S3 Alloy wheel spec help

[Mamba]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but after trawling the forums can't seem to get a straight answer.

I have an 07 S3 with 18" 8J ET35 225/40/18's. Standard suspension.

They have never been that great. After fitting, the car lurches around corners, speed humps and pot holes are not kind to the tyres on the inside of the arches.

I'm looking at getting 19" 8J ET45 with 225/35/19 tyres.

Anyone ever fitted these wheels and tyres with this spec and standard sus, i.e. any rubbing?

I'll chuck some £££ at the sus at some point, but want to get this sorted first.

Any advice appreciated.
Cheers

 

[Dave-S3]

19"s are going to ride harsher, fact.

 

[JJ.Foulds]

^ what he said.

go down to 17's if you want a bit more comfort.

 

[Alexthekidd54]

Either upgrade your suspension or upgrade your spine I know which is cheaper

 

[pablo]

Et35 not rub like crazy?
Standard is et54!!

 

[JamesS4cab]

Don't listen to them. Its all about what it looks like. I had 5 different sets of 19's on my S3 and it was horribly uncomfortable on H&R springs. But it looked the ********.

Comfort is for old people.

Hence why i now have a BMW with EDC and "comfort" suspension..........

 

[Mamba]

^ what he said.

go down to 17's if you want a bit more comfort.

Not too bothered about comfort, just don't want the tyres to catch on the arches. Will prob upgrade the sus later...

Cheers
M

 

[Mamba]

Et35 not rub like crazy?
Standard is et54!!

No mate - only rubs going over uneven road at high speeds or speed bumps, otherwise they're OK unless you've got a bunch of fatties in the back! (running 225/40/18s)
I read on the Audi specs site, that the standard wheel ET is 56 on the 57 plate S3.... Thing is I have been looking for aftermarket wheels of that sort of spec and I've not been able to find anything above ET45 for less than £1200!

 

[Mamba]

Don't listen to them. Its all about what it looks like. I had 5 different sets of 19's on my S3 and it was horribly uncomfortable on H&R springs. But it looked the ********.

Comfort is for old people.

Hence why i now have a BMW with EDC and "comfort" suspension..........

Lol - so 'old fella' (sorry, had to be done) comfort / suspension aside, and as an experienced S3 owner, can you advise me as to whether I can get away with 19" 8J ET45 and 225/35/19 tyres, without rubbing?
Cheers
M

 

[45bvtc]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but after trawling the forums can't seem to get a straight answer.

I have an 07 S3 with 18" 8J ET35 225/40/18's. Standard suspension.

They have never been that great. After fitting, the car lurches around corners, speed humps and pot holes are not kind to the tyres on the inside of the arches.

I'm looking at getting 19" 8J ET45 with 225/35/19 tyres.

Anyone ever fitted these wheels and tyres with this spec and standard sus, i.e. any rubbing?

I'll chuck some £££ at the sus at some point, but want to get this sorted first.

Any advice appreciated.
Cheers

With respect Mamba, are you sure you want to do this?

Tyre size, the 225/35/19 has a rolling circ of 1955mm where the 225/40/18 is 1945, so no problem there.

However, the outside edge of the 19-inch ET45 wheel/tyre will be 10mm INWARD from the current ET35 wheel/tyre, and that may not be the look you are after.

Here's a diagram I prepared for the RS3 guys thinking of doing similar (this is the same 8J rim but with and ET50 and the distance from the mounting face to the outside of the wheel rim shown 68mm (ok, should be 68.5)):

Do your own maths and make sure, and feel free to ask...

PS: a 225/35/19 on an 8J ET50 rim is standard for the rear of an Audi RS3

 

[Mamba]

Cheers 45bvtc, thats really helpful and useful enough to make an informed decision. I've gleaned from what you are saying that it'll be cool, and they won't rub, but it might not 'look' as desired.

Ultimately, I don't want the tyres to catch on the underside of the arches using 19" 8.0J ET45's. The current ET35's stick out a bit and rub every now and then, that and I've never warmed to the design or their handling, so you can appreciate where the 'higher offset / larger dia / skinnier tyre' line of thought has come from...

 

[JamesS4cab]

Unless you are taking 4 large mates for their weekly weigh in at Weight Watchers, you should have no problems.

I have run 8, 8.5 and 9J width inc BE rotors from an a4 and I had a small amount of rubbing on the front with 235 so dropped to a 225 profiles but then I was dropped 25mm. Removing the usual arch screws helped front and rear.

With regards to rolling diameter, I really wouldn't get hung up.

 

[S3_Jacko]

The rolling diameter... Your speedo will be 0.5mph out over each 30mph you go up... I.e 30 would be actually 29.5mph, 60 would be 59mph etc.... Not exactly an issue... Et45, 19" 225 tyres on 8j.. Remove couple of arch screws... Perfect!

 

[Mamba]

The rolling diameter... Your speedo will be 0.5mph out over each 30mph you go up... I.e 30 would be actually 29.5mph, 60 would be 59mph etc.... Not exactly an issue... Et45, 19" 225 tyres on 8j.. Remove couple of arch screws... Perfect!

Thanks Jacko!
Have read about arch screw removal but not 100% sure what it means? Assume under the wheel arch there are plastic 'infills' that are held in place by said screws, removal of which removes the plasctic, ergo increasing the 'space' under the arch?
Cheers
M

 

[JamesS4cab]

Thats about the sum of it!

If you feel under the arches there is one at the rear, and when i was running 9J at the front, there was one on the front. Doesn't have any impact on holding the trim on!

When i first ran 9J with 235 on the rear, i did take a Dremmel to a small are on the rear bumper as well........

 

[Mamba]

Thats about the sum of it!

If you feel under the arches there is one at the rear, and when i was running 9J at the front, there was one on the front. Doesn't have any impact on holding the trim on!

When i first ran 9J with 235 on the rear, i did take a Dremmel to a small are on the rear bumper as well........

Had a look under the arches, there are a number of allen key bolt fixing points for the plactic under the arch... Assume I don't have to remove ALL of these?
You refer to 'one' on the front and rear.... Any guidance as to which one (screw) you're alluding to?

Thanks
M

 

[br20vt]

I ran 19 x 8.5 ET45 Helios on mine with 25mm H&R springs with no rubbing issues what so ever. Before that i had 18 x 8.5 ET35 squared sc1's which gave a bit of poke and rubbed over average sized bumps.