## AUS_TTS (Jan 15, 2014)

*Nice, what are they?*



Pretarion said:


> Go for these...


I like, what are they? Size & offset?


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## GaBoYnFla (Oct 2, 2005)

Pretarion said:


> Go for these...







What are these? Size? Offset? This is the one of the best wheels to fit the car I've seen...style and fit.....do change wheels just to change wheels unless they look right on the car.....


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## Brd.Prey (Oct 25, 2012)

If your not dropping serious weight your missing what an amazing difference dropping unsprung weight can do for you. I have rethought my whole approach to a BBK because of the gains in both handling and acceleration I got when I put those light weight wheels on!


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## GaBoYnFla (Oct 2, 2005)

Friend found them.....they are: RAYS Strahlen TE

http://rayswheels.com.au/wheels/index8056.html?d=61


Anyone know a US distributor?


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

Brd.Prey said:


> If your not dropping serious weight your missing what an amazing difference dropping unsprung weight can do for you. I have rethought my whole approach to a BBK because of the gains in both handling and acceleration I got when I put those light weight wheels on!


Meh, after crunching the numbers I'm not so sold on the extreme benefits of reduced unsprung weight. Seems more placebo to me given how small the gains are in theory.


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## GaBoYnFla (Oct 2, 2005)

Marty said:


> Meh, after crunching the numbers I'm not so sold on the extreme benefits of reduced unsprung weight. Seems more placebo to me given how small the gains are in theory.



In the racing world-yes....but on the street....makes little difference.....


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## Stevelev (Mar 4, 2004)

Having swapped wheels on 3 different cars where the weight savings was in excess of 10 lbs per corner each time, I can confirm that I notice the benefit in ride, handling and acceleration. One thing to pay close attention to is the tire weight - although Mich PSS tires are awesome, they are heavier than the contis I had previously and so the lighter wheels they're on now do not exhibit and better feel than the Neuspeeds I replaced.


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## AUS_TTS (Jan 15, 2014)

*Decision made!*

I ordered some black 19x9.5 VMR V701's yesterday in a 45 offset with 255x35x19 tyres. Pics will follow as soon as I have them on the car.

Thanks all for your help.


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## Brd.Prey (Oct 25, 2012)

Marty said:


> Meh, after crunching the numbers I'm not so sold on the extreme benefits of reduced unsprung weight. Seems more placebo to me given how small the gains are in theory.


Try putting something 6lbs per wheel lighter on your car then drive it! Tell me then what the calculator says! I clearly noticed a big difference.

The weight in itself is not as important as how far the change from the rotation point (axle). Thats why aluminum hats are not as big a change as the rotor section itself weighing less.


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

Brd.Prey said:


> Try putting something 6lbs per wheel lighter on your car then drive it! Tell me then what the calculator says! I clearly noticed a big difference.
> 
> The weight in itself is not as important as how far the change from the rotation point (axle). Thats why aluminum hats are not as big a change as the rotor section itself weighing less.


6 pounds rotating at the outer wheel circumference is equivalent to 12 pounds of static mass on the car (see the thread here for calculations: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...-Expensive&p=78485934&viewfull=1#post78485934 ). So removing 6 pounds from all 4 tires is equivalent to removing 48 pounds from the car. That translates to a roughly 1.5% increase in acceleration. Do you think you could repeatable detect that with your butt dyno in double blind testing?


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## Brd.Prey (Oct 25, 2012)

Marty said:


> 6 pounds rotating at the outer wheel circumference is equivalent to 12 pounds of static mass on the car (see the thread here for calculations: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...-Expensive&p=78485934&viewfull=1#post78485934 ). So removing 6 pounds from all 4 tires is equivalent to removing 48 pounds from the car. That translates to a roughly 1.5% increase in acceleration. Do you think you could repeatable detect that with your butt dyno in double blind testing?


 Have you ever put light weight wheels and tires on a car and then driven it? All I can speak for is my experience of swapping the wheels and tires. I noticeable felt the difference. The all around handling, acceleration, and braking sure seemed to be more responsive along with the wheels reaction to bumps. 

Just saying if your interested in performance as well as looks why not drop 48 pounds of your car during your wheel upgrade? That is more than a Titanium exhaust and cheaper!

To everyone their own.


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

Brd.Prey said:


> Have you ever put light weight wheels and tires on a car and then driven it? All I can speak for is my experience of swapping the wheels and tires. I noticeable felt the difference. The all around handling, acceleration, and braking sure seemed to be more responsive along with the wheels reaction to bumps.
> 
> Just saying if your interested in performance as well as looks why not drop 48 pounds of your car during your wheel upgrade? That is more than a Titanium exhaust and cheaper!
> 
> To everyone their own.


Agreed that it such a significant equivalent weight reduction is nice to have (every little bit helps). I'm just skeptical that you can actually feel it if someone swapped your wheels without you knowing it. I tend to think that if someone put heavier wheels on a car but told them they were lighter, they would report that they could feel the improvement.


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## Fined (Sep 3, 2013)

Those Rays TE-37 Strahlen are beautiful and look perfect on this car. I'd like to get a set... geez.


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## ABQautoxer (Jun 17, 2013)

Since you are considering semi slick tires, I do run Nitto NT01 tires for PCA events. The 275/35/18 on 18x9s ET46 worked well and I had no rubbing as they actually are slightly narrower than the Rivals. They wore pretty evenly considering the limited stock camber. I checked clearance and I think Anything from ET46-ET50 would work in an 18x9 with the 275s.


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