[s-cars] wheels and tires

[Linus Toy]

At 12:55 PM 8/8/2002 , Matthew Farr wrote:
>I've got a 93 S4 with about 100K on it. I've had it for
>about a year. The wheels are 16 inch 5-spoke Audi wheels.
>The wheels are kind of battered and stained. I've looked
>into having them refinished: there's a local shop called
>Woody's Wheel Works that will do it for $40-75 per wheel,
>depending on the condition. I think that's probably an OK
>deal, although I wonder what a good set of aftermarket
>wheels would cost. I've never bought aftermarket wheels, so
>if you have a recommendation(s), please let me know.

Based on the year of your car and description, I believe you have the OEM
16x8 wheel.  This is a forged wheel, much stronger and lighter than most
reasonably priced aftermarket wheels, not to mention wider.  Keep
them.  $40-75 per for refinishing is a good price--the local guy here in
Seattle charges $75 for refinishing.

>I'm also planning to buy new tires. The current tires are
>Gislaved Nord Frost II tires in the 205/55 R16 size. I
>haven't been all that impressed with them. Any
>recommendations on tires?

If these wheels are the 16x8, this size is a bit narrow--correct size
should be 225/50-16, for which you'll find many many options (optional, but
common, size on the rear of Porsche 911 and 944 during the 80s).  Based on
the tire, I suspect the narrower tire was due to anticipated snow
use.  What kind of driving do you do?  What are your priorities and
uses?  Answer that and you''ll get lots of recommendations.

HTH
--Linus
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*  Linus Toy                      Insanity is doing the same thing   *
*  Mercer Island, WA              you've always done and expecting   *
*  linust at mindspring.com          different results                  *
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