Problems with staggered wheels on S3 8l

[cainy_1998]

Hi all, this is my first post so please be patient

I recently bought some 17" Brock b2 splits for my S3, they are 10JJ rear and 8.5J up front, both ET25
I needed 10mm spacers&amp to get the rears to clear the springs & shocks (they are still awfully close), but now the rim is poking outside the arch. The rears are running 245/35/17 and the front are 215/40/17 both streched to hell. I am awaiting the delivery of some coilovers as the car currently looks like a tractor with 17s with low profiles, but the last thing i want to happen is for the rims to smack of the wings if i hit a bump, so what are my options? I've heard of rolling arches but how much work is needed for this and is it recommended?

The other possibly bigger problem is the noise!!! While on first run out on them the noise was terrible, it was that bad I though I hadn't tightened the rear wheel bolts properly, but when checked they were tight. I took it to a local tyre garage to have the balance checked, but upon them driving the car to the rear of the building to access the ramp, they came to the conclusion that the noise was solely down to the tyres and the stretch of them. The Veteran of the garage then told me that the tyres were far too small for the rim and that the difference in rolling circumference of the front to rears could do some serious damage to the Quattro system. He said the stretch was really dangerous and that the tyre could actually pop off the rim when turning.
He also tried to educate me in tyre sizes, but he just confused the hell out of me, i thought that in 245/35/17 the 1st figure was width and the 2nd was height of tyre, but he was saying that theres more to it and its all about the aspect of the tyre so mine were close but not precise match and as such could cause major problems.

Sooo where do I stand? I've searched google and other people have even narrower 225/40/17 on 10j so why are mine so bad?
Is the Vet just stuck in his old ways and doesn't like the stance of stretch? and is anyone in the know of what tyres would be the perfect match in rolling circumference between the front and rears?

Many thanks in advance for any responses

 

[Sandra]

When it comes to wheels, tyres and off sets user N8 is who you need to speak too. His details are in the sponors section at the bottom of the main forum page. Welcome to audi-sport.net. x

Kowalski Details

 

[Tooks]

From the details you've given, the front wheel tyre circumference is 1896.9mm, and the rear 1895.3mm. 1.6mm circumference (or 0.5mm diameter) is not going to cause your quattro system any problems.

If you're wheels are actually poking outside of the arches, then there's not a lot you can do, even with rolling. If the suspension was stiff enough, then I guess there may be no tyre/arch contact, but depends if you can stand the look.

If the tyres are too stretched, then yes, they may pop off the rim or deflate. I've no experience with what size would be right though.

Re tyre sizes, the second number is the aspect ratio. So, a 225/45/17 tyre has a sidewall 45% of the width of the tyre. So, it is the height, but not a direct measurement in mm etc.

 

[jcs356]

Incase you don't already know, but if your tyre protrudes beyond the edge of the wing PC Plod won't be very happy with you.

As Tooks says, the second figure is a % of the width. So a hypothetical 100/35/17 tyre would have a sidewall height of 35mm. A 200/35/17 would have a sidewall height of 70mm etc. That's why the wider a tyre gets, the smaller the ratio number is otherwise you end up with tractor style tyres with huge sidewalls.

 

[s3clarke]

i heard staggered wheels are a no no on a Quattro..

 

[jojo]

i heard staggered wheels are a no no on a Quattro..

It's not a nono, more of a not recommended! Really depends on application. I like my S3 to handle, and go on track occasionally, so wider rears and stretched tyres don't appeal to me, but they can look good if done properly!

 

[s3clarke]

so say 8j fronts, 9j rears would be ok if fitted with the correct tyres? was looking at some porsche wheels which were stagered not long ago but was put off from people's opinions.

 

[jojo]

so say 8j fronts, 9j rears would be ok if fitted with the correct tyres? was looking at some porsche wheels which were stagered not long ago but was put off from people's opinions.

Yes, the Haldex has a 5% rotational difference factor built in to account for tyre wear. So long as you get the rotational difference to within 2% lets say, I can see no problem. The only thing I have against wider rear tyres is the effect it has on handling. The S3 is very understeer biased, basically not enough grip up front and plenty at the back. Wider rear tyres will just effect your turn in when cornering at low speed. It will more than likely increase your turning circle basically.

 

[N8]

You can run staggered wheels just need to keep the rolling radius right

 

[The Doctor]

I have staggered rims on my S3, with slight stretch on the rear tyres. Mounted tyre diameter is about 1cm different front to rear, on a total diameter of about 62cm.

62cm diameter = 194.8cm circumference.
63cm diameter = 197.9cm circumference.

So, 3cm difference in circumference = approx 1.5% difference front to rear. No Haldex problems.