Do I go 18's or 19's?

Christopherski

Christopherski

Registered User
Joined
Jul 21, 2015
Messages
129
Reaction score
5
Points
18
Location
Wigan!
I'm after picking up a set of 3SDM 0.01's sometime in the future, now do i got for 18's or 19's for my avant? I've seen one with 19's on and they look great but i've heard they can effect the handling of the car?

18's would be cheaper to buy and tyres would be cheaper too. Has anyone got a pic of their avant with them on?
 
18's , larger wheels have a weight penalty that affects handling , acceleration and mpg called unsprung weight .
 
As above and you'll be worrying about cracking the rims in a pothole, clipping the kerbs etc. If you have Sline or any kind of sport suspension, yer eyeballs will be rattling in their sockets on anything but a smooth road.
 
Yeah it's an s-line but it'll be going on coilovers first, i was considering a spring and shock combination but due to the need to tow as well i can lift it up on the coilovers to bring the towball to a more acceptable height.
 
try out an sline with 19" rims on and then jump back into yours with 18" , then you can make a definate conclusion, 19" look great but i'd stick with 18" if i were choosing, but hey its a personal thing, go with what you really want, good luck chap.
 
I would go purely on what look you prefer, just google "A4 avant 3sdm 0.01" and click images and go from there. Look for cars that are at a similar height and spacing as you'd like and not cars that will be at an impractical height with crazy offsets that will rub and scrape everywhere but look ace in the pics. For me personally I find the car has to be very low to get 18s to look good, 19s look good at more practical heights.
From my experiences the majority of the advice above is quite frankly just scaremongering, going from 18s to 19s for me was barely even noticeable and I've gone back and forth a few times. You have to remember these are run of mill family cars, not sports cars so the whole wheel weight thing is barely relevant or indeed noticeable when talking about the same brand and design only in a different size.
The only thing I would be wary of is wheel width, too wide and the car will feel sluggish and unresponsive when turning.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matt-L and SDHA4SLine
are you just after looks and not concerned about any change in ride etc or desire both, why not go for spin in a car running both, you can read as much as you like about the subject but at the end of the day it is your choice, and, a lot of guys on here have gone to 19" and didnt like it and went back , a lot like ajax love them, so it realy is a personal choice.
If you want 19" then go for it chap and enjoy.
 
ajax1976 said:
I would go purely on what look you prefer, just google "A4 avant 3sdm 0.01" and click images and go from there. Look for cars that are at a similar height and spacing as you'd like and not cars that will be at an impractical height with crazy offsets that will rub and scrape everywhere but look ace in the pics. For me personally I find the car has to be very low to get 18s to look good, 19s look good at more practical heights.
From my experiences the majority of the advice above is quite frankly just scaremongering, going from 18s to 19s for me was barely even noticeable and I've gone back and forth a few times. You have to remember these are run of mill family cars, not sports cars so the whole wheel weight thing is barely relevant or indeed noticeable when talking about the same brand and design only in a different size.
The only thing I would be wary of is wheel width, too wide and the car will feel sluggish and unresponsive when turning.
Click to expand...


i didnt think you liked big rims on B7's ....


Aj1
 
A4Rob said:
i didnt think you liked big rims on B7's ....


View attachment 65964
Click to expand...

Well I've had 3 sets of 20s so think you know the answer to that...

Well over 2 years ago so I would have had my saloon and still think 19s are the best fit for saloons, 20s suit avants far better and 18s far less. Suppose I also fell for the harsh ride, fragile wheels with mega expensive tyre stories that people keep touting about, when the reality is they are no where near as bad as the myths would have you believe. Along with suspension, wheels are a very subjective topic and I've learned the best way is often as you advised to try before you buy as there's a lot of nonsense gets written on forums.
 
I run 19's and have done on both coilovers and also airride with the damping set to its stiffest possible setting.

My eyeballs are still in place, my back and spine are no worse off, my MPG isn't noticeably different.

Handling and acceleration? Its really not what my car was built for nor something I gave any consideration to when building it. I'm not gonna sit here and try to say either of those things haven't been affected - but given the use of my car...... its not made much difference to me.

Like AJ says - if i'd wanted a car for going fast in and chucking in to corners on the twisties................. a big fat dirty diesel estate car wouldn't have been my choice in the first place :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matt-L
Go 19's, I really think if your considering them and then stick with the 18" wheels you'll regret it in the end
 
I had a look at that link yesterday, what I may do is find a second hand set of 18's with tyres and run them on the car at the height i want. Wait for a set of 19's to pop up and then run them and see which i prefer. AS you say to get the 18's to look better you need to go lower which isn't something i want to do again. My ibiza subframe was about 2 inch or less off the ground. Cheers for the info!
 
as what gaz said above, looks are fine but there will other factors that come into play that cannot be seen, but its a personal choice thing.
I'm borrowing a set of 19" rs4 reps tommorow from a friend who's changing rims , and i'll let you know after a few days what my thoughts are on the subject.
 
I noticed a difference just from 16 to 17's , 205 to 235 .

Noticed when going up a familiar steep hill definitely more sluggish , requiring a lower gear, but look better .

Some 18's with a spoke design that runs to the edge will look like 19's .
 
I feel the gearing is slightly out on the car compared to my last one, some corners i could take in 3rd i have to take in second at higher rpm but it may help with that a slight bit with 19's. It was a 5spd thgouh not 6 like this. Yeah i'd love to know what you think of them. I'm kind of sat on the fence here, not swayed either way yet. But as I said i'll grab a set of 18's when i can and a set of 19's if one comes up and see.
 
I don't buy the comments about weight different between wheels causing performance alterations one bit. I don't know the sort of weight difference we are talking about here but surely it's not the same as an average persons weight? By this I mean I don't notice the difference in performance between just myself in the car and when I have a passenger so surely a few extra kilos on the alloys won't make one little bit of difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DieselJake
Not sure but IIRC there is a ×4 effect.

Why do you think Karl - desertstorm with his brutal B8 A4 3.0 TDI Avant dropped a size to 17's and a lightweight wheel at that.
 
Gazwould said:
Not sure but IIRC there is a ×4 effect.

Why do you think Karl - desertstorm with his brutal B8 A4 3.0 TDI Avant dropped a size to 17's and a lightweight wheel at that.
Click to expand...

You mean similar to inertia on lighter vs heavier flywheels then?
 
it's the unsprung weight , wheels and tyres are unsprung , eg, my duke has mag wheels which are a fraction of the weight of normal alloy wheels, and the difference it makes to handling is noticable, it is all relavant depending on the application and purpose, but if just for looks its all irrelavant.
 
I like the looks but also I enjoy a decent handling car! I'll let you know how it plays out once i find some wheels.
 
I have a friend who is an AA patrolman and another is an independent breakdown one man band. They both say that in the last 2 / 3years due to the state of our roads, the majority of wheel damage cases involve cars with 18/19/20" wheels with ultra low profile tyres.
Each to their own though, some people like their wheels to be large and showy and the others have performance as a priority. As for myself, my A3 & S4 have 18" wheels which I find harsh on British roads but in France and Germany the ride is perfectly acceptable. Did contemplate changing both cars to 17" wheels but the cost put me off, I'll live with them.
 
I agree with you on the french roads but only on the motorway. The roads near my dads are horriffic! My ibiza subframe used to catch the road it was that rough.
 
Gazwould said:
http://m.caranddriver.com/features/effects-of-upsized-wheels-and-tires-tested
Click to expand...

This is what I'm getting at, If I'm reading that table correctly in real life and on a normal car(golf in this test) going from 18s to 19s will rob you of 0.1mph from 0-100, no difference in 0-60 and a drop of 0.8mpg. Day to day changes in the weather could have a bigger affect on the same parameters. Don't get me wrong I'm not a disbeliever, you can't argue with basic physics. I just feel we have to put this into perspective, the real world and with relevance to the OPs original post. There are far to many other factors to take into account but upsizing an identical wheel by an inch does not mean he's going to ruin his car, mpg or spine.
And just to mix things up a bit my 20" OZs inc tyres are just over 4 kgs a corner lighter than the 19" rotors I have, OEM wheels are pretty heavy.

A4Rob said:
as what gaz said above, looks are fine but there will other factors that come into play that cannot be seen, but its a personal choice thing.
I'm borrowing a set of 19" rs4 reps tommorow from a friend who's changing rims , and i'll let you know after a few days what my thoughts are on the subject.
Click to expand...
Stick one on the scales Rob before you pop them on, interested to see if reps are that much heavier than an OEM Le Man. Would also be good to see the difference to your DTM wheels too.

Gazwould said:
I noticed a difference just from 16 to 17's , 205 to 235 .

Noticed when going up a familiar steep hill definitely more sluggish , requiring a lower gear, but look better .

Some 18's with a spoke design that runs to the edge will look like 19's .
Click to expand...

That it is a good point, 2 and 3 piece wheels usually look a size smaller than they actually are.

A4Rob said:
it's the unsprung weight , wheels and tyres are unsprung , eg, my duke has mag wheels which are a fraction of the weight of normal alloy wheels, and the difference it makes to handling is noticable, it is all relavant depending on the application and purpose, but if just for looks its all irrelavant.
Click to expand...

Bike wheels are a different kettle of fish. The lower gyroscopic affect of a lighter wheel has massive impact on a bike but not so on a car.
Do you run magnesium on the road or just for tracks?

Christopherski said:
I like the looks but also I enjoy a decent handling car! I'll let you know how it plays out once i find some wheels.
Click to expand...

Buy an RS4 rear arb, along with your coilovers and new wheels you'll have a great looking and handling car.

Look forward to seeing progress!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: SDHA4SLine
I was surprised at the size of the front arb tbh, ill try pick one up when I get some coilys, was originally going to go for jom as they've been fine for my ibiza bit decided that a set of ap's will be the way forward.
 
Yeah all the A4s inc RS4 have the same chunky front arb only the rears differ, RS4 rear is a great upgrade to the feel of the car.
I thought the APs were good, very comfy, well made and good value, good choice there!!
 
I'll have to try and find one online, should handle well when it's done. Most likely end up replacing bushes with polybush as I think they're a bit knackered.
 
Dealer prices for the arb and the bushes used to be fairly decent tbh mate, about £150 but it's been a while since I last checked.
If you're doing coils it would be wise to do the bushes too at the same time. I just replaced all my arms as it was quicker and easier than doing individual bushes and ball joints, not seen many poly kits tho. Most including myself just go for slightly better conventional rubber ones.
 
Ahh, didn't think the stealers would be the best place to go. I can get polybushes a bit cheaper too, so that's a benefit
 
I have an S-Line Avant TDi and I went from the standard 18's to the same style 19's with 216/35/19 tyres and I don't find it a bad ride at all. In fact I have barely noticed any difference in ride quality. But now it looks good and as the wheels required adapters they sit almost flush so the wheels aren't lost in the arches anymore. You do need b5 spring perches though mine are currently being fitted as I write this...

Also I haven't noticed any difference in real world acceleration not fuel consumption. My last tank lasted 638 miles and if i hadn't lost my bottle I know I'd have got 650 from it.
 
216? Do you mean 215? I'm thinking 19's would be better then as I won't have have to drop it as low on the coil overs too. Saves catching the underside on everything.
 
Yes that's what I meant just on my phone and have sausage fingers. My 19s catch on some bumps but i can live with that. I will be going on coilovers soon as my front shockers are leaking as I found out today :(
 
but dont forget, a 215/35 x19 will feel different to a 235/35 x19 if you're using them both on the same width rim due to the change in aspect ratio, the profile aspect ratio of 35% of a 215 is not the same as that of a 35% of a 235 , it may not seem that much but tyre feel and road holding can vary wildly .
all tyres are different and behave/feel different in different applications, what may be great for one person on a specific rim may be awful for someone else.
anyway, the point that is getting missed here is that it is not so much the increase in rim dia, but the tyre choice, tyre choice is a key factor , go with the wrong size/ rubbish compound or start stretching them and there will be a negative effect on the car, go with a decent tyre of a good compound etc in the right size and you are less likely to have issues on a larger rim, just my input and its bound to get shot down by someone .
 
Last edited:
I won't be going with stretched tyres. I'll be getting them to sit on the lip of the rim or a slight bit of stretch, i don't feel the stretched look is that good or safe tbh!
 
Ahh, they look pretty similar to what is on now. I think they may sit further in though. I'll be keeping an eye out for a set of 19's once i get a bit more money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Charlie Farley
18" or 19" ?
Replies
0
Views
402
Charlie Farley
Charlie Farley
1
A4 Avant 18's to TT 19's
Replies
1
Views
1K
S3-N
S3-N
gphilla
Genuine RS4 19's
Replies
3
Views
840
unikarl
unikarl
M
lowered on s-line 18`s anyone done this ?
Replies
0
Views
808
Marrow
M
T
Experiences of 18" vs 19" wheels on B7 S-line
Replies
20
Views
24K
AY4
AY4
Top
Back