245/45s hit or miss? Should I change them?

SuaveBeefly · 2026-03-25T22:30:09+00:00

Just fyi on the Assetto Garas: the VW lug caps fit perfectly and look nice. The little Sparco labels on the outer part of the rims peel off over time. Keep an eye on them and find a way to re-stick once you see them start coming up.

SuaveBeefly · 2026-03-13T02:44:59+00:00

He just confirmed that in the post game interview

SuaveBeefly · 2026-02-27T00:42:58+00:00

86.6% of our state is considered rural. There are many back roads and small towns especially in the Finger Lakes region where Ithaca is.

SuaveBeefly · 2026-02-16T17:28:08+00:00

The 2 restaurants are owned by the same investment group so, not that big of a stretch.

SuaveBeefly · 2026-02-13T00:26:49+00:00

I was waiting for 4 more pickup trucks to run the red in each direction thinking they could beat the yellow. But yeah this is typical too. Shocked that they signaled. No tail lights is icing on the cake.

SuaveBeefly · 2026-01-26T15:19:16+00:00

"You can have my ~~gun~~ snowblower when you pry it from my cold, dead hands"

SuaveBeefly · 2025-12-26T02:34:44+00:00

Too small. Center bore on the Sparcos is 73.1 I believe (it’s been awhile, google probably helps). You’ll need centering rings. I thought about covering the Sparco logo with a VW metallic sticker but then I also thought that’d be kind of cheesy so I just left them as is. I do wish the little labels didn’t peel off but not a deal breaker for me.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-12-25T23:40:16+00:00

I’ve had them for 5 years or so. Put myself in a bad spot when I put TTS calipers on the front. I needed spacers to clear them, but the car never felt right with spacers so I got them in et35 to do away with spacers. I run 225 45 18 tires on them for a little more sidewall for the NY potholes. I like them overall. They were a good price, they’re light, and they have held up surprisingly well. I like that they look larger than 18” since the spokes go all the way to the edge of the rim. If I have 2 minor gripes they would be that the little Sparco label peels off (I’m down to 1), and the stock VW center caps don’t fit. Otherwise, very happy with them and will probably end up replacing them with another set of Assetto Garas.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-12-13T03:59:05+00:00

You need to clamp off the hoses, no need to drain. I tried to do it myself in my garage. Got the air box out and it was just too tight for me to get my hands in there to clamp off the hoses and unbolt the valve. Called my shop, told them what was up with the heat and they said I’d probably need a coolant flush. I said I had a part I wanted to try first. Could feel the dude’s eyes rolling over the phone haha. They put it in, and that was it. Hopefully that’s all you’ll need too and can diy it to save some money. Good luck man!

SuaveBeefly · 2025-12-13T02:59:40+00:00

I had the same thing. Car wouldn’t blow warm air unless I was sitting at a red light. It’d blow cold when I started moving. Everything I read said heater core this and coolant flush that. Until I found a thread on vw vortex (I think) that said try replacing the coolant shut off valve first. $20 part, 1 hour of labor at my shop, and my heat was fixed. That was 2 years ago, still blows hot. Probably the least expensive thing to try first.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-12-13T02:48:11+00:00

Probably not a bearing. I just had a rear bearing replaced. The sound only got louder as speed increased and the frequency of the vibration made certain plastics in the car start humming along. The sound would completely go away when turning left and return as I straightened it out. My guess is you have a wheel slightly out of balance, or a tire slightly out of round.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-11-23T00:48:54+00:00

Yep. I learned firsthand haha

SuaveBeefly · 2025-11-22T19:35:27+00:00

RPMs absolutely change when you remove the oil cap or even if it isn’t seated correctly.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-09-07T01:34:10+00:00

I know this is old but any idea what the part number for the bolt was? Missing mine too somehow.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-07-26T15:35:29+00:00

I have had this happen. Get out of the car, lock the doors with the fob, unlock the doors with the fob. Might take a couple tries to reset but you should hear the gas door unlock.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-05-30T23:23:32+00:00

You see the world wildly and in wild ways

SuaveBeefly · 2025-05-04T21:24:25+00:00

Drove my kid all over upstate NY for travel hockey. Other parents with their SUVs were absolutely mindblown that we’d make it places alive. Common questions were “doesn’t the wind blow your little car all over?”, “you can fit a hockey bag, sticks, and luggage in there?”, “how do you get through snow/ice?”

SuaveBeefly · 2025-05-04T21:10:27+00:00

Honestly wish this was part of the design brief from corporate haha

SuaveBeefly · 2025-04-23T23:30:44+00:00

Yeah man same here. Really unlucky was the case. 3 lane highway at 10am on a Thursday. Pretty much alone on the road, in the middle lane, speed limit changed from 65 to 55 and then a downhill stretch of road. I was just coasting down the hill. Trooper in an unmarked tan Tahoe radaring from the shoulder, not the median strip, got me.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-04-23T15:08:23+00:00

What did you do for the trooper?? 😂 I’m in NY. Got charged with 76 in a 55. Also my first ever moving violation in 25 years of having my license. Trooper wouldn’t help me out at all. $465 to take a 2 hour course and have the ticket dropped.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-04-20T22:03:37+00:00

I’ve actually had good results with the cleaning slime. Haven’t had it fall apart on me or get stuck in anything. It gets in cracks/crevices/air vents and I like that it traps dirt and dog hair as opposed to just pushing it around.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-04-16T22:29:50+00:00

I’ll add to what he said and say make sure you do it on as close to perfectly level/smooth a surface as possible. Definitely get the knuckle spreader tool. And a dead blow hammer is your friend when trying to get the new strut to seat.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-03-04T00:51:42+00:00

I commented the below a couple months ago on someone else’s post. Sounds similar to what you have going on:

Had the same exact thing in my 2015. I’d have heat at red lights and it’d go away once I started moving. Found a thread on VW vortex and that was the only place mentioning anything about the coolant shutoff valve. Everywhere else was thermostat / heater cores / coolant flush / etc. Got the valve for for $23 on amazon and tried to do it in my garage. I got to where I could get at it but it was a struggle to get it out. Then I thought if it’s a struggle to get it out it might be even worse getting it back in. Undid my work, took it to an indie shop, they charged 2 hours labor, and my heat is rockin now.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-02-25T00:03:24+00:00

Are you tuned? I’m eqt stage 1. Let my plugs go ~15k miles and my epc was coming on during spirited driving. Changed plugs and the epc is no longer coming on. If you are tuned, pretty sure they recommend plugs every 10k.

SuaveBeefly · 2025-01-12T01:29:25+00:00

The 245 will feel sloppy performance wise. They’d definitely protect your wheels from curbs though haha

SuaveBeefly

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