Audi A4 S Line Black Edition - Road noise, alternative wheels?

[converse420]

Hi
Firstly, I'm new to the forum, so my appologies if this question has been raised before, I've searched to no avail!

Ive just picked up a 2011 A4 S Line Black Edition, which looks stunning, but with the 19" wheels the road noise is staggering on most surfaces (it probably doesnt help that my last car was a VW Phaeton)!

As a consequence of this, I'm looking at picking up a spare set of 17" wheels/tyres to (hopefully) alleviate the noise to some extent! So my questions are:
1. Do you guys think this will make a noticeable difference to the noise?

2. What should I be looking at for the replacement 17" wheels (offset, clearance of brakes etc.)

Its a real shame to have to do this, but my ears are litterally bleeding, so any help would be greatly appreciated!


Regards

Dale

[theskyfox]

Hi, Welcome to the forum,

I've got a set of 17" wheels that I use on my car for winter tyres. I can't remember off hand the exact sizes, but you can get official Audi 17" alloys that will fit your car without any issues. If I get a spare 5 minutes later at home I will find out my sizes and post.

1. Yes it will reduce the road noise, and the ride will be much less bumpy. Be aware that a lot of tyre noise is also down to the brand of tyre, and these are now sold with labels telling you the expected decibel rating of road noise to expect from them

2. I'll dig out my sizes later.

Additional notes worth considering:

-Tyres on 17" wheels are substantically cheaper to buy than 19", so you will be saving money
-Fuel economy will improve marginally as the 17" are lighter/contact less road surface
-If you have a driving style of "drive it like you stole it" then you will find that the road-handling of
17" wheels isn't as good as the 19"; however this will not be a problem for 99.9% of people driving
on the road.
-If you change your wheels, you *may* need to inform your insurance company as it is technically a modification

[converse420]

Thanks theskyfox, much appreciated!

Dale

[eob]

Hi Dale,
as I said in the other Black Edition thread, the road noise in mine is not obtrusive.
As theskyfox says, the make/brand will have a lot to do with it.
Your other post didn't mention that your car was a 2011 so chances are it won't have the Continental Conti Sport Contacts.
That could be the main contributing factor.

Edit: Also, welcome to the forum. A friendly bunch of know-it-alls who will gladly help with any issues your've got.

[c.grex]

I'll swap you my standard 18" S line wheels for yours if you want!? only because I feel sorry for you....

[Guest 2]

wide tyres + low sidewall = horrendous noise. if you dont like it you should'nt of got a BE

[Fulty74]

How much are the 19's lol, I take it they're these wheels

[converse420]

wide tyres + low sidewall = horrendous noise. if you dont like it you should'nt of got a BE

They were part of the deal, coming from a big 2.7 tonne VW Phaeton with a fantastic ride I always knew the BE would be noisy and always expected to change the wheels even if it doesn't look as good!

[converse420]

How much are the 19's lol, I take it they're these wheels

Those are the ones, although I have no immediate plans to sell, I guess I will have fun when I part ex for a new one in a few years if the stock wheels aren't on it.

[boom1]

Just turn the Bang & Olufsen up!
Think its more to do with the road surfaces TBH. Around my way they have recently resurfaced using bitumen then chippings, the noise is horrendous. When you get on a good bit of tarmac though its very quiet (using Conti 3's)