Cupra Leon ST VZ rim/tire with Akebono

[Wicked]

Hello!

I am getting my facelift Leon ST VZ (333hp) with the akebono brakes soon. The dealer says 18" is impossible with the Akebonos, and that I have only these options:

235/35 R19 on 8Jx19 ET49 (summer)
225/35 R19 on 7.5Jx19 ET46 (winter)

The manual says nothing about tires/rims, except that snow chain can only be used on 245/40 R19 which makes no sense to be honest...

Does anybody have a 18" with Akebono brake? What do you use during winter?

 

[SRGTD]

Sorry, can’t answer your question, but even if 18” wheels would physically fit on the car, once balance weights have been fitted to the barrels of the wheels, it’s possible there may be insufficient clearance between the large(r) front brake callipers and the wheel balance weights for the wheels to rotate without the balance weights fouling on the brake callipers.

I had a VW a few years ago with large front brakes and almost had this issue; with my car there was just a few millimetres clearance between the wheel balance weights and the brake callipers, but the clearance was sufficient for the wheels to rotate freely.

 

[Wicked]

Sorry, can’t answer your question, but even if 18” wheels would physically fit on the car, once balance weights have been fitted to the barrels of the wheels, it’s possible there may be insufficient clearance between the large(r) front brake callipers and the wheel balance weights for the wheels to rotate without the balance weights fouling on the brake callipers.

I had a VW a few years ago with large front brakes and almost had this issue; with my car there was just a few millimetres clearance between the wheel balance weights and the brake callipers, but the clearance was sufficient for the wheels to rotate freely.

thank you for the answer! that's what I am afraid of as well. The last question is size of the 19" winter tires. Currently I lean forward to use 235/35 R19 for winter too, because it has slightly taller aide wall than 225/35 R19.

 

[Oldbutswift]

I have recently got the same car as the OP and had asked myself the same question,since I was thinking about getting another set of wheels for the winter and wondered if there was enough clearance for 18 inch ones.
There does appear to be more than a half inch gap between the rim and the brake caliper…but unless someone can come up with a definite answer I’ll go with 19s.
Sadly I had a set of 18s which I let go a few months ago ( from a Octavia vrs) that I could have used for a trial fit.

 

[SRGTD]

Something else to check would be to ensure there’s adequate clearance between the reverse side a wheel’s spokes and the face of the brake calliper.

 

[Wicked]

I have recently got the same car as the OP and had asked myself the same question,since I was thinking about getting another set of wheels for the winter and wondered if there was enough clearance for 18 inch ones.
There does appear to be more than a half inch gap between the rim and the brake caliper…but unless someone can come up with a definite answer I’ll go with 19s.
Sadly I had a set of 18s which I let go a few months ago ( from a Octavia vrs) that I could have used for a trial fit.

congrats for the car like it?

 

[Oldbutswift]

Something else to check would be to ensure there’s adequate clearance between the reverse side a wheel’s spokes and the face of the brake calliper.

Agreed, fortunately after market wheels tend to have more offset,e.g.ET 40 or 45 ,so I would think that it would not be a problem whilst avoiding the trap of too much offset and the issues that brings.

 

[Oldbutswift]

congrats for the car like it?

Yes,I like it a lot,better than the RSQ3 I had which is a more expensive vehicle.
I’m taking some time to get used to the touch screen and the tech,but apart from that all is good.

 

[Wicked]

Yes,I like it a lot,better than the RSQ3 I had which is a more expensive vehicle.
I’m taking some time to get used to the touch screen and the tech,but apart from that all is good.

Good, happy to hear! I am counting the MINUTES. It will arrive in 8 weeks...
Regarding the question in the OP, because I got not too many answers, currently I am leaning towards having 235/35 R19s for winter.
On a Borbet QX Black&Bronze 5x112 19x8. The only question is: ET44 or ET50... The factory rim is ET49.

 

[Oldbutswift]

With the standard wheels the inside of the spokes are very close to the front of the Akebono calipers.
As SRGDT has pointed out it’s just as important the wheels do not foul here as it is with the outside of calipers catching the barrels of the wheels.
So i would go for the et 44 size to be on the safe side,assuming of course there are then no wheel arch clearance issues!

In these circumstances it might pay to buy wheels to be fitted by the suppliers…..so if there are fitting problems they still own them,rather than you having to try and get a refund for wheels that you discover don’t fit.
Please let us know how you go on.

 

[Syphon]

It is a very tight fit between the brakes and the wheel, I'm pretty sure 18"s would be very unlikely.

 

[Insync]

Your Certificate of Conformity will tell you if any 18" wheels are recommended, but I can't see an 18" clearing those 374mm Akebonos! I believe the oe 19" wheels are ET43, presumably to clear the calipers.

 

[Wicked]

 

[Wicked]

 

[Wicked]

factory wheel is 8x19 ET43. approximately 3mm between the brake and the spoke

 

[Insync]

I have been looking into 18" options for my VZ2 333ps (with the smaller 357mm brakes). Most of the TuV documents exclude the big brake option (BW7), but I noticed that the Rial Lucca 18x8 ET45 does not have this restriction. This would suggest that there are 18" wheels out there which will clear your calipers.

 

[SRGTD]

I have been looking into 18" options for my VZ2 333ps (with the smaller 357mm brakes). Most of the TuV documents exclude the big brake option (BW7), but I noticed that the Rial Lucca 18x8 ET45 does not have this restriction. This would suggest that there are 18" wheels out there which will clear your calipers.

The shape of the spokes will be a factor.

Some aftermarket alloys have convex shaped spokes (my last set of aftermarket alloys did) which may give a little more clearance between the reverse side of the spokes and the brake callipers.

Even if there’s adequate clearance between back of the spokes and the face of the brake callipers, there might still be clearance issues between the wheel barrels and brake callipers that prevent the wheels rotating once wheel balance weights have been attached to the wheel barrels, so that would be something to check out.

 

[Insync]

The shape of the spokes will be a factor.

Some aftermarket alloys have convex shaped spokes (my last set of aftermarket alloys did) which may give a little more clearance between the reverse side of the spokes and the brake callipers.

Even if there’s adequate clearance between back of the spokes and the face of the brake callipers, there might still be clearance issues between the wheel barrels and brake callipers that prevent the wheels rotating once wheel balance weights have been attached to the wheel barrels, so that would be something to check out.

They will be OK as long as the manufacturer's instructions are followed. The TuV will say something along the lines of "For wheel balancing, only adhesive weights may be applied to the outer rim surface below the rim shoulder or the drop center. When applying adhesive weights to the rim well, a minimum distance of 2 mm from the brake caliper must be maintained"