just got our 2004 (new shape) 3.2FSI SE Quatro Tip. came with standard 17" wheels and 225/50/17 tyres. first thing we noticed, compared to our old A6, was the increase in road noise/tyre noise. swapped the wheels for 16" one and 215/55/16 tyres (still got the old A6 so easy to swap them over). instantly improved the situation and road noise is better and ride better. why oh why oh why do people put big rims on ? i drove the new car like a loony yesterday (for testing purposes you understand ) and not once did i think "i wish i had bigger wheels to improve the handling". the car handles exceptionally well due to it being a quattro. no need for bigger wheels. is it just a case of vanity and asthetics ?. the taller tyres give much better give/suspension and the narrower tyres reduce road noise. surely when you have an exec car you want and exec ride ?
the next task - how do i make ride softer as its much harder than our old SE ??