Staggered wheels, bump stops, & new shocks help please

[79stef]

Hi all,
I recently sourced and fitted a set of genuine 19" rotors to my Audi Avant B8. I am super pleased with how they look.
The wheels are staggered, so they 19" x 8.5j (et43) at the front and 19" x 9j (et33) rears. i have fitted Goodyear Asymetric 255/35/19 tyres, as recommeded by many on this forum.
I really like how the 9j rears fill the arches - they are absolutely perfect... except...I drove the car with 3 passengers and the wheels rubbed on even minor bumps. My left shock has recently started to leak and needs replacing and so my questions are these:

I went to R-Tec performance in St Albans and explained the problem. The staff were great and recommended using a bump stop type application (used for towing caravans etc) which fits into the middle of the shock to stop it moving its whole length. Has anyone used these succesfully?

I need to replace the shocks - I do not want to lower the car. Can anyone recommend shocks (Bilstein B6??) over standard ones or if Im not lowering, should I stick to standard OEM gear?

Is there a company that provides uprated shocks and springs that dont lower the overall height of the vehicle?

(I do not want to spend a huge deal of money, so am ruling out coilovers or air-ride)

Thank you in advance

 

[Chop.]

Have you thought about changing to thinner tyre 245/30/19 I run 245/30/20 lowered on 40mm H&Rs with no problems

I don't like the idea of the bigger bump stop taking up some of the travel that just doesn't sound safe to me

I would say just go for a standard oem shock if you've no interest in lowering replace the leaking one and at least there all the same

Also do you have ads as you would need to take that into consideration if changing shocks

Chop

 

[79stef]

Thanks Chop (great build by the way)

I hadn't thought about changing the tyre yet as Ive literally just bought the Goodyears, but that seems like a possible option - although I really like the way the tyre is flush with the arch at the mo (- wow, I'm not asking for am I!)

If I were to replace the shock with a branded one, then I'd do all four. Otherwise, I'll just do the rear two and use OEM, as you say Chop, to keep them all the same.

Also, thanks for the advice but I dont have ADS in my Audi.

 

[Chop.]

Thanks

At least no ads is one less thing to worry about then

Yeh sounds like the way to go Iv not got any suggestions for shocks sorry I'm relatively new to the Audi game

Do you know where it's rubbing is there maby a screw you could take out or a bit or inner arch you could modify so you could keep the look that you've got

 

[79stef]

Yes, its just catching the top outer edge of the wheel. Im going to get the car on a ramp and have a proper look this weekend to see if there is any simple fix.

 

[xpoweruk]

Iirc one of the arch liner screws catches on some cars.
Removal if said screw fixes the rub

 

[RyanJonS4]

Is your car fwd or Quattro?
If Quattro you should be running different tyres front and back to keep rolling radius the same as your wheels are different widths as well as offsets

 

[Chop.]

Is your car fwd or Quattro?
If Quattro you should be running different tyres front and back to keep rolling radius the same as your wheels are different widths as well as offsets

Do you mean same tyres for quattro ?

And width and offset wouldn't affect rolling radius just tyre thickness ie. 30s 35s etc

 

[RyanJonS4]

Do you mean same tyres for quattro ?

And width and offset wouldn't affect rolling radius just tyre thickness ie. 30s 35s etc

2 tyres the same size on different width rims will give a different rolling radius due to stretch, if 1/2" would be enough to cause problems I'm not sure.

 

[Chop.]

@RyanJonS4 ah I see what you mean mate sorry my bad there

I wouldnt think that would be enough to cause any problems but like you say I'm not sure either

 

[Meemo]

@RyanJonS4 ah I see what you mean mate sorry my bad there

I wouldnt think that would be enough to cause any problems but like you say I'm not sure either

Read up some on this before, you can run staggered on Quattro, but as Ryan says, only if you match the rolling radius by changing the tyre size to match between the front and rear.
The purest will say never run staggered but the maths says matching the rolling radius counteracts this.
Staggered also gives some understeer , i felt a big difference when 8.5j and 10j was on compared to the standard square setup (I am not quattro, is allowed ) but does look good with difference concave profiles.

 

[Meemo]

rolling radius clever maths and explanation for any one who was interested (sorry spamming):
http://www.lancerregister.com/showthread.php?t=480196

Also definately a little more stretch on the rear sounds like your solution.
You could sell the other 2 very easily as they are new and a good brand people like at the moment.

 

[RyanJonS4]

You can get away with a small difference I believe as tyres wear at different rates any way so will never be 100% the same (apart from with 4 brand new ones) but what % of difference is acceptable I'm not too sure

 

[79stef]

Thanks for all your replies and input. I have had no access to the Forum as Tapatalk hasnt been letting me sign in for some reason and I didnt have my laptop.
Fortunately (as much as i'd love to) in this case, I don't hace Quattro. It's FWD.

From a quick feel under the arch I think I have found said screw but dont thinkits catching on this. Pretty sure its the edge of the tyre.

I've ordered Bilstein B6's all round and will be fitting shortly with standard springs. Unless someone knows of an uprated spring that is the same length as the S-Line's?
When I do this I'll have a proper look in the arch to see whats what.

Thanks again for all your help