full size spare, worth a custom wheel (Fuch)? (4 or 5 wheels?)

[Ken Keith]

Quoting Craig Lebakken <lebakken at cdicadwa.com>:

> Greg Galinsky wrote:
>
> "So my 5kcstq is getting Fuchs! :-)"
>
> Well done. I can spot a properly shod 44 from at least a 1/4
> mile.

Actually I (Ken) wrote that above. :-)

> "At least with the Fuchs, I can still use my very new tires.
> Also, the ride will be kept stockish.  Aha!  More ammo to convince
> myself not to lower it, to make/keep the car setup for what it's
> for, cruising comfortably for long trips.  (I tend to belabor my upgrades
> and enhancements.  Should I?  Shouldn't I? etc.)
>
> Check the registry for 4000's. I am towards the bottom. As
> much as I tried to make the car look "stock", (and I have
> always loved the original Ronal R8 16 spoke), I really wish
> I would have gone with 15" instead of 16".

That's a very clean 4kq you have there!  I was just the other day debating about my color options for my 4kq.  It's LB7V charcoal gray metallic.  I am a fan of Zermatt Silver, and I think a new Audi color like Nogaro Blue might be interesting.  I have been heavily leaning towards what might be named Artic Silver, which appears on some Porsches.  It's a silver metallic with a hint of blue in it.

But I had the trunk open yesterday, and I was realizing how much more work it is to paint under the lids and in the jambs.  Maybe It doesn't matter to some, but I prefer not to have the inside of the trunk and engine compartment be a different color than the outside body.  Also, changing the color, or repaints in general, has always seemed like potential evidence of accident damage in my mind.  Somehow repainting it the stock color seems more correct.  On the other hand (lol), I remember thinking in my youth how much of a waste it is to get a completely new paint job and not pick a really special color.  All the (potentially) same amount of work to restore only the stock (not unique) color.

If/when I paint the 4ks(t)q, I would like to get different front door handles, and maybe shave the rears.  Tuning Zubehor has some replacement handles and surrounding area, that even include the newest handles from the A4 (well maybe not the newest-newest A4, I haven't compard door handles with the second-revision A4 handles.

> Audi, I think,
> designs the cars pretty closely around the wheel, so upsized
> rim options are limited, and often messed up when the tires
> rub the fender. I maxed out mainly for looks (well, not
> really, 17" can be had for the truly insane) and I regret
> it.

I'm in the truly insane category then.  I bought my friend's 17" TSW Revo's for my 4kstq project.  He had them on an '86 4kcsq, and it was lowered quite a bit, including modified front strut housings.  There are some pic's of his car in this state here:

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/quattrophile/vwp?.dir=/Audi&.src=ph&.dnm=skyler4kcsq1.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/quattrophile/lst%3f%26.dir=/Audi%26.src=ph%26.view=t

I put them on the project car for a while, and took some pics, one of which is listed in the registry here:

http://www.audifans.com/registry/view.php?action=viewCar&carid=182

Actually, I have second thoughts about running that size wheel.  I love the look, but on my Saturn, I could really tell how much slower it was when I went from stock to 17" Kosei S6C's.  I went back to stock, and it is so much quicker (relatively speaking, of course).  For the 4kstq project, I was leaning towards getting some lighter weight 16"s or something.  Actually, I wanted to convert to 5 bolt and get some kind of an open lug design.  But I decided to keep the 4x108 setup, both because I already have the wheels, and also because there are some suspension options I hadn't known of before.  H&R makes a bolt on coilover setup for the 80/90 quattro's with 2-piece struts.  These are similar to the setups being put on modern day cars.  Also going with the newer strut housings will allow me to run either G60 or Porsche big red calipers, if circumstances allow.

> Wifeperson has scrubbed one wheel on a curb (my fault
> for having "special" wheels!), so they are just as
> unforgiving in a parking lot as they are on a bridge
> expansion joint @ 70 mph. Therefore, I would not call it
> "belabour". I would call it engineering consideration. And
> tires are #1 for ride comfort. Evaluate your driving needs
> and buy accordingly. When it comes to suspension, however, I
> doubt I will ever own a car that I do not immediately
> upgrade to stiffer/slightly lowering springs, and Koni
> Adjustable shocks. Even when driving straight ahead, the
> road feel is worth it. + the Usual: control arm bushes,
> alignment, ..etc..etc..

The belaboring for me doesn't actually come from the engineering aspect of things, altho' I can be ambivalent about that as well.  What I usually have heartache over is spending money on a car so old with such a low resale value.  It makes perfect sense if I keep the car for a long time, but if I were to sell the car, I'd end up taking a big loss of "investment".  Basically, some of us (I consider myself part of this group) q-listers do whatever it takes to get everything right, and that costs money.  But the resale prices usually don't reflect that extra effort.  People compare apples and oranges, noting cheaper cars being advertised, even tho' they haven't had the same parts replaced already.

Maybe this will all turn around tho'.  These type 44's can last forever (at least the bodies and driveline), and the public perception of Audi is changing as well.  So, maybe we'll see type 44's start retaining their value, and maybe increase over time as collector cars.   We can all hope.  Maybe someday in the future, I'll put an engine management system in my 5kcstq too, and take out the whole rats nest stock setup under the hood.  I'll have to see how the 4kstq project goes using the Linkplus EMS...

More on the belaboring, it also comes down to allocating resources to the right car.  I won't want to wish I had put money into the 4kstq (to get it running for example), and already have put it into the 5kcstq (to make it better).

> "I just don't like looking at those stock 'aero' wheels.
> Are the Fuchs any lighter than the stockers, btw?  I suppose they could be
> heavier, but it wouldn't seem so."
>
> You would be hard pressed to find better engineered
> wheels.<(Period).

So, who is this "Fuch" company?  Presumably the same outfit that makes the Porsche alloys of the same name.  Are they still in business, making other wheels for someone?

> "Other wheels I was (am? sheesh!) considering for the car
> are the 7 or so spoke A4 wheels in 16".  The open lug design where the
> spokes curve back.  Very nice, imo.  There's a pic of some
> car somewhere on the net (q-club event), I believe it's a black
> wagon (5kcstqa), that is lowered and has these on it.
>
> Pretty wheels, yes, but lotsa work to put on your car.

More work than just a set of tires?  What else is needed to fit these?  I believe the wheels are 5x112mm, 45mm offset, 16x7" size.  I was talking about this wheel, to be specific:

http://www.aaarim.com/wheels/58719.JPG

Thanks,

Ken