Got the new track wheels put on this morning to check fitment and get ready for my next track day coming up soon. Enkei PF01 17x8 wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza RE-11a 245/40R17. The wideness! These are like almost an inch (2 cm) wider than the 225's I was running.
While I had the Enkei Raijin's off I cleaned the insides which were caked with brake dust. Wiped them down, applied wheel wax, buffed them up, and stored them in those handy Tire Rack tire totes with the optional felt layer to keep the wheels from scratching.
The felt things kind of suck in terms of the straps to hold them on... otherwise they do the job. Not sure any better than the cardboard discs that came with the wheels, though, for the price. The totes, however, are great.
More of a pain in the ass than I thought to get these on -- the centering rings were stuck to the hub with some rust since I failed to use anti-seize as TR recommends in the install guide when I first installed them. Do this! I had to get in there with a knife and standard head screwdriver and pry them off. They got somewhat mangled and two chipped in the process, so I'll have to get Tire Rack to sell me a new set. I seem to have lost one of my Raijin center caps too, probably at auto-x last weekend, so I'll have to get a replacement for that too.
This time I *did* apply some anti-seize around the hub so hopefully these new wheel centering rings don't get fused to the hub.
I also ordered a set of jack pads from ECS Tuning since I realized I have a WALK on there now and I really HATE putting a jackstand under those control arm bushings, I don't want to crack them. Next time I jack the car, it will be with the ECS jack pads and place the jackstands under the front and back jack points as VW intended.
The wheels fit pretty well. There's TONS of caliper and rotor clearance -- a BBK will be no problem. There's about 5mm clearance from the back of the wheel to the strut. I can get the end of my pinky in there, that's about it. Otherwise they seem clear, even on the DG springs, at both left and right full lock. Photo shows one full lock.
I might do the fender screw mod anyway since I don't want to scrape the screw under compression in a turn at the track.
Went for a drive and they feel good. A little noisier, but not bad. I wanted
them as track only wheels, but I'll keep them on for a while and see how they feel for a bit. I don't commute far, so the wear should stay low.
Happy with these! Thanks to Sonny and Tire Rack for the help with all my questions.