Got my 17's!!

[Tim Ebling <tim@surreal.com>]

Hey everyone, just thought I'd share the fact that I recently bought
and installed some brand new 17" wheels on my '88 16v!  They're
Kosei S5R rims (17x7, 35mm offset) with Dunlop W-10 tires (205/40/17).
I was going to get SP8000's but apparently they've been discontinued
in that size.  DOH!  Incidentally, I ordered them from the Tire Rack,
and overall I was very pleased with their service.

I took a quick Polaroid pic over the weekend, which doesn't really do
them justice, but still is worth a look:

http://scirocco.webjump.com/

Click on "My Scirocco" and it's the second picture from the top.  I'll
try to get some better pictures of them up soon, but keep in mind
they look *much* better in real life :)

My suspension setup is Koni struts and H&R lowering springs.  After
putting the wheels on I drove around the block without touching the
adjustment on the Konis, which was set fairly soft.  Surprisingly, I
noticed very little rubbing, even when going over bumps.  But to be
on the safe side (and to increase the performance factor) I cranked
the Konis to almost-but-not-quite full stiff and that's where I'm
going to leave them.  The ride has suffered somewhat, but it's not
nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

As for clearances, I have about two finger widths between the tire
and the fender in the rear and about 1.5 finger widths in the front.
Clearance between the tire and the rear springs is about a pinkie
finger width (real scientific, ain't I?), which is probably helped by
the fact that the W-10's have a fairly rounded shoulder.

Overall I'm very happy with this setup, both from a handling stand-
point and from a "looks" standpoint.  I don't race on the track, I
know where all the potholes on my commute are (and studiously avoid
them), and I have a set of winter tires/wheels - so given all those
things the setup works very well for me.  I realize that not every-
body is into 17's (or even 16's for that matter), but hey they work
for me and I love 'em.  So anyone who is considering getting 17's,
I'll offer another thumbs up in addition to those people on this list
who already have them.

I'll try to remember to give another report at the end of the summer
as far as how the setup has held up.

Later!

-tim


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