Thinking of fitting these alloys to my A6 C7

[ElliotB]

Thinking of fitting these bad boys to my Audi A6 (Phantom Black, pearl effect)

Looking at some pictures I think it will suite the car and the colour nicely.

The only question I have is whether to go for 19x8.5' or 19x9.5?

Thanks for any input!

 

[ElliotB]

Went ahead and bought this set of alloys 19x8.5' together with winter tyres. Had to shell out £1800. Will post pictures once I receive them

 

[lacstermac]

Looking forward to seeing them!!

 

[ElliotB]

Here they are (they look awesome from the front)



And this is how the car looked a week ago
View attachment 24627

 

[wesmaster]

Looks good, but £1800 for a set of non genuine alloys with winter tyres.....bit expensive. Just my point of view.
I would have bought a set of 16" for winter, 19"+ice= rim damage!

 

[ElliotB]

To clarify the total cost including the tyres was £1800. For the summer I'll go with 20'

 

[wesmaster]

I realise that, but in past experience, a 16" or 17" winter tyre is loads more effective, narrow tyres are better as they put more KG per cm through the tyres hence more grip on snow/ice/rain.
And they are so much cheaper! Granted they don't look as good, but a "better" winter option, as said before, just my point of view.

 

[ElliotB]

...narrow tyres are better as they put more KG per cm through the tyres hence more grip on snow/ice/rain.

The tyres I fitted are only half an inch wider. Taking this into account and without disputing the effectiveness of 16/17" alloys, don't they have larger contact area with the surface (due to lower psi and more rubber). Thus putting LESS KG per cm? So the argument here is higher pressure vs contact area. TBH I don't know the answer to that. IMHO surface area wins in this case, that's why we see wider tyres in high performance cars (the idea is the same, regardless of the type of the surface - better grip). Gosh managed to confuse myself After reading 2 pages of this I'm still not sure A debate question - Narrow Vs. Wide tires for winter driving - AudiWorld Forums Seems to depend a lot on whether it's snow, slush, water...etc

 

[ElliotB]

Looks much better from the front

 

[BahnStormer77]

The tyres I fitted are only half an inch wider. Taking this into account and without disputing the effectiveness of 16/17" alloys, don't they have larger contact area with the surface (due to lower psi and more rubber). Thus putting LESS KG per cm? So the argument here is higher pressure vs contact area. TBH I don't know the answer to that. IMHO surface area wins in this case, that's why we see wider tyres in high performance cars (the idea is the same, regardless of the type of the surface - better grip). Gosh managed to confuse myself After reading 2 pages of this I'm still not sure A debate question - Narrow Vs. Wide tires for winter driving - AudiWorld Forums Seems to depend a lot on whether it's snow, slush, water...etc

Do Audi allow you to go down to 16" on the A6?!? I thought even 17" was very tight on some of the brake calipers (on the TFSI/BiTDI).

I just shredded a brand new winter tyre on 18's... I'd love a set of 20's for summer, but seriously considering seeign if I can get some 17's for winter.

And the "narrower tyres = better winter tyres" is very old-school thinking which applied for certain packed snow / ice surfaces and only with summer tyres or very old-style winter tyres: where you want the tyre to be pushed into the ice or packed snow with more pressure (i.e. less surface area). Modern winter tyres rely on tread patterns and materials that actually allow your tyres to grip the ice, so more surface area = more grip.

 

[a6_chris]

Any sizes that fit any particular car are listed on the pressure chart either inside of the fuel filler flap or drivers door jam.

 

[BahnStormer77]

Thanks A6-Chris - I know that applies for OEM wheels, but when you get to the larger brake disc setups and smaller wheels you have to get very careful, especially if you're going non-OEM for cheap winter wheels.

Elliot, I think the 8.5J was the right one to go for, but is the offset correct on those? The new wheels look like they sit narrower than standard S-Line 18's, unless that's just an optical illusion because yours are 19's.

 

[ElliotB]

The offset is correct