18s lowered and stretched tyres why's it handle awful now

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dubindan

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Okay so recently purchased a a3 tdi 140 first of al all I got it remapped, I said the fatal words I'm not going to change anything but loved the look of 18s and them lowered so I got a set of handr springs and sline shocks and mine is a sport I then got a set of 18 bbs ch reps with 215 40 Falken fk452 tyres fitted and 15 mm spacers on the rear now the car feels like a boat and when cornering. It feels the tyre walls are folding over I researched this a lot when Makeing my decision and everyone said handr springs handle great and the stretched tyres and 18 s wudnt have any major effect so what have I done wrong someone please help thanks Dan
 
It maybe the tyre size m8, its normally 225 40 18 thats fitted,
ive got h & r on my a3 and theyre brilliant, stretched tyres are really
more of a show type thing done by the golf guys etc
 
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dubindan said:
what have I done wrong someone please help thanks Dan
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You have not used full stops or comma's in your writing, lol!
Breath mate, was really hard to keep up with what you was saying. But as bluequattro was saying, probably your tyres are the cause.
 
i had reps on a bmw on was like that.

tyres are normally 225 40 18 mines dropped and have no probs
 
I know what you mean. My first set of wheels on my old S3 were BBS CH's with 215/40/18 Falken 452 tyres. Even though the S3 has the Quattro system, going around corners and roundabouts quickly didn't feel that great. I could feel the back end stepping out sometimes and it was all down to the tyre sizes. Then i changed to 225/40/18 on my new OZ Superleggera wheels and that was perfect! So yeah, 225/40/18 will make hell of a difference!
 
Ok thanks for that guys but peed of with it as I only just brought them so it will be a while before there worn out but think I will go with 225 when there worn out, the stretched look does look ace but it's a big loss in handling :(, also blue quatro do you not find them bouncy and a bit sloppy compared to the standard suspension
 
Upped the tyre pressure which had only been blown up to 30psi now I've put them to 36 psi there spot on
 
Stretched tyres are designed for arch clearance to accommodate for lowering, they are not designed for handling. Think about it, you are fitting a narrower sized tyre to a wider sized wheel.

You have less tyre with contact on the road, so ride quality, and handling will suffer hand in hand.
 
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Not a mention of wheel width? 215s on a 10.5" wide are never going to work, and wouldn't exactly count as 'stretched' on a 7" wide...
 
Looks don't always equal performance.

By fitting smaller tyres to the rims you're sacrificing handling and performance for the stretched look.

That's it basically.
 
Stretched tyres are retarded, this is your problem. Pointless form over function, stop making your car into a MacDonalds-mobile and put some proper tyres on, it's an Audi not a Vauxhaul Nova.
 
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Minstadave said:
Stretched tyres are retarded, this is your problem. Pointless form over function, stop making your car into a MacDonalds-mobile and put some proper tyres on, it's an Audi not a Vauxhaul Nova.
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But stretched tyres look so keewwwwlllll:arco:











They do however handle like ****e
 
Minstadave said:
Stretched tyres are retarded, this is your problem. Pointless form over function, stop making your car into a MacDonalds-mobile and put some proper tyres on, it's an Audi not a Vauxhaul Nova.
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Stretched tyres are fine for those who run big wheels, want clearance for lows etc. It just means you have to drive the car "normally", no spirited driving, otherwise it won't handle, anyway it all depends how much stretch we are talking!
 
Don't get me started on ridiculous sized wheels, air suspension, mad camber yo! and all that nonsense.

Put the tyres on that your wheels are meant to have, don't dress your car up like a 16 year olds wet dream and you're sorted.
 
Minstadave said:
Don't get me started on ridiculous sized wheels, air suspension, mad camber yo! and all that nonsense.

Put the tyres on that your wheels are meant to have, don't dress your car up like a 16 year olds wet dream and you're sorted.
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why don't you be done with diplomacy and say what you really think? :haha:
 
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I personally think stretched tyres aren't an eyesore if they're tucked inside arches when a car is on bigger rims and lowwwww! It's when they are spaced right out to stick out like the car is riding on rolling pins on those little polos with ridiculous split rims that it starts to look a bit odd..
 
quattro81 said:
I personally think stretched tyres aren't an eyesore if they're tucked inside arches when a car is on bigger rims and lowwwww! It's when they are spaced right out to stick out like the car is riding on rolling pins on those little polos with ridiculous split rims that it starts to look a bit odd..
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Saw a good few of those,and not just Polos,at a certain car event recently......plenty of them with graunched wheelarches from the ridiculous drop and camber.
 
It depends entirely on the degree of stretch as well !!

If you run 225/35 19's on an 8.5 inch wheel instead of 225/40 18's on a 7.5 inch wheel, then the stretch is minimal and you can drive exactly how you want to without issue.......try to run a 205 or 215 on the same rim and it will look mega-stretched and handle like a pig if you press on.....you can't generalise.

Tyre pressures also make a huge difference to the feel and handling of any car,as the OP found out.
 
I can't believe this thread!

We are talking about 1.4 tonnes of metal that can travel at up to 140mph depending on the model, and the only thing contacting it to the road enabling it to avoid objects and stop is the cotnact patches of the four tyres.

Then, given the above, you choose to hugely compromise the ability of the tyre to do its job because it looks slightly nicer for the black bit to be stretched over the silver bit?
 
Adamantium said:
I can't believe this thread!

We are talking about 1.4 tonnes of metal that can travel at up to 140mph depending on the model, and the only thing contacting it to the road enabling it to avoid objects and stop is the cotnact patches of the four tyres.

Then, given the above, you choose to hugely compromise the ability of the tyre to do its job because it looks slightly nicer for the black bit to be stretched over the silver bit?
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I totally agree.

The whole thing around looks at the expense of performance or even just simple handling,has always defied logic.

I know aesthetics are a very personal thing,but to compromise the very basics of handling and braking is just nonsense.
 
You guys are getting it all wrong. There's the likes of Alex, he has a big turbo S3 & likes to drive fast, then there is the likes of Adam who has a GTR, he also likes to drive fast. Both of these cars have correct tyres for their wheels (as they should do).

Then you have another community of car enthusiasts who like to drive their cars ridiculously low whether it be on Air Ride or coilovers. The point of stretch tyres isn't for the look, its to gain clearance from the arch. Stretch tyres are FINE if you are driving the car at legal speeds, but it isn't fine when you want to start hammering it through roundabouts etc.

Take my car for example, this is a recent pic of my ride height:

dc854e2f.jpg


My car is wearing 20" x 8.5 Rotors off the new A6. On the A6 the wheel comes in a 255/35/20. This wheel would simply not fit on my car with that size tyre, so instead it's wearing a 225/30/20. There is a tiny bit of stretch, but the car drives absolutely fine, its a lovely drive on air ride. But I don't go wrapping my car round, roundabouts with 20"s on, I just drive to the speed limit!

I was wearing 225/40/18 on my Team Dynamics:

1be3d442.jpg


The wheels are ET45 8J wide, I have no clearance issues so have no need to run stretch.
 
As N8 says it's all down to personal taste. I show my car and run on air ride. Some of you would hate my choice of show rims, and the tyres. However I have a set of wheels for every day use that have only minimal 'stretch'. This is the compromise.

I notice very little talk of wheel widths above. I think if we're to have a sensible conclusion to the thread then we really need to know that detail don't we?
 
N8 off topic here but what exterior mods have you done your car, S3 skirts, S3 rear bumper? What's up front?
 
It's not really an argument of personal taste, it's an argument of comprimise of safety... Tyre company's design tyres, size and rate them that way for a purpose... Not just to be kill joys. I think it's pretty naive to not even consider the risks. I wouldn't dream of fitting tyres that are not the correct fitment for the wheel, it's a no-brainer for me! And only because loads of people do it without failure, doesn't make it right or mean it won't go wrong.
 
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