Would you put premium forged wheels on a daily driver?
 

So I am using the stock wheels on my S6 with winter tires. For summer, I am looking at the VMR 708, which is essentially an RS4 wheel replica. They look decent and for $300 each are a tremendous value. On the other hand, being the enthusiast that I am, I am also considering the HRE P43SC. This is an absolutely gorgeous wheel but the cost would be $1800 each. My S6 is a daily driver and although I am always careful, there is certainly a higher risk of wheel damage. Cost is not an issue, but value is. So that leaves me with two questions:

1. Is the HRE worth 6 times the cost of the VMR?

2. Would you put HRE wheels on your daily driver?

Opinions wanted. Thanks.

I was in your same exact position. I was (still am) in love with the HRE P47 for the S6 and was having a hard time coming to grips with the $7700 cost. Also like you, money was not the main issue. Value and conscience were. I chose the VMRs knowing that if I changed my mind I could always sell them with little cost of ownership. At $1350 shipped the difference is huge over the HREs. The forged wheels would have been a lot lighter and fancier looking, but not worth 5-6 times as much. I used to have HRE P40s on my former E60 M5 and they were spectacular, but a lot cheaper back then. I'll post some pics of my wheels next week.

If cost is not an issue then HRE's win 100% of the time. Cost is ALWAYS an issue.

I had P40s on my B7 RS4. They were just about half the price.

There is cost in the absolute sense, which is not an issue for me. Cost in a relative sense is always a consideration for me. Just like the fact that that an S7 offers nothing, IMO, to make it worth $9k more than an S6.

I'm not questioning whether you can afford $7000 wheels, only your statement that cost is not an issue, because if you were were worth $1 billion dollars, you wouldn't be looking at VMR wheels. Cost IS an issue. That being said, I don't get the best opinion of VMR finish and quality from all the feedback available online. Have you considered other brands like Niche or Hartman. I am very impressed by their quality firsthand. The Ace Alloy rims on our S6 are also very nice for what they cost.

https://forums.audiworld.com/attachm...1&d=1380149953

I would do some due diligence on whether those wheels are suitable for your driving locale and for a 4200+ pound car. As can be seen to the left, I went with an affordable and fairly sturdy compromise for summer wheels, given that I live in Central New York...the stockers are now shod with LM-60s for the winter. The wheel finish seems to assume a very slight blue cast on Estoril Blue, which I also like, along with reduced observable break dust.

Go with the HREs. It's an $80K car and deserves them. The satisfaction with high quality remains long after the price is forgotten.

#1 probably not, but so what? Is an S6 "worth" >2x the cost of a Legacy Turbo?
#2 if I were you, hell yes. If you like them that much, then put them on and enjoy them every day. If the S6 is a daily driver, why not wheels for it?

Related to #2 - I was considering starting a thread on wheel/tire warranties. My dealer claims the one they sell doesn't care what wheels or tires are on the car.... if it's like the Audi one though, there's a total reimbursement cap. Have you considered something like that to offset the wheel damage issues?

ALSO--

HRE pays HUGE bucks in order to be certified by the major quality and safety agencies-- this costs a fortune and takes a long time-- the other mfrs do not. This translates into legitimate safe wheels with quality.
They do have other models that are less costly.

If you can afford it at least one of your tire-sets should be HRE OR comparable