Put on some new wheels and....

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Sir Chumpalot

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When I pulled away to go to work this morning I heard a nasty rubbing noise. Got out the car, checked the fronts, seemed OK. Had a look at the rears and the tyres are rubbing on one of the suspension arms by the looks of it :mad:

They are 18" alloys from an A4 Avant. Offset is 35. Tyres are 235/40.

Would some spacers do the trick? Halfords perhaps?

Thanks

Dave
 
shouldn't rub with that set up.
can you see what is rubbing?
inside edge on the curve of the upright?

sure of the offset?
 
Perhaps they're wider than average 235's

Most folk use 225's and quattros are tighter on the rear end than FWD's so are less tolerant of a particularly bulgy tyre.

Probably get away with a thin spacer for now, and then change the rubber at some point and hopefully that will sort it properly.
 
Wheels are definitely ET35.

I need some new rubber on the rear anyway so will go for a thinner tyre. Will 235 on the front and 225 on the rear affect the drive at all?
 
jcb said:
shouldn't rub with that set up.
can you see what is rubbing?
inside edge on the curve of the upright?

sure of the offset?
Click to expand...

Yes, I think so. It's surprised me that it's rubbing to be honest.
 
i ran 235 on the exact same wheel without rubbing

what tyre manufacturer? I notice that my Goodyear F1 Eagles are defo wider at the shoulder as they overlap the rim to protect it a bit more than the Pirellis I had before. same size but about 2mm wider each side when new.
 
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The centre diff might not take too kindly to the size difference, but it is only a few % and if the rears are new and the fronts worn down then its probably not a very significant difference.

Some tyres have a very square sidewall, and others tend to bulge out a bit. If its the latter thats probably why its catching.
 
5mm spacer should do the trick.

Won't be hubcentric though.
 
At 5mm, you should be fine. Worth trying H&R or BBS, they have very well made ones.

Spacing wheels out is perfectly safe - Porsche have been doing it for over 30 years at the rear of the 911.
 
Sir Chumpalot said:
Does that matter at all?

I realise spacing the wheel out isn't ideal, and it certainly won't be a permanent feature.
Click to expand...

There's no problems with spacing out the wheels, but if you go below 8mm you'll get a lug-centric spacer that can be prone to wheel wobble. They sit on the hub much better when they're hubcentric.
 
Bit of an update. I went out to swap my wheels over so that I could at least drive the car again, looked at the inside of the new alloys and guess what.... ET43!

Can't believe at as they were advertised as ET35 and came off an A4 Avant, I guess I just presumed they'd go straight on :(

So, if I were to go for a 5mm spacer, would this cure the problem or am I best off selling on these wheels and looking for another set?

Thanks for the help guys

Dave
 
Standard A4 alloys are ET45 on a B5 and a bit less on a B6/7 so thats perfectly normal tbh, the reason they catch is because they will be wider than the B5 was originally designed for.

A 5mm spacer gives you ET38, which will be just fine, although if you could find an 8mm hubcentric spacer that would be even better, but they're hard to find at 8mm. If you use 8mm hubcentrics then you'll need slightly longer bolts.
 
10mm spacers will work fine.

Easy to find in hubcentric form, and ET35 will work just fine on a B5.
 
Thanks chaps. 10mm spacer it is.

Just one more problem. Whilst trying to get the locking wheel nut off on the last wheel I somehow managed to ruin the thread inside the head of the bolt. As a result my locking wheel nut fits inside, but doesn't grip onto anything to turn the bolt!!

It will have to be drilled out I expect. Is this relatively safe to do? Any tips so that I don't end up ruining the hub and/or anything else.

This has turned into a real nightmare!
 
This company do fantastic hub centric spacers:

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/performance-car-shop__W0QQ_armrsZ1

I had them on my S4 & they were brilliant, hub centric no wobble, if not listed email them & ask for.

So explain again about the lock bolt/nut issue as trying to picture exactly what you mean, have you threaded your lock bolt, does the lock bolt & lock nut have a thread based locking system have you threaded the hub thread for the bolt to screw into, sorry just cant picture the issue, which bolts are they?
 
NHN,

Thank you for your reply and for the link. I think I'll be getting some from DPM today but will take a look at your suggestion.

I'll try and explain my situation as best I can. Please bear with me.

My locking wheel nut is solid and not like conventional ones where they have teeth that are set 'inside' a hole at one end. My locking wheel nut has teeth around the outside. This nut goes inside the locking wheel BOLT to turn it.

The nut itself seems fine. I think I've taken the teeth off of the bolt (it seems to be made from very soft metal, either that or they've been on the car for quite some time).

Either way, I now need to either get something inside, or around the outside of the bolt in order to get it out. I don't fancy drilling too much to be honest.

Or perhaps some new disks.....
 
Yeah Damian is cool & very good to deal with for parts so DPM is very good choice.
 
For the wheel nut, you need either something called an "easy out", a locking nut removal tool to get them off easily

I once welded a large bolt to the head of a locking nut as i couldnt get it off any other way, and didnt have either of the aforementioned tools.
 
Thanks, I think welding another bolt is going to be the way to go here. I've managed to find a large pair of mole grips today from work so hopefully that'll do the trick.
 
My ET45 rims went on without needing spacers. I do run 10mm spacers on the rear though to stop the tyres rubbing on the coil-overs...
 
mole grips, I cant see it somehow, but hey give it a try, I had issues with a bolt, so I smacked a 16-17mm socket on the bolt head & was just enough to get the damn thing loose, but yours sounds little more troublesome.

Get pic up so can see issue mate.
 
audi upgrades
Yes, having looked at the grips again, I can't see it either.

I need to bash something inside the bolt, rather than around the outside, if that makes sense.
 
lmfao, yeah I thought you'd reconsider, I would find a fatter bolt & whack this into there with some force & see if it takes hold as it should do & then try & undo, or whack longer bolt into hole, weld it in place then undo it.
 
weld a nut to the to. wend in the hole of the nut to the top of the bolt and use a socket as noemal to get it off.
 
DPM also say if you find it cheaper then email them see if they can better it, remember we're talking H&R not some cheap brand so they are expensive unfortunately, but well made.

But my 1st link also does well made spacers & longer bolts & lock nuts & I paid good price for it all, wider more expensive, I think I paid £150 & I had 20mm x 2 & 16mm x 2 spacers which are wider & long bolts & longer lock bolts that are £30 odd a set so I did very well, hub centric & didnt budge either, so good quality, wheels sat perfectly on them, so effectively I'd say were £50 a pair as delivery was heavy & about £10.
 
audi upgrades
Well, I've had another go at getting it off and it just won't budge. I've tried hammering sockets over it and all sorts. It's in there good and tight :(

Going to try and ring someone and see if they can come out. I don't really want to drive it with 3 x 16" and 1 x 18" wheels on it!
 
if you dont want to attack it with a welder, then google "easy out" or "locking wheel nut remover" and buy a set.
 
get a six point spare wheel bolt and weld a nut on one end (a nut that only just fits) and then bash it in.

as for saving money on wheel spacers...don't
H&R are the only brand I would even consider. Aircraft grade aluminium and if you come to sell them you will get most if not all of your money back.
its not something you want to scrimp on given that they need to be balaned, light and very strong
 
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