[A4] My new A4 has been built! A tire mystery

[Nicholas Stock]

Rocky, I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My old A4 had 16inch
alloys with the sport suspension...my new S-line has 18inch alloys with
sports suspension...the latter being a superior ride in both terms of
handling and comfort (despite only driving it for 500 miles!).
 The new warranty covers you for 4 years or 50,000 miles including all
maintenance..leasing it will cost you less up front, but if you decide to
buy the vehicle after the lease term it will cost you more overall..interest
rates are still cheap, so I would always buy before leasing, unless of
course there are complicated tax issues involved..
 just my 2 cents...
 However, the larger you alloys, and hence the lower profile the tire..the
more damn expensive they are to replace!!!
 Nick

 On 11/3/05, Rocky Mullin <caliban at sharon.net> wrote:
>
>
> you can lessen the sticker issues if you lease instead of buy.
> i'm never going to own an audi again, they are nothing but a liability
> once out of warranty. i adore them thoug, so leasing is the way to go.
>
> go with 16, not 17. smoother ride, identical handling. the
> quest for bigger rims is simply the american size-queen vibe. bigger
> isn't better. people think it is ,though, especially because it's
> more expensive.
>
> At 10:46 PM +0000 11/3/05, gsackerson at comcast.net wrote:
> >Hi all,
> > I got word from my dealer that my 2006 2.0T Quattro A4 has been
> >built (I ordered a few options that you can only get from the
> >factory) and is on the banana boat shipping my way. Now it's time to
> >sell my 2002 A4. I was somewhat disheartened to see the Blue Book on
> >that puppy - it seems that frame repair significantly reduces the
> >Blue Book value even if the shop repairs it as good as new (which my
> >body shop claims is possible.) But, while the value is lower than
> >I'd like, it's still a nice payment for the shocking sticker price
> >I'm paying for a new A4 ($38,000 with the options I selected -
> >gulp.) I am excited indeed. I love the performance of the new 2.0T
> >engine and the look of the front grille is growing on me.
> > On another note, I'm a bit intrigued by what the lead Audi
> >salesman told me about the difference between different size
> >wheels/tires. My car is coming with 17 inch wheels/tires, and I was
> >curious about what makes a 17 inch tire different than a 16 inch (or
> >smaller.) As I understand the answer, all tires on a vehicle,
> >whether it's a 16 inch, 17 inch or 18 inch, all measure the same
> >from the ground to the top of the tire, otherwise, the odometer
> >wouldn't work correctly with different size wheels/tires. Correct?
> >OK, if I heard that right, the 2nd piece of information I heard was
> >that the thickness of the rubber on a larger tire would be less than
> >the thickness of a smaller tire on the same vehicle. This is where
> >my brain starts going "huh?" As I heard it, to keep the overall
> >height of 2 tires on the same vehicle the same, the thickness of the
> >rubber on both tires are different to keep the overall size the same
> >- is that correct? I guess I assumed the larger tire was also wider
> > , but it sounds like I'm wrong on that. I always assumed that
> >"sport" tires had a lower profile and were wider to compensate for
> >the lower profile.
> > Anyone care to elaborate or correct me on this? I realize this is
> >probably "Tire Design 101" class stuff here, but I'm interested in
> >more than theory - I'm truly interested to know how this translates
> >to real world coming from a vehicle with a 16-inch wheel/tire to one
> >with a 17-inch/wheel. Several of you already addressed the
> >perception of the driver - that the cornering "seems" better on the
> >larger tire even if times on a track don't prove that out.
> > Feel free to fire away!
> >
> >Glenn
> >On the way out: 2002 1.8T A4 Quattro
> >On the boat heading to America: 2006 2.0T A4 Quattro
> >_______________________________________________
> >A4 mailing list
> >A4 at audifans.com
> >http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/a4
>
>
> --
> Rocky Mullin
>
> http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/images/war.008.gif
> http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm
>
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