Audi A6 Avant 2008 new tyres - can I increase profile
Discussion
So I've got a 2008 Audi A6 2.7 Avant "Le Mans" (no idea how they came up with that name, personally the closest the car's been to Le Mans is Dartford).
It's a station car mostly now doing 3 miles a day (plus weekend taxi taking kids to their horses) that's done 90k now (my wife originally had it as her daily, she put 50k+ miles on it over 3 years) and I'm planning to drive until it dies. It needs a bit done this year that I've neglected over the last 18 months.
Among this I need new tyres (might be just fronts but I suspect all around). Car currently has 19/255/35 (crappy cheap brand but I'm going back to Pirelli's this time). Pretty sure this is the standard as it is the sizing on the sticker chart inside the fuel hatch. Fair to say its a fairly firm ride - nice on the motorway but not so great on country lanes around here.
Is it possible to put a higher profile (e.g. 19/255/40 or 45) on and would that improve (soften) the ride quality or is it just going to f**k things up all round (wheel arches, suspension, speedo etc).
Obviously I won't mix and match front and rear so would only do this all round.
Thoughts appreciated.
It's a station car mostly now doing 3 miles a day (plus weekend taxi taking kids to their horses) that's done 90k now (my wife originally had it as her daily, she put 50k+ miles on it over 3 years) and I'm planning to drive until it dies. It needs a bit done this year that I've neglected over the last 18 months.
Among this I need new tyres (might be just fronts but I suspect all around). Car currently has 19/255/35 (crappy cheap brand but I'm going back to Pirelli's this time). Pretty sure this is the standard as it is the sizing on the sticker chart inside the fuel hatch. Fair to say its a fairly firm ride - nice on the motorway but not so great on country lanes around here.
Is it possible to put a higher profile (e.g. 19/255/40 or 45) on and would that improve (soften) the ride quality or is it just going to f**k things up all round (wheel arches, suspension, speedo etc).
Obviously I won't mix and match front and rear so would only do this all round.
Thoughts appreciated.
DuraAce said:
Sell the 19s and buy some 17s?
Just changing profile will mess your speedo reading. Insurance implications of fitting non standard (type approved?) sizes?
Loads of wheels on ebay, you should end up in profit as 19s should be when more and future tyres will be cheaper as well.
I did this with my A4 Avant, you could notice a slight improvement in the ride plus the tyres are a hell of a lot cheaper!Just changing profile will mess your speedo reading. Insurance implications of fitting non standard (type approved?) sizes?
Loads of wheels on ebay, you should end up in profit as 19s should be when more and future tyres will be cheaper as well.
Mattjevans said:
I doubt 17's will clear the front discs/calipers
Assuming the A6 discs are no bigger than 345mm as per the S4 then they should? - I had an A3 3.2 with 17" wheels (225/45 x 17) and the same size 345mm discs as my S4 with 19" wheels.There wasn't much clearance (wouldn't have fit 16") and I'm not certain the calipers are the same but the discs fit in the wheel.
Funnily enough, I've just this weekend gone back to my 19" Le Mans wheels from running 17" ones with winter tyres all winter.
I bought the wheels (and tyres) second hand, but managed to get the details out of the guy that sold them.
They're 17x7.5J ET45.
This differs from the Audi recommended spec of 17x7J ET42 for winter wheels. I believe they recommend narrower wheels to stop snow building up. Clearly, this is not going to be an issue for you.
Tyres are 225/50/17 and they're a hell of a lot cheaper in that size than in 255/35/19.
The first thing I notice every year when I do this is how much more crashy the ride is when going beack the the summer wheels.
The other thing is the weight. I've never put them on the scales, but the Le Mans wheels are VERY heavy. Reducing rotational mass is always a good thing.
PS - the car is a Le Mans as they built them to celebrate the R10 diesel winning at Le Mans. I've seen several adverts advertising petrol Le Mans, but AFAIK they were only diesel versions.
I bought the wheels (and tyres) second hand, but managed to get the details out of the guy that sold them.
They're 17x7.5J ET45.
This differs from the Audi recommended spec of 17x7J ET42 for winter wheels. I believe they recommend narrower wheels to stop snow building up. Clearly, this is not going to be an issue for you.
Tyres are 225/50/17 and they're a hell of a lot cheaper in that size than in 255/35/19.
The first thing I notice every year when I do this is how much more crashy the ride is when going beack the the summer wheels.
The other thing is the weight. I've never put them on the scales, but the Le Mans wheels are VERY heavy. Reducing rotational mass is always a good thing.
PS - the car is a Le Mans as they built them to celebrate the R10 diesel winning at Le Mans. I've seen several adverts advertising petrol Le Mans, but AFAIK they were only diesel versions.
Kell said:
Funnily enough, I've just this weekend gone back to my 19" Le Mans wheels from running 17" ones with winter tyres all winter.
I bought the wheels (and tyres) second hand, but managed to get the details out of the guy that sold them.
They're 17x7.5J ET45.
This differs from the Audi recommended spec of 17x7J ET42 for winter wheels. I believe they recommend narrower wheels to stop snow building up. Clearly, this is not going to be an issue for you.
Tyres are 225/50/17 and they're a hell of a lot cheaper in that size than in 255/35/19.
The first thing I notice every year when I do this is how much more crashy the ride is when going beack the the summer wheels.
The other thing is the weight. I've never put them on the scales, but the Le Mans wheels are VERY heavy. Reducing rotational mass is always a good thing.
PS - the car is a Le Mans as they built them to celebrate the R10 diesel winning at Le Mans. I've seen several adverts advertising petrol Le Mans, but AFAIK they were only diesel versions.
Thanks - very helpfulI bought the wheels (and tyres) second hand, but managed to get the details out of the guy that sold them.
They're 17x7.5J ET45.
This differs from the Audi recommended spec of 17x7J ET42 for winter wheels. I believe they recommend narrower wheels to stop snow building up. Clearly, this is not going to be an issue for you.
Tyres are 225/50/17 and they're a hell of a lot cheaper in that size than in 255/35/19.
The first thing I notice every year when I do this is how much more crashy the ride is when going beack the the summer wheels.
The other thing is the weight. I've never put them on the scales, but the Le Mans wheels are VERY heavy. Reducing rotational mass is always a good thing.
PS - the car is a Le Mans as they built them to celebrate the R10 diesel winning at Le Mans. I've seen several adverts advertising petrol Le Mans, but AFAIK they were only diesel versions.
I have a set of five 18" RS6 style genuine Audi alloys if your interested in buying them from me? They are as per the winter alloys pictured above, and came fitted to my C6 A6 Avant. They could do with a Referb to look their best, but all tyres are good. In fact, the front Avon ZZ5s only have 1k miles on them.
Mattjevans said:
I would say so, but your best bet is to get in touch with the seller.Gassing Station | Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff