Changing alloys back to standard

P

Pilchard

Member
I've just bought my first Audi A2... a 2002 reg 1.4tdi 74bhp. It was cheap with a tidy silver body and untrashed interior, but almost 180k miles and no service history... so probably not cheap but just a right price. It needs a few minor bits and bobs, which I think I've just sourced, to replace lost/missing/broken; but that's par for the course.
It has 4 Seat alloys (6Jx15H2 ET43) running on 4 Sumitomo 195/55 R15 85v tyres which all have one or two years of life left.
There's nothing wrong with these wheels... in fact condition is very good... but I don't like them; they're not Audi A2 wheels. I want the classic standard Audi 6 spoke A2 alloys.
Driving one of these is a new experience, and I am certainly not any kind of boy racer/petrol head... but the ride feels firm enough (especially with the pot-holed country roads round here), so I don't want (don't think I want) lower profile tyre/wheel combo than I have.
I figured that before I start throwing even more money around on what might be considered by the A2 Brotherhood a bad idea or a waste of time and money, I'd ask for advice.
So... any advice... recommends... warnings?
 
These are cheap I know it’s only one picture of one wheel but not hammered and new centre caps are available from Audi ..e bay tap in a2 wheels .?
 

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They tyres you currently have on it are a taller profile than you’d normally find on the 16” 6-spoke SE wheels, normally they are 185/50 R16 or 195/45 R16 which are both lower profile that yours. Of course you can put different tyres on which if you search here there are lots of tyre discussions.

If you are running 15” now and find it a bit hard riding 16” won’t help. There are lots of genuine Audi A2 wheel types including pepper pots which look brilliant and are 15”.

Something to consider but searching here you’ll find lots of wheel images and tyre discussions. In my opinion 16” are the best balance of ride vs tyre profile (try test driving one with 16” on first) and whilst I’m a massive advocate for bigger wheels (I run 20” on my other car) from an aesthetic/ride perspective this is something that would be unique to yourself.
 
Jeetesh said:
If you are running 15” now and find it a bit hard riding 16” won’t help. There are lots of genuine Audi A2 wheel types including pepper pots which look brilliant and are 15”.
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The OP hasn't complained of hard riding, he wants the original 16" SE wheels. Pepperpots aren't a "genuine Audi A2 wheel type", however nice they are, they are a genuine Audi A3 wheel type.
 
I do find the whole apparent "science" of wheel and tyre size combinations pretty complex and I may not be correct with any of my assumptions.
I have assumed;-
- that the combination I currently have adheres to the original specification tyre circumference/gearing/speedo ratios,
- that the larger the wheel you have, in order to maintain those above ratios, the lower profile tyres you must use... and visa-versa,
- that the lower the tyre profile/larger wheel, the harder the ride, & smaller wheel with high profile tyres will give a softer ride,
- that 15" wheels are the smallest fitted to A2's and will, when fitted with the correct tyre (195/55 R15 in my case), offer the most comfortable ride while keeping things "standard",
- that the 6 spoke alloys I prefer... like the one in greywolfhounds Ebay photo... are pretty normal in the 15" size.

Please educate me someone!

So... steve_c.... I DO actually find the ride, as it is, a bit firm. The little country roads round here are pretty crummy with large unnanounced potholes; plus I'm used to driving on much bigger wheels and tyres &... so I'm not thinking (I think) of getting 16" wheels. Why should I....?!?!?

Jeetesh.... you mentioned the "aesthetic/ride" perspective. Now I know that the current fashion is for ultra low profile tyres, but I'm not at all interested in fashion. The cars you often find buried in hedges or overturned in fields more often than not are fitted with low profile tyres. That's not a good look, is it? I can drive pretty fast and safe on boring unsexy tyres. My only tyre preference concession these days is All-Weather Tyres which provide better grip and brakeing in cool and wet weather... normal weather where I live.
Jeetesh you also reckon Pepperpots look brilliant. Well, all down to personal taste I s'pose, but some think the Kardashians are sexy and Love Island is a great TV show too. The A2 is a very clever and pretty bit of original, and now iconic, design from a great car maker. Bling on this car is at best unnecessary, and at worst...... nah!
 
@greywolfhound’s picture are the standard SE 16” wheels, they don’t come in 15” size in that design.

15” will indeed be the best riding and you’re spot on on the first part of your post and the car isn’t any faster in different size alloys. Tyre width however is a different thing, narrow tyres may lead you to scrabble a bit more on wet roads but if your putting all weather tyres on your are less likely to have that problem. Wide tyres will impact rolling resistance and then impact fuel economy.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so whilst I like the SE 16” 6-spoke and the pepperpots, ultimately decide what works for you and go from there. It does seem like you want 15” wheels and tall profile to have a bit more compliance and bump absorption.
 
Pilchard said:
So... steve_c.... I DO actually find the ride, as it is, a bit firm. The little country roads round here are pretty crummy with large unnanounced potholes; plus I'm used to driving on much bigger wheels and tyres &... so I'm not thinking (I think) of getting 16" wheels. Why should I....?!?!?
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The six spoke wheel which came as standard with the majority of UK A2s (and which is shown in greywolfhound's eBay pic) is a 16" wheel. They're the ones I normally use on my own A2 with 195/50 R16s and comfort has never been any sort of issue for me. Not only do they look right, they're pretty robust and because they're easy to find used, pretty cheap into the bargain.

I'm not aware of Audi offering an equivalent design in 15" size.
 
Pepperpots from an A3 look very un-blingy on an A2, they also don't sit out to the edge of the wheel-arches so they don't look remotely sporty.

There is a 6-spoke 15" design which was an option but it's a lot more common in Europe than it is in this country. These have different centre caps and ridges down the edge and centre of each spoke.
 
Proghound said:
Pepperpots from an A3 look very un-blingy on an A2, they also don't sit out to the edge of the wheel-arches so they don't look remotely sporty.

There is a 6-spoke 15" design which was an option but it's a lot more common in Europe than it is in this country. These have different centre caps and ridges down the edge and centre of each spoke.
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Have a look on autotrader, there is an A2 with the very wheels that @Proghound is talking about up for £4500.
 
Stick with 15" for comfort.

I moved down for comfort by randomly buying a A3 set off eBay on the grounds they had 195/55/15 tyres! Turned out a reasonable buy and the design was immaterial to me and still neutral about them but I have in 8 years seen (picture ad) only one other A2 with this design.

Just thought I would mention them as another alternative to 15" pepperpots if anybody is interested. This is one in poor condition I gave away to a member as a spare.

image.jpeg


Andy
 
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Thanks for all the help guys.
Seems I'm completely mistaken about the existence (in UK) of 15" 6 spoke alloys, and that the 16" IS the standard version. Could have sworn I'd seen some on Ebay, but they must have been 16"s.
Whatever I was going to do, it wouldn't be in a hurry cos the tyres I have have a fair bit of wear left on them, so.... I think maybe I'll look out for some cheap 6 spoke 16''s with worn tyres on Ebay... try them out for a few miles, and if I like them and the ride isn't to harsh, I'll put new tyres on them when the time comes. If I don't like them I'll sell them on again and not really lose. I love Ebay for that.
The alloys on that car on Ebay aren't what I'd normally expect to see when thinking of pepperpots, and actually don't look too bad: but just not.... "right". They look like something that should be on a Beetle.
 
Andrew said:
Stick with 15" for comfort.

I moved down for comfort by randomly buying a A3 set off eBay on the grounds they had 195/55/15 tyres! Turned out a reasonable buy and the design was immaterial to me and still neutral about them but I have in 8 years seen (picture ad) only one other A2 with this design.

Just thought I would mention them as another alternative to 15" pepperpots if anybody is interested. This is one in poor condition I gave away to a member as a spare.

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Andy
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I actually had a set of these on one of my A2's as winter wheels maybe 10 years or so ago.
Fully refurbished and with new centre caps they actually looked rather good ?
 
A2Z said:
I actually had a set of these on one of my A2's as winter wheels maybe 10 years or so ago.
Fully refurbished and with new centre caps they actually looked rather good ?
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I think you might be right A2Z. Small wheels = big tyres= comfort.
But those classic 6 spoke wheels are classic Audi (non-bling) understatement and look.... just... right. My current wheels (with name Seat inside the hub casting) have no centres on them; I suspect that's because the original centres had the Seat name or logo on them... and looked crap. I'll have to try living with them; it's just a bloody car after all, not a fashion statement.
 
Pilchard said:
I think you might be right A2Z. Small wheels = big tyres= comfort.
But those classic 6 spoke wheels are classic Audi (non-bling) understatement and look.... just... right. My current wheels (with name Seat inside the hub casting) have no centres on them; I suspect that's because the original centres had the Seat name or logo on them... and looked crap. I'll have to try living with them; it's just a bloody car after all, not a fashion statement.
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Completely agree with you regarding standard SE 6 spokes. Best balance of comfort and looks and suit the A2 perfectly and what we have on ours too.
I'm sure if you're patient you'll pick up a nice set off here soon and just a tip might be worth paying a little more for a nice set with good tyres as the cost of refinishing a scruffy set and buying replacement tyres will prove false economy.

Good luck?
 
Pilchard said:
My current wheels (with name Seat inside the hub casting) have no centres on them; I suspect that's because the original centres had the Seat name or logo on them... and looked crap. I'll have to try living with them; it's just a bloody car after all, not a fashion statement.
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Your current wheels have a considerably increased offset at ET43 which is not ideal on the A2. The correct ET for a 6J wheel is 35, which you would of course get with the SE wheels.
 
steve_c said:
Your current wheels have a considerably increased offset at ET43 which is not ideal on the A2. The correct ET for a 6J wheel is 35, which you would of course get with the SE wheels.
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Ah! We are now getting technical. So technical in fact (for me) that I had to look "offset" up.
So, steve-c... are my current wheels sticking out further (or less) than they really should on this car? Whatever it is, could it be contributing to that feeling of tramlining I've experienced once or twice? If they are effectively making the front axle wider... and therefore creating additional leverage on front springs and shockers, this could also be contributing to the iffy ride quality.
If the steering geometry with these tyres isn't correct, then that will encourage me to start searching in ernest for the 6 spoke wheels PDQ. Which I am now learning are the16" SE wheels. Correct?
I'm learning!
 
Pilchard said:
So, steve-c... are my current wheels sticking out further (or less) than they really should on this car?
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They're sticking out less, just under a centimetre per side. The change to the driving feel is probably not that significant to be honest, springs and shocks are the more likely culprits.
 
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