^^ They've got a capturing appeal haven't they Lee!
That's what roped me in at first. I had heard a newbie user on the forum briefly comment that they look crap in 18" on a GTI but I chose to ignore him and give them a go. They do look a tiny bit small on the A3's too, but I wanted to experiment - didn't quite come off cosmetically but not to worry, gave my GTI a unique look and something very different to the Monzas & CHs/Pescaras etc...
Regarding the drop mate - Hmm, I'm no expert at all but I'd say with a 30mm drop on 8.5 wheels you may get mild rubbing at the front and probably wouldn't be able to have more than one passenger in the rear before you rubbed there too.
I've got 20mm AP springs all round and the splits are 18x7.5 as mentioned. When on nearly full lock at the front, there's enough room to whisper and that's it. The rear I've got 10mm wheel spacers on the rear axle too and I can comfortably have 5 in the car in total and it won't rub at the rear. It's close, but practical still. Anything lower/any bigger wheels and I'd probably run out of luck.
Do a thread if you want precise advice from the more experienced guys but from my knowledge I'd say you might be struggling and Mrs Apollo will probably start moaning from what you've said
BTW I need to pick your brains about the 30byte controller if I may please fella!?