View Full Version : wheel size
tdavit
10-28-2006, 02:53 PM
I know this sounds pretty stupid but do you think i should run 18s or 19s what are the pros and cons. Do you think 19s are that much better looking? thanx for the input.
Re5pectThe_Cuz
10-28-2006, 02:59 PM
19's without a doubt. they look so much better. granted you pay a bit more but its much more worth it. as for cons, more prone to wheel bends if your not careful, and more weight. 18's dont look as big and as good but are lighter (usually)
however, go 19's. ive always had 19's on all my cars and never had a problem if your careful of course
nadroj81
10-28-2006, 03:29 PM
lightweight 18s make a huge difference over the average 19s.
I run 19s, but I am probably going to get a set of lightweight 18s and switch them a few times during the summer.
mrponline
10-28-2006, 05:29 PM
If your after looks then definatly 19s otherwise for performance 17s or 18s are the go.
parks853
10-28-2006, 07:09 PM
more tire options in 18's, and cheaper tires + what everyone else said.
A44sho
10-28-2006, 11:15 PM
If you have 19's and if derez like imprints on the road your car follows it, however 18's don't.
alex310
10-29-2006, 03:36 AM
Depending on the wheel, I would go towards 19's, the tires get lower pro, and the rim gets 1" bigger which all togther makes the wheel look like its 2" bigger. You have to remember your losing about 10MM on each tire of air play, which means you feel the small cracks and small bumps in the road more. I myself before had ADR 19" wheels and they was really heavey, very bad ride, but when I switched to DPE wheels I could barely tell the differnce from my 18s. My idea for this matter, is either go 17s and go all out performance, or get 19s for looks. Remember, each pound at the wheels is about 7 pounds in the cabin of the car. Which means if each rim is 5 pounds more then stock that is 5x4x7 which equals to about 140pounds in the car. Cheap 19's could be up to 10 pounds more each wheel, so becareful!
audimeister
10-29-2006, 05:54 AM
19's are for nancy-boy posers. I have a set of 19's that sit in my garage in a nice little stack.
18's are better for several reasons-
1. You can get a wider tire in there. I run a 255/35 on my B6, which is what StaSIS did when they created the only 1+ g cornering A4 street car, AFAIK. More tire=more grip. I can't stand it when I see somebody stretch a skinnier tire on a 19 to get looks over performance- you can't even go through car washes without narfing your rims...
2. Someone else said 18's are lighter. Your car will accellerate better, and the suspension will work better over bumps.
3. Your suspension was designed to work with a certain amount of give in the tire sidewall. Change that, and it's like cutting the legs off a table- it's hard to get exactly right again. (and you're at risk for bending a wheel constantly.)
So, what have we learned? For accellerating, turning, stopping, comfort, and keeping your car clean as well as wheels unbent....
18's ARE BETTER THAN 19's. Game Over.
Thanks tdavit for bringing up the topic. I'm deciding which wheels to get as well. It seems that I'm gonna go with 18s.
parks853
10-29-2006, 07:41 PM
Originally posted by audimeister
19's are for nancy-boy posers. I have a set of 19's that sit in my garage in a nice little stack.
18's are better for several reasons-
1. You can get a wider tire in there. I run a 255/35 on my B6, which is what StaSIS did when they created the only 1+ g cornering A4 street car, AFAIK. More tire=more grip. I can't stand it when I see somebody stretch a skinnier tire on a 19 to get looks over performance- you can't even go through car washes without narfing your rims...
2. Someone else said 18's are lighter. Your car will accellerate better, and the suspension will work better over bumps.
3. Your suspension was designed to work with a certain amount of give in the tire sidewall. Change that, and it's like cutting the legs off a table- it's hard to get exactly right again. (and you're at risk for bending a wheel constantly.)
So, what have we learned? For accellerating, turning, stopping, comfort, and keeping your car clean as well as wheels unbent....
18's ARE BETTER THAN 19's. Game Over.
Who takes an Audi through a car wash? Maybe if they are going to hand wash it for you. Or the pay and spary but please not the automatic.
He is right performance wise 18's are better than 19's, but 17's could be better than 18's. But some people are looking for looks on the street. I dont ever get timed when I am driving a curvy road. I just want to have fun and look good at the same time. When I want to get serious I will get a set of really light 17's with some R compound tires for the track where performance matters (or for road warrior days when I am just looking to visit jail). Some people are just more hardcore about things. Cant stand the fact that they could be a tiny bit faster on the street. I know a guy that is very hard core in this way. He also runs his car at about 4000 RPMs all the time and sits and revs that bitch at every light. Figure out where you draw your line.
If you only want one set of rims and you want them to look good and perform (an unmeasurable amount) better than 19's, maybe 18s are the way to go. Plus they will be cheaper.
But if you are like me and are not putting your car on the track or driving mad on the streets (well atleast not everyday) the other stuff doesnt matter. Plus, if you have a really stiff susupension it is going to ride ruff no matter what size rims you have. The 18's will also not perform great on street rubber and it is not affordable for me to drive with racing tires on the street so I went with 19's in a max summer tire that will last atleast a year and can handle some rain on the roads. I want maximum looks on the street and maximum performance on the track. not 18's which are middle of the road for each.
There is always a compromise, different strokes for different fokes. Just my .02 nothing against audimeister because he does make some good points. I just see it a different way.
Re5pectThe_Cuz
10-29-2006, 09:16 PM
didnt know 19's were for posers tho
audimeister
10-30-2006, 05:57 AM
Originally posted by Re5pectThe_Cuz
didnt know 19's were for posers tho
Sorry, didn't mean to offend. 19's do look better (as long as there's a wide tire on them), but in every other way 18's are 10x better in my experience w/both.
17's may really be the hard-core performance choice. Over on the B6 forum Jet Jockey, who is arguably the most accomplished track driver runs 17's in his car.
I wish I had the time to hand detail my car, but a young family and 60 hour work weeks mean I have to do the automatic wash most of the time...[:(]
you could pay for a hand wash!!!
I get someone to handwash my car once a week!!
also to stay on topic.... if you want to get some performance from your car go 18's but if your happy with just cruzing go the 19's.
personally i have a set of 19's on the car and have a set of 20's in my warehouse waiting to go on but if i take my car to the track or 1/4 mile i will put my 18's back on.