[Waste]

So I come again randomly with car questions.
We got the '09 Jetta around the middle of last year and sometime between then and now two of the wheels ended up getting bent. (Aluminum wheels + Michigan roads = bent wheels.)
I need to find the strongest wheels possible with the most style possible.
Was browsing Enkei and OZ but don't know if there is really anything better out there as I've never really bought aftermarket wheels before.

Prefer styles like so:

http://www.enkei.com/lusso.html
http://www.enkei.com/fujin.html
http://www.ozracing.com/car_wheels_var/OZ%...0HLT/25494.aspx
http://www.ozracing.com/car_wheels_var/OZ%...20GT/25499.aspx

EDIT: Forgot to add, the Jetta has a 5 lug setup.

This post has been edited by Waste on Wednesday, Jan 25 2012, 02:40

[Lurch]

Give me some more info. wheel size, tire size, lug pattern, model of Jetta, car's weight, what your willing to spend, if you're willing to change wheel and tire sizes if that's what it comes down to, etc.

Being VW, I'd look at BBS since there's sure to be a good selection for that lug pattern. Something forged is probably the way to go if you keep bending cast stuff, but they're really pricey. A used set would probably be the way to go.

Mark V Jetta on 18" Forged 3 piece RS's.



Course, those are super RS's and a new set cost about 5k. About $400 more than a set of LM's.

This post has been edited by Lurch on Wednesday, Jan 25 2012, 04:14

[Waste]

'09 Jetta SE, ~3000lb Curb weight (1360kg just in case.), current tire size is 205/55R16, lug pattern I know next to nothing about but this is what I found searching for it: "5 lug 4.41 inch or 112mm High Positive Offset", as far as a budget goes I'm just looking to see our best options but the cheapest is best, and yes we are willing to change wheel and tire sizes but would prefer to stay with the strongest offerings.

These are the current wheels exactly:



Took me awhile to find a picture of them. O_o

[Lurch]

Damn, you've got more or less the same amount of sidewall as me (I run 225/50R16's) and more or less the same weight car (maybe a little lighter) and you're bending wheels? Are you baja'ing it? Are you running into curbs or potholes a lot? My mom took out the wheels on her protege a couple of times but she had a little less sidewall (195/50R16).

The easier and cheaper way is to just go down to 15's and get a bit more sidewall to cushion you. If you want to stay with a 16 and OEM size tires, check Audi and MB messageboards and look for wheels there. Could possibly find some higher quality strong wheels there since they both use 5x112 as well, although the MB probably uses a bigger centerbore and might need some kind of adapter ring but don't quote me on that, I could be wrong.

I'm finding decent used sets of 16x7 5x112 pattern forged 3 piece BBS RS's for around $800 popping up here and there but if you want something cheaper and less bling, there's probably some other good choices out there too for a few hundred.

[Waste]

Michigan roads are probably the worst I've seen. There was a section that they just fixed recently that was so bad her old gran prix would vibrate when you drove down that section of road. (I avoided it after the first time for obvious reasons.) It's just sh*t you can't drive around and with the way people ride your ass here it's hard to slow down and try and take some of pressure off your car. Especially if you drive a foreign vehicle. They love f*cking with anyone not driving domestic.

I've NEVER curb checked this car at all. Actually don't think I've ever curb checked a car at all.

Here's an example of sh*t this car sees every single day:



There's also these beautiful "bumps" from where they've blacktopped over concrete roads and the concrete has pushed the blacktop up to make a nice sharp edge to bend wheels on.


As far as wheel manufacturers go, are Enkei and OZ decent enough because they have a few nice looking offerings on their site and I can find dealers for them here but can't seem to find a local BBS dealer at all.

I'd really like to stay at the 16" wheels since they make the car look well rounded but if 15" is the way we must go then we might have to so we don't have to keep replacing and fixing wheels. Not cheap to fix these damn things. Can buy a new wheel for cheaper than the repair. (OEM of course. Factory wheels are like $300 each. f*ck that.)

EDIT: As a side note I'm catching hell for these wheels getting bent because I'm the one that convinced her to go VW. (This is not my car but I drive it more than her.) The Gran Prix she had was running 15" wheels and tons of sidewall so never had these issues. She keeps blaming me and VW for this happening.

EDIT#2: So, yea well, went and had the wheels and tires spun and about five different places today and it seems that the wheels are actually not bent. When we got the car the left front wheel bearing went out on us on a trip from Michigan to Rochester, New York and it seems the problem with the wheel bearing was what was causing the bad wear. The wheel bearing problem persisted from the previous owner and through the 20k mile tire rotation so I'm all over VW's ass about making them GIVE me two free tires.

All in all, thanks for the help. I'll still use your info and help on getting some custom rims in the future so don't think this was all for naught. I do appreciate the hell out of it. Learned a lot today, lol.

This post has been edited by Waste on Wednesday, Jan 25 2012, 19:50

[Nigel xD]

Wow, those roads are ass.

Thanks for making my decision about ever going to Michigan