Wheels/Rims/Wheels/Rims

[fourringsrus]

Hi all, well I washed off the recent road salt etc today from my two babies,but every time I look at the '95 2.6 coupe after a wash ,I can't help saying "wow " she'd look so much better on different rims.
Now I know it's all about taste but even though these rims were fitted to the car when she was around 3 years old at a cost of £950 ,yes £950 12 years ago,I just don't like them.
So what I'm thinking is that one of you probably does like them and may even fancy a swap with some that you don't like so much.
If I had a small bag of cash laying around I would just go out and buy a set of 18" old style RS4 rims,but with Christmas just gone I am a bit skint.
These rims on the car are Wolfrace rims with a polished lip and outer rim and are on 215/45/17 tyres ,all 4 tyres are very good so if any body has a set of 4 stud rims,preferably 18", with decent tyres and fancies a change,get in touch.
I believe the pattern is 4x 108 for these cars but you all probably know that.
The rims could do with a re-furb to be honest but I would rather spend the cash re-furbing some rims that I like.

If you have a look in my profile at the album "prettier than most" and take alook at the "silver babe coupe "you'll see what I am getting at.

Many thanks for taking a look
Stuart

:beerchug::beerchug::beerchug::beerchug::beerchug: :beerchug::beerchug::beerchug:

[OOOO80]

Hey Stuart, i know you want some 18's for the coupe, but, what about getting the spokes sprayed in a dark metallic grey and re-polish the rims.
1, it'll cost you next to nothing to do.
2, the wheels will blend into the car better, as it will match the lower part of the car. (well i thought so anyway) just a thought.;)

[fourringsrus]

Hello mate, when you say "next to nothing", how much'ish, my problem is I don't like the wheels enough and would probably prefer to spend on re-furbing something else
Is it something you think I could do well enough myself ,I'm not a total numpty but just don't know all the right grades of paper etc and just get people telling me "you want this grit and that grit" etc, when they are usually half quoting something they heard in a pub
Like I say I'd probably prefer to mess about with something else and I can't afford new rims (have seen 18" RS4 4 studs on the bay at around £225
Stuart

[OOOO80]

Hi Stuart, i saw those wheels on ebay for £225, but they dont come with tyres i thought about getting some of them myself, but i already had a set of 17inch tyres, so i won on ebay the wheels that are on my car.
anyway, if you want to give your existing wheels a once over, do what i did, i used 1200 wet n dry paper to break the surface, dont go all the way through the existing paint, otherwise, being alloy you will need to acid etch them so the paint you spray on will stick to it, just take the shine off the paint, then carefully mask off the rim/tyre, and apply some primer, when dry, gently nib/rub the primer to remove any imperfections, remove the dust, and spray your colour on, i used rattle cans, i know it sounds a bit cack but when the colour has dryed, clear laquer them, and you will be suprised, by the way, do the spraying in a well vented area:biglaugh:
all the best, Jon

[fourringsrus]

Evening Jon, though I don't like the rims I am still thinking of having a go myself just to clean it up a bit,but this leads me on to the fact that back in the summer I did attempt this on the worst one which had been biffed into the kerbs etc ,n/s/f, but after rubbing down ,filling the scratches etc and unwittingly going down to the ally,the rattle can started to spray nice and evenly until it just gobbed and puked all over the place ,totally wrecking a good few hours elbow grease.
I decided that as I was having 2 weeks at Christmas I would have another bash with all the correct kit at hand, unfortunately I never got around to it and now that rim looks like it needs dipping in acid or similar,in fact it's almost black like the modern boy racer look, with all the road grime etc,which is horrible so I'm thinking of having another go.
When you say "acid etch" ,is this expensive or something I can do myself,or would I get away with rubbing down and primering again,or would that just come out cack?
On another note ,the car is silver with blue leather interior and I'm wondering if a blue lip would look poo or enhance the rims after they are re-silvered,any thoughts?
Stuart

[OOOO80]

no no no! dont do the blue rim thing, thats for the jap scene, my brother has an FTO with some rare black Advan racing rims, he's on about doing a coloured rim on them, which would suit it well, now, as your car is german, have you thought about the "euro look" slammed, with smaller but fat rims with stretched tyres, now that would look cool!! as you dont see many coupes looking like that. ;)

[Jonnovision]

I have a question on this one too though - do 18" Rims (seen the same RS4 Style on Ebay) fit onto a 80 Coupe, and not give any issues on the inner arches??? Thats my main concern. There is another Coupe my way, 20v Quattro and they have fitted 17".

I was also thinking of (at some point) replacing the suspension - with Bilstein OE Shocks and Apex springs - then fitting the 18" Alloys to finish it off...?

This is why I have hesitated though, not sure if the 18" are going to give me any issues...

[OOOO80]

well my wheels are 17x7.5, these catch the inner plastic arches on full lock, and its not lowered yet either, and i've stretched 205/40/17 tyres on them too! so if you put on the 18s you are going to have to use some really low profile tyres!! some elastic bands would be a good idea:biglaugh:

[fourringsrus]

Jon , so the blue lip is clearly a no no,.ok but my pals 18 year old has done the stretched tyre thing on a polo and it really isn't my thing.
Your 205/40/17's are stretched and they rub,I wonder if the ET measurment is the issue as my 215/45/17's give me absolutely no trouble on standard suspension.
I have seen 18's on the coupe and I recently posted on hear about a "shed" '94 cabby 2.3e also on the RS4's 18", this was the car that re-sparked my interest in 18's for my coupe....anyhow if we keep chatting about it someone will come up trumps with the required spec to make it work
Stuart

[Jonnovision]

Very true Stuart - I've seen a couple recently with 18" on for sale and they really do fill the arches nicely, a great finishing touch. Not sure actually whether/ how to work out reduction in tyre size as you increase the inches diameter of the wheel?

Whats the ET measurement refer to?

[fourringsrus]

H Jonno, ET is an abreviation of a stupidly long German word which basically refers to a measurement from, in rough terms,the distance from the hub/stud face,outwards toward the point that the outer edge of the rim face protudes ,also referred to sometimes as stagger I believe.
So more basically, how far the rim will poke out of the car arch,I suppose if you get the ET wrong your wheels will stick out like Carlos Fandango's and potentially the fronts will klonk against your arch's when turning hard in bouncy fast corners,and I suppose in extreme cases it puts the geometry of the steering and suspension all to kock.
If that is not too clear I'm sure somebody will explain it more clearly
I think what we really need is somebody who has fitted 18"'s on an 80/coupe/cabby to tell us all what size tyres and what ET he has used and why ,and if on standard ride height suspension, and maybe with a couple of photos to show how good it all looks
Stuart

[OOOO80]

perhaps i need thinner wheels then, as mine are a 37mm ET, but are 7.5 inch wide, there has to be someone with those 18 inch wheels you want on there car, maybe they are shy:Blush::biglaugh:

[Tooand]

Hi I have 18" wheels on my 1995 V6 coupe, i have 225/35s on the rear and 215/35s on the front and have had no trouble with them. Full wheel spec: 18x7.5 inch, PCD 4X108, Offset ET38. Hope this helps fellas. Will put photos on my profile page.

[fourringsrus]

Well done ,now I can start looking around
Many thanks

Stuart

[scotty33]

For what i's worth, 19" are possible if you really want them. 215/35 are only 1% larger rolling radius than standard 205 60 15's.
I would caution that really low profiles give great steering response and look the part but tramline/bumpsteer like a barsteward and totally destroy the comfort and serenity (roadnoise).
Personally I think 17's on 45 series tyres are a fairly good compromise, I also think bigger rims tend to make the brakes look weedy..

[bryso]

http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp

this should help you folks

cheers,
Martin

[fourringsrus]

Not really but thanks anyway

[bryso]

No? sounded like you wanted to know what wheel size/tire size/offset combo would work for you compared to standard, must have misread

[fourringsrus]

Sorry bryso, I appreciate your help but I suppose I don't fully understand the chart, but thankyou anyway

Stuart

[bryso]

ok sorry, thought they might help i found these things quite useful keeping me close to the original rolling radius and also an idea of the clearance

[scotty33]

It's really good in that it shows what Offset (ET) is.

Some other tyre calculators give differences in rolling radius as a percentage change, which I find a useful feature.