Re: A question of lineage...

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

On Wed, 14 Dec 1994 GCIRILLO@aol.com wrote:

> In 1992 I bought a 1991 Audi 90 Quattro 20Valve (4 door).

>  It came (to me) with a set of alloys made for Audi by Speedline (2-piece
> look with lots of hex-head bolts around the perimeter).  I have only seen
> these wheels on the coupe, never on the 4-door, although in one "Used Car
> Price Guide" they had a picture of the 4-door with these wheels!?  The
> original tires were Eagle VR 50s (Gatorbacks).  The more common wheel I've
> seen on this model is a lace-spoke model with nerdy 60- or 70-series tires
> mounted (Goodyear Invictas -- wow).

the speedline wheels are standard for the 20V 90Q.
 
>  Due to the cost of 50 series tires, this summer I decided to mount Goodyear
> Eagle GT+4s, 215 HR 15s.  The fit is very, very tight (no interference, but
> very close)... much tighter than on 90s with the lace-spoke wheels. 

> 1.  If the designated wheel/tire combo for the car is 15" with a
> 215-60-series tire, why do my wheelwells look so stuffed?  Is the Speedline
> wheel a different offset?

the correct size (according to my brochure) is 205/50 VR15.. 215/60 is much
much taller.. i suggest you get rid of these tires because they are more
than a little oversized.. 215/60 is what they put on the V8!  (and the S4/S6
if you specify "all-season" tires)

> 2.  Could the car have come with these Speedline wheels or is it more likely
> that a dealer swapped them with Coupe wheels?

see above
 
> 3A.  Why do so many people say, "I didn't know a quattro has four-wheel
> drive!"  (Duh).  I did have one gas station attendant say "These things have
> like four wheel steering or something, right?"  I explained that they come
> with four wheel brakes, standard.

did you know that you can buy RWD-only SUV's?  my neighbor has one.. the poor
guy didn't even know it until he signed his life away.. $20K for a used,
RWD ford explorer...  actually it is not too funny, because when we had
the recent snow storm, he left it at home and took the day off!  one less
SUV on the road is alright by me...


eliot