Tyre sizes (again)...?

Geeman

Geeman

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Right... a set of 5 Fat-5's are sat in my garage as I type. They currently have 215/35's on them which aren't the right size for the A4.

So, I was planning on running 215/40's as I've got them on my BBS's and they are the right size. But... the 215's that are on the Fat 5's show a relatively large amount of stretch on them as they are 8.5" wide and have an ET of 45 as opposed to my BBS's which are only 8" wide and are ET48's.

My BBS's fit fine with no rubbing at all... so I'm worried that even if I just go up a width size to 225's I'll start fouling bodywork all over the place (remember, the car's sat on the floor).

Any advice/suggestions (that don't include raising the car up) are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Giles
 
the "correct" size for an 8x18" wheel on an A4 is 225/40r18.

However a 225 tyre on an 8.5" rim isnt going to be very good imo to allow the tyre to work properly. The RS4 ran 8.5" rims and had 255 section tyres on there...

As for whether its allowed, a quick check of your chosen tyre manufacturers data sheets will show the maximum allowable rim width for a given tyre size. Toyo's are particuarly easy to find, and they state a 225/40r18 T1-R is allowed to be fitted to 7.5" to 8.5" rims, so you might be fine with a 225.
 
I hear what you're saying... but I reckon I'll be arch-fouling all over with anything bigger than 225's on.
 
235/35 or 40's if you don't like rubber bands are the way forward on 8.5J IMO
255/35 is the OEM spec for RS4 rims but that is way too wide IMO
255mm is 10" do you really need an inch and a quarter over the edges?
even taking into account the rim itslef which is not part of the width measurement it is still over an inch wider EACH side

I ran 235's without any problem at all on 8J
now running 240 on 8.5j, just waiting for them to wear out and get 235's
 
Is yours a Quattro geeman? I've got 225/40, I had to put 5mm spacers on the back wheels on mine as they were just touching when moving. Mine is lowered on 40mm h&r springs and I had the boot loaded up with heavy stuff the other day and the rears were very close to the arch and a drive down a bumpy road and they didn't touch at all.

Sam
 
Sam.... thanks! I was going to PM you about yours... mine's just a 2wd 1.8T

Might have to swap my 10mm spacers out and replace them with some smaller 5's then.

As my BBS's are now, you can't get your finger in between the tyre and arch anyway.

225's it is then... they're cheaper than 215's too!
 
Hay mate,

I have a set of Double star 225 40Zr 18 (Radial DS628) tyres which I had on my A4 for about a month (only covered around a hundred miles) and then I fitted some new wheels which already had tyres and so these are up for grabs.

They are as new and a great looking tyre when fitted to the car.

I'm looking for £220 ono and I'm based in Bath near Bristol.

Let me know If your interested cheers Tim
 
At ET 48 they will be sat about the same to the arch with the new rims being half inch widerer.

I think....

Sod it stick the 16's back on, proper low then :drag:
 
Mark... the 17's made the car too low, so the original 16's will be mental. Saying that though, they are the same rolling cirumference as the 18's so I wouldn't have thought there'd be a problem... The Fat 5's are ET45 - 3mm difference to my current BBS's (ET48). I think it'll be a bit of trial and error with the spacer widths to get them on without any fouling.

Tim... I can get brand new Federals for less than that from Camskill I'm afraid... and that's delivered, so please don't be upset if I don't accept your offer.
 
Geeman said:
Sam.... thanks! I was going to PM you about yours... mine's just a 2wd 1.8T

Might have to swap my 10mm spacers out and replace them with some smaller 5's then.

As my BBS's are now, you can't get your finger in between the tyre and arch anyway.

225's it is then... they're cheaper than 215's too!
Click to expand...


I can take some pictures tomorrow if you like. Thinking about it spacer wise I think I could have got away with 3mm I think but got some 5mm's to be safe, and the back wheels do sit out a bit proud from the car. here are some old pictures.

back.jpg


Thats it with out the spacer and although there was a gap I took the tyre off after 500 miles and you could see discolouration on the tyre where it had be just brushing it.

DSC04829.jpg


And this is looking down over the front wheel.

I'll get one of the back wheel from above tomorrow in the light if it will help.

Shame you aren't closer you could have tried one of my wheels on before buying tyres.

Sam
 
Looking at those pics Sam, I think I'll risk a 215 on them then... need all the clearance I can get!

Yeah, Lymington is a bit far from me! Nice place though...
 
TBH, i wouldnt want to go any narrower than 225.

At first glance it looks fine, but if you look at the area around the rim protector its pretty stretched as it is. Any narrower and its going to be dangerous imo.

Craigs running 225/40r18 Eagle F1's on 7.5" rims, and even those at certain times look too narrow for the rim.
 
I hear what you're saying dude.

I'm running 215's on my 8's without any problem... and I don't consider the stretch to be anywhere near the dangerous limit.

There are 215's on the Fat 5's right now, as I bought them that way... it's just that the side wall is a 35 instead of a 40 which is too thin for the A4.

I think I'll put a wheel on the front and rear of the car with the tyres that are on now to see how much clearance I've got... then go from there.
 
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