Big Alloys

[fraserd]

I want to upgrade my alloys from the 6 spoke SE ones i have at the moment, does any one know the max size i can goto (width and rim size) with out any rubbing on the arches etc? I Know the sport has 205/40/17 , does this have lowered suspension?

Many thanks, Fraser.

[frido]

You can use 17"-Wheels with lowered suspension, but I don´t think you can go very higher... Some members of the german forum have the "Parabol"-Style TT-Alloys on their A2´s but I don´t think they are 18"...

Bye, Frido.

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[img=left]http://homepage.mac.com/frido/a2pic.gif[/img=left]
A2 1.4 TDI 2003 S-Line, cobalt blue, CC, DIS, SatNav+, Apple iPod
now parents' car: A2 1.2 TDI 2002 silver, CC, DIS
My A2OC pics (http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/europe9.htm) Homepage (http://homepage.mac.com/frido)

[Shaf]

Fraser,
The Sport does have lowered suspension albeit 10mm.

Shaf

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE

[fraserd]

Cool, does any one know about the max width can you go higer than 205mm wide?

[andrew simmons]

no i think 205 is your max tyre width any wider you will be interfering with the steering geometry and the castor and camber of the wheels
Also i know you will wear the track rod ends out and the bearings will wear out quicker since the design spec of the bearings are related to the max tyre size going to be put on the car.
I know all the above since i did it on my vw polo and it caused more problems than they are worth.

sorry to be miserable but you may as well know the facts before shelling out lots of money for new alloys and tyres.

cheers [16][21]

A.D.Simmons

[smartboost]

You might be able to use 195/55R15 tyres on 6" rims from the Polo Sport. These wheels look stronger than the A2's, and will give a better ride due to the higher sidewalls.

Sidewall of a 205/40 tyre is 205 x 40% = 82mm
Sidewall of a 195/55 tyre is 195 x 55% = 107.25mm

So the sidewall of a 195/55 tyre is 30.8% higher than the sidewall of a 205/40 tyre. Big and bouncy is best.

[24]

[jon.od]

AMD claim to have a set of eighteens that fit the A2 but they never got back to me with the offset so i can`t recommend alternative 18`s

[EF MAX]

At the moment I have 17's with 215/40/17.
They have done 12600 miles and were put on from delivery. No noticible issues yet.
I am thinking of going to 18's and I might look at 215/35/18 when I do, but this is still a maybe at this stage.

[bigshow]

Hmm, EF MAX can you post some pics of your car with the 215 wheels? Or are they already in the gallery?
I'm specially interested in pics taken from the front or back of the car, just want to see how wide they are compared to the 195 & 205 17s

--
Bigshow

[A2day]

I noticed that the recommended size for 16" are
185/50 R16
195/45 R16

However the 205/45 R16 is the size that has the lowest error of all, compared with my current wheel size (175/60 R15).

Why Audi recommends the 195/45 instead of 205/45???
Is it because the SE wheel does not allow 205 tires???

Speed doesn't kill... sudden deacceleration does!
http://clientes.netvisao.pt/ruimiguelp/small1.jpg Audi A2 1.4 TDI
See it > http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/europe26.htm

[smartboost]

175/60R15, 185/50R16, and 205/45R16 all have virtually the same outside diameter. Calculated diameters are 591mm, 591.4mm, and 590.9mm respectively. In practice they will vary a little anyway, due to manufacturing tolerances.

The SE wheel is 6" wide and the 205/45R16 needs at least a 6.5" rim. The 185/50R16 and 195/45R16 sizes are both ok on a 6" rim.

[A2day]

Hi will install the 195/45 R16 on a Montereal II wheel (it's 6.5 ").
The Montereal II is a VW wheel from the GOLF IV.
I will try to polish the wheel to create an aluminium look.

http://www.findit.co.uk/cars/volkswagen/parts/928556.jpg

Speed doesn't kill... sudden deacceleration does!
http://clientes.netvisao.pt/ruimiguelp/small1.jpg Audi A2 1.4 TDI
See it > http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/europe26.htm

[smartboost]

The 6.5" rim is a good match for the 195/45R16 tyre.

What ET number does the Montereal II wheel have stamped on the back? It might be 35 like the SE wheel.

P.S. I think your wheels look like aluminium already. [8D]

[EF MAX]

Not working off my own pc at the moment but my website has some pics, not sure if they will show you what you want but there is room for bigger wheels and tyres on this car.

http://www.x-bb.org/~efmax/my%20kit.htm

[A2day]

EF,
Could you please tell us what is that black material you use to isolate the foot well?

This will reduce the engine noise inside the car?

(sorry for this off-topic question...but noise redution is a very important issue for me)

Cheers,
A2day

Speed doesn't kill... sudden deacceleration does!
http://clientes.netvisao.pt/ruimiguelp/small1.jpg Audi A2 1.4 TDI
See it > http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/europe26.htm

[jon.od]

So the ideal eighteen would be A 7.5 x 18 then as the 8 inch wide may be a little to wide, wrapped in a 215 35 18 elastic band, Am i right in thinking ?

[swiv]

quote:Originally posted by A2day

EF,
Could you please tell us what is that black material you use to isolate the foot well?

This will reduce the engine noise inside the car?


I have the same stuff in my car, mainly in the doors and some remaining piece in the footwell.

I don't know its English name, but in Dutch it is called 'loodbitumen'.
Freely translated it come down to something like 'heavy (lead), thick, inert material resembling the stuff that you can burn/melt onto a flat roof, but specifically meant for audio-applications'. It has a self-adhesive back and is quite easily shaped when heated up slightly. It's not actually lead, by the way. More like tar and fibres.

I bought mine in a DIY hifi/audio/speaker shop. It was cheapest there.

It costs, if I'm not mistaken, about 15 euros for a 50x100cm piece. That piece weighs about 3,75kg.

It does help remove resonance, by bracing flat and floppy surfaces. The (left over) piece in my footwell removed some roadnoise. Even more and it would be even better.

I can't seem to find a good picture of 'loodbitumen' right now. Perhaps you can just go to a car parts and/or hifi store to ask for what I just described.

--
(2003 Silver 1.4 Tdi Exclusive(SE), black interior, sport seats, heated mirrors, JVC KD-SH909RB cd-receiver, Infinity Kappa 63.1 + Vifa on-dash tweeters, 12" Subwoofer on 300w Amp) and on its merry way to Germany, ABT, to be chiptuned, finally!

[smartboost]

215/35R18 on a 7.5" rim is ideal.

ETRTO (The European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) recommends a rim between 7" and 8.5" for this size tyre.

The usual size to go for is the one in the middle of ETRTO's recommended range, or where there isn't a middle because it doesn't fall on a multiple of 0.5", the one below this. eg. The theoretical middle of 7" and 8.5" is 7.75", so it is usual to go for 7.5".

[jon.od]

just need to find a design to my liking then and get the angle grinder out to attack the arches with!!!

[jon.od]

Stopped of at elite tonight on the way home the car is going in for a fitting next week all being good it will be wearing some new rims by next weekend!!!

[smartboost]

I wonder how much G-force you will get from such low profile rubber. Those wheels really belong on a racing car. ;)

[jon.od]

The wheels fit on the Car !!!!!! Just been down to try them on, However there are some concerns the rear wheels will neeed to be skimmed as they are fouling the inner arch splash guard and the front does not take full lock, but they did look the proverbal mutts nuts. Just deciding whether to take a chance on them.

[smartboost]

Maybe the 205/40R17 size is the biggest you can fit without fouling problems.

What offset are the 18Jx7.5H2 rims using?

[bretti_kivi]

hi all,

do the calcs. the 195/45R16 , 175/60R15 and 205/40R17 all have circumference within 1% of each other. 3% is permitted by the TUeV, otherwise it could not be fitted from the factory. That's why 215/35R18 will probably work: 595mm diameter for 205/40R17, 607 for 215/35R18, 2% diff. 225/30R18s 592mm - these should be OK, but you'll have to be really careful about the ETs and the bodywork....

Bret

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2002, Petrol 1.4, 17", sports suspension, OpenSky, leather / alcantara in iceblue
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[smartboost]

Someone said that they fitted 215/40R17 tyres with no problems and that size has an outside diameter of 603.8mm.

The 215/35R18 has an outside diameter of 607.7mm. This is a radius of only 1.95mm more than the above 17" tyre.

Maybe the offset of the 18" rims is the problem rather than the dimensions of the tyre? I'm not sure what offset of the 17" Audi A2 rim is, but that might be the offset you need. (Something like 28mm or 32mm?)

[jon.od]

Yeah thewheels are on a 38mm offset and the suppliers are willing to skim a couple of 3mm of the rears but from what i saw last night it neeeds to be this wide at the front! They are giving me a call in the morning with other possible wheel combos or gurantees on the skimmed eighteen.

The tyre last night was a pirelli P Nero which had no kerb band so i will be needing them to find a more suitable tyre aswell, but the good news is they go on a sport with the bodykit, i only mention this as the sport is 10 mm lower and the body kit reduces some of the arch space at the rear.

[smartboost]

Getting them skimmed will make the offset worse. ie. skim 10mm and you have a 48mm offset.

You could use 10mm spacers, (that effectively changes a 38mm offset rim to a 28mm offset rim), although i don't like using spacers as they are surprisingly heavy even the aluminium ones.

Are 7" rims available instead of 7.5"? This would be the minimum size for 215/35 tyres and would reduce the width of the sidewall by about 5mm. ie. 2.5mm each side. Used in conjunction with ET28 rims, this could be the answer.

[jon.od]

I understand what you are saying but the wheels need to come in further to the car, away from the arch lip, unfortunatley a reasonble design of whell in 7"x18" is as common as a chicken`s tooth.

Just waiting to read the gurantee they are going to offer me on the skimmed wheel.

[smartboost]

I suppose it comes down to how much the rim manufacturer allows them to be skimmed down to. Too much, and they will be weak.

Skimming is standard practice in the aftermarket alloy wheel industry, as it allows one casting to be machined in different ways, depending on final fitment. They often need longer wheel bolts due to excess metal in the central area. These longer wheel bolts can damage your hub if you get a puncture and put a standard wheel back on for example.

All 4 rims should be skimmed the same amount to maintain the standard difference between the front and rear track. For example, the rear track may be 25mm wider than the front track.

[jon.od]

Cheers smartboost you seem to have a good grasr of your apples. Will let you know how it all goes

[smartboost]

and pears [:I]

[EF MAX]

It is sound deadening sheets.
It comes in packs of sheets and is 200mm by 500mm in size, cost £25 per box or less depending on where you go

[smartboost]

ET45 might be suitable for a 215.