Wheel and Tyre deals

[Tanuki]

My rolling rubber needs to be changed all round, and since I've never been entirely excited about the standard 16" alloys on my A4 B6 Avant, I've looked into getting 18" wheels with low profile tyres.

I've seen deals like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AL%3ARTQ%3AUK%3A1&viewitem=&item=200065912705&rd=1

...but the tyres are always cheapies. I looked into getting Michelin Pilots with the same rims, and that jacked the price up to 871.

My questions: Are these cheap tyres all that bad? Are we just in love with brand names?

I understand the Michelins will be superior. But by how much? Can it be quantified?

Also, having given up a late model WRX for my A4, my boy-racer days are pretty much done :D. Now all I want is good handling but I'm not driving that quick and would prefer something reasonably quiet and competent.

BTW does anyone know of a better deal than the one above (same rims)?

Oops one more thing. Can anyone with a B6 avant who has gone up to 18"s post a photo? I'm still deciding on styles although I'm moving towards the RS6 style in the ebay ad above....

[frakkafield]

I personally would avoid the wheels on your link, the giveaway word being 'style'

If you're prepared to take your time and shop around you will probably get some genuine wheels with good tyres, I recently purchased a set with new michellin pilot premacy tyres.

My personal opinion is that if you have an Audi, fit Audi wheels and not some aftermarket copy of audi wheels

This seller
http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZtheQ5fprinceQ5fofQ5fwhe els

I think he recovers wheels off crashed cars or something, he was good to deal with, I got four as new tyres and wheels for the same cost as a new set of tyres, and then I was able to sell my old wheels which really helps offset the cost.

As regard to tyres, I've been through a few pairs, I find Falken and Pirelli to be far too soft and the pirelli were terrifying in the wet, I used to use hankook, they were ok for motorway driving, not too noisy.

Then I had a set of uniroyals, which I found to be unstable

Now I'm on to Michellin, I would never go back, the ride is better, the handling is noticably more precise and they did me 25K iin a powerfull front wheel drive car, though on the longevity front I have some friends who swear by Vedersteins and others who swear by Nankangs (used on M3)

a couple of websites to try are
www.blackcircles.com and www.mytyres.co.uk

[Tanuki]

Thanks for the words and the links.

As for style, there's no accounting for taste I suppose.

Although it's not an avant like mine, this is what I've been working on when it comes to gauging what the wheels will look like:

http://www.compucars.co.uk/carpics/Lg172579-01.jpg


This one is almost exactly like mine, but fitted with 17" wheels:

http://www.compucars.co.uk/carpics/Lg180541-01.jpg

Thought about this style but the more I looked the more I thought there is a subtle disharmony:

http://www.compucars.co.uk/carpics/Lg180057-01.jpg

How about these?:

http://usera.imagecave.com/wheelbase_gb_ltd/VW/NEWRS42.JPG

http://usera.imagecave.com/wheelbase_gb_ltd/VW/NewRS43.JPG

I've been giving serious consideration to these as an alternative.

[aidanjaye]

Got a set of 19s from ebay from statesiderims - seem good quality and tyres were not cheap nasty items. Would highly recommend checking him out. PM if you want his number. The wheel style I chose was same as the A3 in your post. Price was also very resonable.

[Tanuki]

Thanks mate. I'll PM u about it.

[Tanuki]

Found their eBay shop:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Stateside-Rims-and-Accessories

[T-Sport]

I upgraded to 18" TT Quattro style alloys on mine which were supplied with Nexen tyres, which i bought on Ebay and ,managed to get a better deal over the phone from them (Rochford Tyres)£650 delivered!!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/18-Audi-VW-TT-Quattro-Style-Alloy-Wheels-Tyres_W0QQitemZ320067224862QQihZ011QQcategoryZ9888 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I quoted another Ebay selller selling them for £25 less with tyres so they matched it and even threw in a set of wolfrace locking nuts and they were delivered to my door within 2 working days fully balanced and ready to fit ...

The Nexen tyres have been very good so far and the tread pattern looks very nice apparenly designed to disperse water and grip is good!!! Heres some info on them - http://www.blackcircles.com/tyres/nexen

All in all the replicas are very good quality and if you put them up against the real thing Audi sell for £500 !!! a rim you really cant tell the difference...

See my pic below with them fitted ...

[Tanuki]

Saw this image on eBay (some mob selling service reset info...weird)

http://i9.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/cd/c2/50_1.JPG

Same model and colour as mine. What size wheels do you think these are?

[aidanjaye]

18s i think.
If you go on ebay and typs in statesiderims as a seller then under rs4 wheels you will see a pic of A4 with 19 inch.

[Tanuki]

Anyone got a profile shot of an estate with RS6 replica wheels either 18" or 17"?

The other half has got involved and convinced me to go a little more understated.

I'm now swaying towards a 17" 5 spoke star style, which looks nice but maybe just a little TOO conservative.

Instead I might conside 17" RS6 replica wheels but I can't find an A4 estate photo with them on for love or money.

Anyone can help out?

Here are the 5 spoke stars on another member's silver estate:

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=45&size=big&cat=

Mine is Demin Blue but I think it should look ok. So hard to tell until the wheels are on the car.

[T-Sport]

RS6 Alloys look much better than the 5 star ones in my opinion ...

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o175/T-sport_photos/rs6alloys.jpg

[Tanuki]

Ah decisions. I'm down to either the 5 spoke stars, and then 17" or 18", then there is the RS6s, and again 18" or 17"

See it's only a 130 TDi...nothing special, so having the big rims is going to look a bit try-hard.

Also I think that mine would look better having s-line front an rear bumpers colour coded into the body, instead of the grey plastic stds I have now. Anyone know where to get s-line bumpers outside of Audi?

[devonutopia]

Anything good on the rochfordtyres site? Put a link in below which I hope works. Not an estate - they use a hatch/saloon one as their examples.

http://www.rochfordtyres.co.uk/search.asp?numrecordposition=1&strSize=18%22&strkeywords=5x112%20et35,5x112%20et37,5x112%20et38 ,5x112%20et40,5x112%20et42,5x112%20et45,5x112/57-1%20et38&strSort=Low&Make=Audi&Model=A4

[Tanuki]

Jason,

Yeah I'd tried that link before. However it doesn't truly represent rim size.

I mean, look at the car....those rims are listed as 18"s but they look like 16"s on the car in the image. Not a true indication of relative scale. And that's what it's about. I don't want something that will too max power but also not too understated.

I've gone from the WRX mentality of mods and 2Fast2Furious, to the Audi, which is actually my surf wagon/mountain biking freedom machine which is kinder to the environment.

[AudiSport]

Yeah, I'm after a set of the 17'' 5-Star alloys to go on my A4 Sport. I've seen this copies on ebay which seen good value? However am also a little conserned about coppies?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=008&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=180072980243&rd=1&rd=1

My A4 is also that mid blue which I think limits what you can get away with fitting in the way of alloys! I also like the 17'' S4 alloys. Any pics anyone?

[RickT]

lol... looks like we are looking for the same ones!

hence the price also going up!!

RicKT

[AudiSport]

Hey Rick!

Yeah I think those 5-spoke alloys just look SO much better than the 16's they come with standard.

Do you know much about these replicas? I guess the best bet is always genuine used ones from ebay, but as I need 4-new tyres anyway it seemed a good option?

[Tanuki]

By "mid-blue" I guess you mean Denim Blue, like mine.

If I had silver I might try to get away with 18"s but we'll see if I can get the Sport 17".

Southwest tyres seems to have them but they are listed as "VW Positano". I called them saturday and the guy said there were none in stock but he was going to call a supplier on Monday and get back to me.

Pluses for using South West Tyres are;

They look reputable
Great eBay feedback
Good customer service ethic (at least so far on the phone).
Choice of better tyres for reasonable prices.I've already visited that other link you have provided but I had reservations about them, and they don't seem to give any indication of the type of tyre that comes with the package.

I'll let you know how I go.

Here's some pics of 5 Spoke stars:

[Tanuki]

As for 18" RS6 alloys, do these look OTT?

[AudiSport]

Way too OTT for me... I think the 5-star look best. Maybe if your car is black you could get away with them.. Funny how the colour says SO much about the car!

[RickT]

i do like them both... im going to get looking in the next few months..

I guess if you could get perfect copies and got some Audi centre caps you may be able to pull it off..

However i would perfer to stay OEM as you know they will last over time.

RicKT

[AudiSport]

Pluses for using South West Tyres are;

They look reputable
Great eBay feedback
Good customer service ethic (at least so far on the phone).
Choice of better tyres for reasonable prices.I've already visited that other link you have provided but I had reservations about them, and they don't seem to give any indication of the type of tyre that comes with the package.

I'll let you know how I go.

Here's some pics of 5 Spoke stars:


Yes please let me know how you get on. Does the above alloy deal come with Audi centre caps?