# My Mk5 GTI Borbet Type A Build



## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

Hey everyone,

I feel like this is something pretty important to me when it come to getting my GTI to stand out from all the rest so I want to try to get people on vortex involved, get some input and maybe learn a few things along the way. Enjoy!

I bought a Mk3 jetta that had a set of Borbet Type A replicas by ESM on it a couple of years ago. When I first saw those wheels on the car I fell in love and knew it was the perfect daily for me! The two years I owned that car I knew one day I wanted to be able to own a set of real Borbet Type A's. I ended up selling the Jetta with the wheels a few months ago to help buy a Mk5 09 Candy White GTI.

Since I bought my GTI I lowered it with H&R Ultra Low's and i've done a few other little things but since i lowered it I wanted a new set of wheels so bad. Finding a set of wheels I liked that you don't see very often on a Mk5 GTI was almost impossible! I randomly decided to google 18" Bortbet Type A's and after some searching what do you know, a guy in Lancaster County (Where I live) posted a brand new set up for sale a little while ago. The post showed a lot of interest but no resent activity for the past 6 months. I sent him a message to see if he still had them. He got back to me pretty quickly and said yes. Long story short a couple days later I bought them ! :laugh: 

So my "Wheel Build" begins!

Borbet Type A
18x8.5
et18
5x112 

One of have the wheels needs some work because it was dropped. I plan on giving it to a local shop to get that professionally taken care of.


On to the pictures....


Pictures of my old reps just for kicks: 

Rear


Front






Now for the REAL Borbet Type A's



This is where I assume the wheel hit when it fell out of the bottom of the box...



This is the damage on the dish, the owner of a local body shop/friend said that he will send this out to his wheel guy and he knows this can be fixed for sure...


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## PSU (May 15, 2004)

Good stuff man.

What color are you going with?

I live very close to Lancaster. :thumbup:


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

Thanks, as of now I don't plan on changing the color. I've been doing a lot of research on the 18x8.5 18et wheel so right now my number one priority is to get tires that will give me the stance I want. Seems like the 18et offset brings a challenge that I didn't see coming

This thread I found today on golfmkv.com helped though..

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158212


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## PSU (May 15, 2004)

Ouch. Somehow I missed that offset.

That's no good man.

My old wheels were 8.5" ET31 and they rubbed.

Even if you run 195s or 205s, you're going to need fender work.


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

*Live and Learn*



PSU said:


> Ouch. Somehow I missed that offset.
> 
> That's no good man.
> 
> ...



haha I was waiting for someone to say something like that, from what i've read it sounds like this is not a friendly offset. This is one of the things I learned AFTER the purchase, i'm going to do what I gotta do to pull these off...

Do you by any chance have pictures of your 8.5's?

*Edit: *I have my front fenders rolled already, I did that right after i put my coils on, hopefully that will help...


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## PSU (May 15, 2004)

Do you have a picture of the hub of the wheels?

Perhaps you could have them milled down.


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

PSU said:


> Do you have a picture of the hub of the wheels?


Quick cell phone pictures, I happened to have one of the wheels in my car..


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## PSU (May 15, 2004)

Darn.

Looks like there isn't much room there at all. 

My Rotiforms have all kinds of room to be milled down.


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

Front



Back



Front



Back


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## masterkdrifter (Dec 30, 2010)

ive always liked type a`s. but i could never afford them. what is the bolt pattern for those other rims in the back ground


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## Low Sugar (May 30, 2008)

Cool to see a nice wheel in a bigger size. Cant wait to see the finished product.


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

masterkdrifter said:


> ive always liked type a`s. but i could never afford them. what is the bolt pattern for those other rims in the back ground


The huffs are 5x112


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## veedublub (Aug 20, 2004)

You could mess with camber to get a little more room.


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

veedublub said:


> You could mess with camber to get a little more room.


yessir, I already plan on it :thumbup:


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## ninohale (Jun 9, 2010)

Always loved Type A's... In for more.


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

*Tires*

Falken 215 35 Tires. Just put two on to see what they would look like. Not sure if they are going to be my front of back wheels. Might buy different size tires for the other two wheels. 

Still need front camber kit and adjust ride height.


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## Lawn_Mower (Jul 15, 2008)

you might actually be better off with a 205/40, with camber you should be fine with that offset, the thing that makes it hard is that it's only an 8.5, if it was a 9 you could stretch the tire more for clearance. 

some camber plates and adjustment in the rear and you might be okay with the 215/35's.:thumbup:


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

Lawn_Mower said:


> you might actually be better off with a 205/40, with camber you should be fine with that offset, the thing that makes it hard is that it's only an 8.5, if it was a 9 you could stretch the tire more for clearance.
> 
> some camber plates and adjustment in the rear and you might be okay with the 215/35's.:thumbup:


 I only bought two 215/35 just to see how they fit. I personally don't think they look bad. I want to buy the chamber plates first before I buy anymore tires. I might end up buy two 205/40's and see how the fit.


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## Lawn_Mower (Jul 15, 2008)

pretty sure discount tire offers a 14 satisfaction guarantee, maybe look in to that, so you can test fit them. :beer:


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## syntax (Oct 26, 2010)

i love this. 90's theme on a newer car.


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

Months later, i finally put these wheels on. After finding front camber plates, hub rings and adjusting my coil overs a million times they are finally on! I will upload pictures sometime this week.


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## Lawn_Mower (Jul 15, 2008)

In for pics. :thumbup:


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

*How it sits right now....*


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## sikknasty28 (Aug 8, 2011)

looks so good man, also :thumbup: for being a fellow lancaster county resident


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## Thagodeus (Nov 14, 2010)

That looks great! i was looking into putting 17x7.5 type a's on my car. A friend of mine has them and i might try getting them to run them. Theyre et 14 though :banghead: so probably max camber all around


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## olson23849 (Sep 30, 2009)

Thagodeus said:


> That looks great! i was looking into putting 17x7.5 type a's on my car. A friend of mine has them and i might try getting them to run them. Theyre et 14 though :banghead: so probably max camber all around


Good luck, the 18's with et 18 rub a good amount for how low i was at first so i had to do a lot of height adjusting. Post some pictures on here if you end up doing it. MAX camber indeed! :beer:


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## IAMBRIANJOHANSEN (Oct 3, 2012)

DUDE. i love borbets they look sweet on the 5.


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