A6 wheels. (and S6 wheels - specs and opinion)

[Taka Mizutani]

The 17x8 ET35 "fat fives" with the slightly flared out spokes and the high
polish finish are forged wheels, were original to sport package C5 A6 4.2s.

Those are nice, strong wheels. I don't recall the exact weight, but I think
they are in the low 20lb. range.

C5 S6 Avus 17x8 ET35 wheels are in the 25-26lb. range, the ones made by
Speedline as opposed to the Ronal-made S4tt Avus.

The D2 A8 17x8 ET48 5-spoke wheels that look almost the same as the B5 A4
2.8 5-spoke wheels are also forged and strong, but they need a 10-15mm
spacer to set the offset correctly for a V8 or a C4 S4/S6. Otherwise, they
look "sunken" into the wheelwells, like the S4tt wheels I was running for
snows on my old '91 200q.

Sorry, I misread your post- the 16x8 wheels from a C5 A6 4.2 base model are
6-spoke, non-forged, IIRC. IMO, not attractive wheels.

If you're going aftermarket, there are not too many strong, inexpensive
wheels that aren't bricks.

16x8s are going to be hard to find, as most aftermarket wheels didn't come
in 8" wide, most top out at 7.5".

OEM MBZ wheels from a W140 are 16x8", forged construction. I think the
centerbore is off by about 1mm, though- I would advise using caution before
machining the centerbore, you might induce stress related failure down the
road. They wouldn't be very expensive used, though. Any aftermarket MBZ
wheels might work if they're not machined hubcentric (IOW, they use a
hubcentric ring).

AZEV Type A wheels are quite strong, weigh about 25lbs. each in 17x8", look
sharp IMO. You'd have to find them used and they're really rare in the US.

What's your budget and what car?

Taka


On 7/31/07, Grant Lenahan <glenahan at vfemail.net> wrote:
>
> If Taka's had them in his hands that trumps the specs I was given - go
> with it.
>
> ==================================
> Taka,
> On to a related topic, since you seem to know a lot about wheel specs,
> I need some ...
>
>
> I'm looking for lightish, strong wheels for my S6.  16 x 8 or 17 x 8,
> -35mm.
>
> Do you know the weights -- or where I could go to look them up -- of:
>
> OEM Avus 17 x 8 wheels?
> OEM A6 4.2 16 x 8 5-spoke ('fat 5s")?
> OEM 17 x 8 fat 5s?
>
> Also, do you know any specs or experience based info on which ones are
> strongest and will resist the little out of rounds I'm getting far too
> many of?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Grant
>