15" wheels in ITB

[itb76]

Has anyone gone to 15" wheels on an ITB car and noticed an advantage over 14", on a car where 14" is the stock size? A search really didn't come up with anything, and I am in need of new wheels.

Your comments please!

[Knestis]

I think Beran was on 15s at mid-O. I walked up late and missed the conversation about how he felt about them.

K

[RacerBill]

I have 15"s on my ITB car (because that's what the spec line call for). The hardest part of 15 inch wheels in ITB is trying to find a reasonable weight at a reasonable price in 6 inch width (I know that's subjective, but....). Now, go up to 6.5 inch, and there are a billion, well, maybe just a million, of them.

[924Guy]

'sall I can and do run, stock size...

[BruceG]

Great question, Lenny. I've wondered the same thing. I've got 14's on my ITB Mustang. One advantage appears to be more tire selections on the 15's.

Hope you find out more.

Best Regards,

Bruce

[924Guy]

Great question, Lenny. I've wondered the same thing. I've got 14's on my ITB Mustang. One advantage appears to be more tire selections on the 15's.

Hope you find out more.

Best Regards,

Bruce

Have you caught on to the 14" 924 wheel upgrade for the ITB Mustangs?? Just have to hog out the hub centers to fit on the fronts, but the bolt pattern's correct. And the 14x6" 8-spoke 924 rims are common, reasonably light, and not popular...

[BruceG]

Cool..thanks Vaughan!

[Beran]

Yes I run both 14" and 15". I will mount different sizes to see what I get best results with. I ran the 15" rims with 225/45/15 Hoosiers at Mid- Ohio for the first day then went to the 14" for the second day. The 15" were better since the overall height is very close but the sidewall is much shorter on the 15" then the 14". Last year at the ARRC I ran 225/50/15 which is even taller. I had good results with that combination.

Bill hit the nail on the head. Good 15" rims with the correct width are expensive. They are easy to find. Just pick the phone up and call tire rack since you will NOT find them on the web site.
Just weighed them all this week and the 15" rims that I have weigh 20lbs less than the 14"....... Note to self, just use the 15" from now on.

While we are on the topic... I noticed an MK2 Golf that was running 13" rims at Mid-Ohio last weekend. At the time I did not think about it but now someone else mentioned that no MK2's came with 13" rims and that person should not have been able to run them. Although I think it might be a disadvantage to run the 13" ones.

Any thoughts on the R6 versus the A6 Hoosier compound? I have only run the R6. Vaughan - what did you run at Mid-Ohio?

[924Guy]

I've run the A6's at home (Waterford), but ran the R's at Mid-O... inadvertently got a perfect opportunity to benchmark the A's vs. the R's at last year's ARRC when we ended up with an A6 on the LF, R's the rest of the way around! Can only blame the tire guy, not to mention ourselves for not catching that! grrr...

Anyway, yes, those A's really are quick at the get-go, but do fade a good bit after a little while - how long depending on where you're running. I figured they're really suck at Mid-O, at the IT-Fest, with such long races - I prefer my car to be at its best at the end of the race, when the driver's at his worst!!! ;) You could probably do OK to qualify on the A's anywhere. I do notice them falling off in the last few laps of a 15-minute sprint at Waterford, our usual race length, though Waterford is admittedly hard on tires, never any cool-down time mid-lap. The added cool-down time might help them at a larger track for maybe a 10-lapper, but I still wouldn't bother with them for anything longer.

Then there's the question of wear rates; they seem to only wear slightly quicker than the R's at Waterford... getting 3 weekends there (12 heat cycles) seems to be a dicey proposition with A's, more readily achievable with R's.

Can't really compare speed definitively, as I haven't been pushing them all that hard at Waterford this year since Doug dropped off the ITB map... :(

[itb76]

...One advantage appears to be more tire selections on the 15's...

That's ironic, more tire selections but you can't find wheels. I'll take a serious look at 15s, the sidewall on my 205/55-14s looks ridiculously tall and I can't see where that extra sidewall helps.

Thanks for the feedback.


... I noticed an MK2 Golf that was running 13" rims at Mid-Ohio last weekend...

I'm surprised they cleared the brakes.

[Knestis]

The ITCS lists 13s for the Golf II so if there's an issue, it's there. Remember that they only have to have come on ANY of the models/trim levels included in the spec line. Anyone see evidence one way or the other...?

K

[Bill Miller]

The ITCS lists 13s for the Golf II so if there's an issue, it's there. Remember that they only have to have come on ANY of the models/trim levels included in the spec line. Anyone see evidence one way or the other...?

K

I'm pretty sure the '85 base Golf came w/ 13" wheels, and only the GTI's came w/ 14" wheels. I know the 13" and 14" have been listed on the Mk II 8v ITB spec line for years. I'm not sure when the 13's went away.

[Dave Zaslow]

Yes they really used 13" wheels. E**a lists 5.5 x 13" wheels over a number of years.

DZ

[shwah]

I would be surprised if less than 50% of the A2 Golfs delivered were not on 13" wheels. The only ones that were not were GTI and Golf GT trim levels.

[Beran]

It is easy to find 15" rims that will fit. They tend to be expensive. If you need specs just email me and I'll look them up for you. I purchased them from tire rack last year.
You do end up with more tire options when you go to the 15's.

You guys are right. The 13's are listed....... I am not sure how they fit with the calipers. Hmmm I wonder how many tire sizes are avaible maybe I'll have to try a set ;-)

[shwah]

The A3 Golf never came with 13s, because they don't fit over the 10.1" brakes. This is why the 16V Scirocco and 16V Jetta with the same brakes cannot use 13s either. IMO go with what you can set up lighter. The wheels you and Aaron had are super sweet in that department, but the 14s that Kirk and Mike had (the ones you put on your old car) are no slouch on weight either.

Our concern with the 13" wheel setup was whether tire wear would be too much with a shorter tire running longer races. It turns out to work well, as we used the same 4 Hoosiers all weekend at the ITFest.

[rsportvolvo]

Back to the 15" wheel question. Who are the usual suspects for sourcing 6Jx15 wheels for ITB cars? I would like a lighter wheel with a slightly different offset (@ ET10). Right now I only know of Compomotive and their wheels are heavy (cast rally wheels). I spoke with John Slagle at BBS and they offer custom 15" wheels, but I never called him about pricing. I'm going to see about Panasports this week.

Anyone find a good supplier of affordable 6Jx15 wheels?

[Beran]

I purchased them from tire rack last year.... SSR's
They do NOT list them on the web site. You need to speak to a person on the phone who is familiar with the type of racing we do. You will need a spacer.
I will be ordering another set within the next month or two.
If you run into a problem I can get you the exact order I placed last year.
Beran

[RacerBowie]

I purchased them from tire rack last year.... SSR's
They do NOT list them on the web site. You need to speak to a person on the phone who is familiar with the type of racing we do. You will need a spacer.
I will be ordering another set within the next month or two.
If you run into a problem I can get you the exact order I placed last year.
Beran

A good person to talk to is Joe at ext 361. He races a Spec E30 with NASA, but don't hold it against him! He took good care of me when I had to order 19 Koseis a couple of weeks ago. He seemed very knowledgeable about their system and I didn't get the hemming and hawing I get from some people there. Plus as a racer he won't give you a ration of crap about ordering a size that most folks don't want.

[chewy8000]

Hey Beran,

If you can get me that exact info from your order from last year ie (sizing, ET, hubcentric rings, etc...) would appreciate it. I called the rack and backed outa my order after speaking with a guy who had no idea what I was talking about. he was trying to sell me some other brand designed for a nissan sentra at 14lbs. a peice?:shrug:

[Beran]

Below is my order:
The rims are still available... and they are avaible for the same price as last year. $297 each.

They are SSR's Type C
15" x 6"
4x100 bolt patern
Offset is ET 38mm (A wheels offset is the distance from the centre of the wheel to the face of the bolting plate.)
9 lbs each
You will need to purchase hubcentric spacers which TireRack does not sell. You should also have converted over to wheel studs and lug nugs instead of the factory lug bolts.



Order Number: 4723347 Order Date: 09/14/07 Via: UPS GROUND From: Delaware
Qty
Size and Description
Availability
Price Each
Total Price
4 Required centering ringIn StockN/CN/C
4 Ssr type c/c-rs pcd 100 cap +In StockN/CN/C
20 Required lugbolt for vehicleIn StockN/CN/C
4 Retaining clip for al-p ring +In StockN/CN/C
4 15x6 SSR Type C AnthraciteIn Stock $297.00 $1,188.00




Some products above selected for the following vehicle(s):
Vehicle: 97 Volkswagen Golf GTi VR6
Vehicle: 98 Acura Integra GS

Shipping:$27.14
Tax:$.00
Excise Tax:$.00
State Disposal Fund Fee:$.00
Order Total Including Shipping:$1,215.14

[Beran]

I guess you can just look at what 15"x6" rims that are available with the 4x100 bolt pattern.... Then look for an offset between 20 & 38mm. I would not go more than 38 beacuse you end up with too large a spacer. Less than 20 could cause clearance problems.
My setup works well but the rims are on the expensive side.

Here is more detail regarding the rim then you probably need:
WHEEL SPECIFICATION SCREEN
INQUIRY CODE
Item Description
C5638BA 15X6 4-100 ET38 SSR TYPE C
FULL ANTHRACITE PAINT(CB 72.2)
Vendor Part #.... C5638BA 72.2 Wheel Offset.. ET 38 MM BS 4.92 in
Vendor Whl Model. SSR TYPE-C Actual Whl Wgt. 8.8 Lbs 4.00 Kilos
Part # On Wheel.. TYP-C/4H100/15X16+38 Wheel Lip Size. 33.5 X-factor
Part # Location.. STICKER Cap Attachment. SNAP-IN COMPCAPLG
Country Of Origin JP Logo Diameter.. 60mm
Japan Wheel Finish... Anthracite Painted
Importer......... The Tire Rack Finish Process. Anthracite w/Clear
Contact Phone.... 8004450179 S Dial Finish Warranty 1 Year
Certifications... JWL, SAE, VIA Finish Testing.
Construction Type 1pc. Semi-Solid Forged
Material Alloy... A357 MHD/A6061-T6 Ring Fixed Bore 72.2mm RING SYSTEM
Structural Wrnty. None Lug Seat Type.. 60° Opening 27.6
Heat Treated..... Yes (T6) Bolt Extension. 20.6mm B12 (B21 Ref.)
Load Rating...... 1521 Lbs 691.4 Kilo Flange Type.... FULL WITH VOIDS
Tested Tire Dia.. Inches Flange Diameter 140mm
# Of Cycles Rad.. Lat Pressure Sensor All Systems OK
Mounting System.. Standard Mount Valve Hole Size 11.3mm

[shwah]

They are less than 9lb. Nice wheels. Similar to the price it would take to get that weight in a 13" wheel - see Catch22's honda for reference.

[chewy8000]

You will need to purchase hubcentric spacers which TireRack does not sell.

Thanks for all the info Beran! You have any good vendors for alluminum hubcentric rings? I purchases some though Jegs awhile back and they were still a little off. They only offered 2 sizes around the VW fitment and the right size was in between. I had to machine the closer fitting set a little to fit and they only come in plastic. PITA!

[shwah]

You can often get them from Discount Tire.