Wickedated

Now that summer is coming, I want to slip some nice wheels on my S8. I thought BBS LMs but Tirerack says it won't fit. Any suggestions?

CovertW12

I've messed around with 5-6 sets of wheels on my 3 different D3's ~raises hand~ I am a self confessed wheels ****...

20's truly fit the car well, with minimal ride degradation. 21's might be the best size visually but there are very limited options in rims and tires, and 22's leave little sidewall, but might work in some areas.

for tire width the 255 strikes me as too narrow for the car visually - which is compounded by Audi usual conservative offset choice on the rims. 275's work best for most folks and are OEM fitment on the W12 and some sport versions of the 4.2. I'm currently running 295/30/20's ( a relatively narrow Toyo) and they clear well but offset is crucial( more on that). 285/35/20's will start to hit the market shortly as the GTR and new Maser both spec. those, and Dunlop and several others have them in the lineup. With the right offset they may be the perfect setup for those looking to push the limit - offset will be important.

For all the 275 and up tires a 9 inch wide tire is the min. - I chose to work from a 20 x 9.5 since that is more common.

I started with a base 20 x 9.5 Et 36 BBS rim and played with set of spacers running from 3mm to 15mm and found that based on both my 4.2 and the w12 that with that rim an effetive ET of 24 in the rear and 32 in the front was the perfect setup to allow a 295 to fit, yet be right at the edge of the inner fender lip without rubbing. On both cars this was running VAG lowered approx 20mm front and 15mm rear...

Staggered offset works well for the car as the rear track is about 12mm narrower then the front - correcting it via the rims makes sense but spacers work almost as well. I'd suggest the same size tire all the way around.... I did test fit a 305 on the rear however and can tell you that there's likely room for even a 315... ! however you'd end up with the world's worse understeer, and a steamroller of a car.


My new rims were built to 20 x 95. Et 24 R/ ET 32 front and I couldn't be happier. I will likely switch to a 285/35/20 when they become avail as a bit more sidewall isn't all bad....

I have tons of pics of the myriad scenarios for anyone interested in seeing the various options - just drop me an email.

For tires - I've learned you get what you pay for... and be sure to get XL rated tires..

You appear to be looking at Forged wheels which is perfect - anything cast will likely be heavier then OEM, which are heavy to start... I shaved about 6lbs off and in conjunction with the 8 lbs in front rotors weight saving - a total of 14 lbs a corner by going to alum hat 2 piece rotors. I truly think there is a tangable difference in handling and acceleration. Check Tire weight as well - there is a huge variation between brands in the same size - a factor worth considering.

There a remote chance I'll have a set of 20" HRE's avail soon.... email me if you're interested in the details.

Regards,

mikesd1980

I am in the market for rims. Can you send me some pic's to my email

gezuvor

<center><img src="http://oempl.us/images/Wheel_MTM-04.jpg"></center><p>Apologies for the 4x4. Car was in lift mode...

MP4.2+6.0

I like the size, but yuk in terms of likely resulting weight with runflats. Tires are Sport 600 DSST's I think in Dunlop. Our Sienna minivan with 225/60 17 runflats (originally Bridgestone, now Dunlop, in the mediocre OEM all seasons) on a 25ish pound standard cast OEM rim has the dubious distinction of having wheel set ups that weigh more than our W12s, even with my 20" Audi OEM forged porkers in 275/35's. 40 pound tires even in that Sienna size! Hopefully they will get to a non run flat...

Which Maser and which tire? Any more info there?

I like the concept since I am actually interested in gong up a bit in diameter to to fill out the wheel wells rather than down toward the 27" baseline. But, I don't like the weight tradeoffs I'm seing in anything in a 40 series (which is more a sport SUV size). The Pirelli choice out there now in 285/35 is pricy and I don't think XL rated.

20's give me more ability to get there though without a big sidewall. Hopefully more of those 285's will be showing up as you say.

Great field data on all the offsets by the way!

CovertW12

Those are great looking Rich !

alex911s

<center><img src="http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb203/lexus0829/A8L/IMG_1901Large.jpg"></center><p>
I bought a used S8 wheels from ebay for $2200
with tires..

I've looked at dtm also and newer wheels they are in the $4-6000 range

russ@dubkorps.com

www.raderwerks.com

SMA8L

Those are sweet.

KYNZ

see my sig for lots of D3 wheels.