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

[Grant Lenahan]

Thanks so much, see below:

On Aug 1, 2007, at 7:18 AM, Taka Mizutani wrote:

>
> 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.

Sound attractive for me...

>
> 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.

They sure feel heavy!

>
> 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.

No, you read right. I wrote wrong. They are 6-spoke indeed (they are on 
my car right now).

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

Pretty much the consensus - aside from BBS, maybe Ronal, few 
aftermarket are any good period.
>
> 16x8s are going to be hard to find, as most aftermarket wheels didn't 
> come in 8" wide, most top out at 7.5".

I've already been down that route. Thus its pretty much limited to the 
3 I asked about.
>
> 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).

I wont go there - asking for trouble.

>
> 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?
Car is my 2002 S6.  Budget is low - this is simply about either fixing 
my Avus OEMs (maybe repeatedly); going with the 8 x 16 whcih are on it 
now (the ones you don't like, btu I find just fine) or getting the fat 
5s, whcih, if forged, might be just the ticket.

Thanks again, any other advice certainly welcome.

Grant
>
>  Taka
>
>
> On 7/31/07, Grant Lenahan <glenahan at vfemail.net> wrote:
>> 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