98Quattro

I'm looking at upgrading my stock 16" wineglass wheels to 17" RS6wheels. Has anyone here ever done that and if so what are your thoughts of the replica wheels?

Also, what offset do I need?

Thanks in advance.

VONBOTTLE

i upgraded to 18" rs6 5 spoke replicas about 3 years ago and haven't had a problem with them - except for when i bought them, wasn't terribly familiar with offsets at the time and the seller said they would fit - but he was wrong, so i have to run spacers, which is kind of a pain. the wheels are 45 offset with 20mm spacers up front. originally bought 15mm for front/rear, but when i replaced my brakepads, they wouldn't clear the rim up front so i have 20mm up front until the pads wear down enough to put 15mm back on. so i think you'll need offset of 25....but just do a search to confirm. back to the rim quality, not one ding or dent from CT roads - oh, except for when my wife borrowed my car this summer and curbed the hell out of one wheel....arghhh!!

VONBOTTLE

another thing, if you can't find reps with the right offset, don't think getting them with spacers will save you any money - my setup probably in the end, cost about the same as a set of Hartmann rs6 reps with the correct offset. spacers and new bolts ran me about $250 or so

98Quattro

Thanks for your response. I've been looking at the hartmann wheels but they offer the rs6 in 18's only. I only want to go with 17's but not sure if the rs6 17" wheels they offer would work on my 2.8L.

VONBOTTLE

will this be your only set of wheels or will they be for summer wheels?

98Quattro

Well, they'll be the only set of wheels for a while. I plan on having the stock wheels refinished and keeping them just in case....

VONBOTTLE

ok, just wondering why 17's...if they were your only set, i'd understand, but if they were summers, i'd go 18's. the ride quality is almost as good as my 16" winters, of course your final decision may be limited by your available choices

98Quattro

I want to go 17" up from stock 16" to retain as close as a comfortable ride as I have now. I'm afraid 18's would be too harsh/rougher.

VONBOTTLE

i doubt you'd see much of difference in ride quality between 17 and 18's.
i honestly don't feel much at all between my 16's and 18's. of course most of the roads where i am are pretty decent, depending on how yours are could make a difference.

98Quattro

Do you know, off the top of your head, if my bolt pattern is 5x112 or 5x100mm?