[BiturboS4] Wheel Advice

[Kjos']

Josh & Group,

Centering Rings: They work fine but can get lost. The plastic ones (most
wheel companies use these) are the most likely to get misplaced as there is
no way to bolt or screw them on to the wheel. I guess you could glue them to
the wheel which actually seems like a good idea. BMW uses metal rings (at
least on the newer BBS wheels I have owned) that are attached to the wheel.
This seems like the best solution to me for centering rings.

Custom wheels don't use rings at all as they are made specifically for one
application. Look for light, rigid wheels like Kenesis, HRE, etc. Racing
Dynamics has some of the best looking wheels around, but they cost about
$1,300 each and are made mostly for BMW's. The strongest ones are forged.
SSR and BBS apparently have advanced casting methods that approached forged
wheels in strength and light weight. The 3-piece SSR wheels are nice looking
indeed. However, they are 8.5" wide which can easily lead to rubbing
problems. I would advise using a 7.5" or 8" wide wheel with a 35mm offset.
Also, 225x40x18 tires will minimize potential rubbing problems. The only
problem is a lack of wheel protection as the wheel is nearly as wide as the
tire. Bridgestone S-03 tires seem to be slightly wider than other tires of
the same size and protect the wheel with a high guard right near the rim. I
use these tires but if money was not an issue I'd buy the top end Toyo tires
as they are about 5-6 lbs. lighter per tire and seem to perform as well as
the S-03s. Where I live they were about $100 more per tire (paid $156 a tire
at Tire Rack).

John Kjos


----- Original Message -----
From: "Josh Barone" <joshuabarone at yahoo.com>
To: <biturbos4 at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 8:55 AM
Subject: [BiturboS4] Re: BiturboS4 digest, Vol 1 #214 - 13 msgs


> Let's get a wheel debate going...
>
> I wreck my last s4 (silver 2000, tip) and was offered
> 8 grand more than I paid for it by the insurance
> company (I couldn't belive it either).  So I just
> picked up a new one (red 2001, 6spd). However, I have
> a little extra cash burning a hole in my pocket and I
> was thinking of jump starting the economy by putting
> some new wheels on my car. I'm debating between SSR
> comps and BBS Challenges both of the 18" variety. Does
> anyone else have either these? Give me some good/bad
> stories. What are your feelings on hub rings (used to
> center the wheel in both cases) are they a conern?
> All help will be appreciated.
>
> -Josh
>
>
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