I'm in a similar boat with some Classix's (17x7). They have no tires so I'm gonna mount them and do some measurements. I wanna keep the overall diameter the same as the factory tire size for speedo accuracy. Hopefully the tires wont be rubberbands. Also wanna space them so they're hellaflush! Or just flush.

 

BBKVW,
The new tires will be 23mm closer to the front suspension. You may need spacers, however, spacers in the front can lead to vibrations, thick spacers disengage the hub from the wheel.

 

@grandpabill,

Would that 23mm closer to the suspension actually result in contact? I'm aware of the pitfalls of spacers, but I will be mitigating this by getting only 20mm spacers that bolt directly to the hub and are not "free floating."

Spacers and the corresponding extended lug bolts takes some time to get here. What I'd like to know is if I will be able to use this new set-up until the spacers/bolts arrive - or am I going to have to wait for them to get here? I haven't purchased the wheels yet, so it's not a simple case of put the wheels on and see.

 

BKKVW,
Your 2004 5 cyl wasn't sold in the States. You may have to get under the car and look.

 

@grandpabill,

As I understand it from the parts lookup that I've been doing lately - the suspension is the same as to a B5.5 VR6. I did notice that the arms hang about 3 inches over the top of the stock wheels (Road America). Which makes me wonder how people using 19" rims get it to work because I would swear that the top of the rubber would hit the arm (vertically). Am I mistaken about this?

 

they use a lower profile tire....really lower...as to 17 inch rims which I have went with Hankooks 225-45-R17 which gets you to correct speedo reading from stock tires/rims

 

i have 235/45/17
no rubbing anywhere besides fender cuz im slammed now
but its really close there on the inside, wont even slide my pinky in between
19" will be a tough fitment really
go for 18s

 

I've got staggered 19" wheels on my car. P235's in front and P265's on the rear. I'm dropped just a shade more than 2" on PSS9 coilovers. No rubbing! I'll post pics tomorrow.

 

@AndreasPassat

It would be great to know:

Are you using spacers? If yes what mm F/R?
What is the width of the wheel? 8.5"
What is the offset of the wheel?
What profile tire are you using? 35?

Look forward to the pictures and the details.

 

No wheel spacers. Can't remember the wheel offset.

Front tire.

Rear tire.

 

Last year I drove a little more than 6000 miles across the United States through 16 different states with this exact set-up. No problems what-so-ever.

I bought these wheels and tires used in 2009 for $500.
The guy I bought them from bought them brand new from TireRack.com.
The wheels are just some Korean knock-offs, nothing big name brand wise.
The tires are General's UHP tire.
Very little weight is added to these. They are surprisingly balanced as they are. On my trip I had the car up to around 135mph and it felt like I was doing 70..

 

You should not have any rubbing on a the suspension with an 19x8.5" wheel and ET45. You might have some minor rubbing on the plastic fender liner, but since you are at stock height, it would be rare (only with loaded car, hitting a dip while turning).

 

That's what I forgot to mention. The plastic liner in the front rubbed quite a bit without the belly pan hardware to hold the liners in place.
I installed new front fender liners on both sides and a complete belly pan kit. ZERO rubbing on the liners.