IknowHuhA6

Hello all.
I'm currently riding on 20" wheels with non-sport suspension and the ride is bearable. Don't want it too jarring.
I saw the 21" rim option on the S8 which design really appeales to me, but they're only available in 21". It's not that I want a larger rim but moreso the design that I'm really interested in.

Is there anyone using 21" rims in Los Angeles area that can give me their opinion on ride quality and frequency of damage repair/replacement of these rims? L.A. streets aren't the best so the harsh road conditions, potholes, uneven surfaces worries me on the possibility of frequent damage to so large a rim size for an area with very bad roads.

Thanks in advance.

911 Crazy

Can't help with wheels but can advise with the secret menu from In-n-Out!

The_Capt

While I'm not in LA the streets in greater Seattle area aren't anything to brag about. I've been running OEM Audi RS7 21" wheels on my d4 without any issues. Very solid ride with no jarring or harsh driving experience.

IknowHuhA6

Thank you for reply. Is your tire height profile a 30 or 35?
Seems if I decide to go to 21 then a 35 series tire will give the rim more protection but it raises the car by nearly half an inch. It also changes the tire revolutions and will most likely throw off my speedometer by 5-8mph since mine came with 245/45/18

There's few wheel size options in VagCom i'm investigating to see if I can accommodate the larger tire size and keep speedometer calibrated.

Thank you.

The_Capt

I never heard of d4 tires coming in 245 width, especially in 20" wheels. Those definitely aren't factory spec tires you're rolling. Factory tires in 20's should be 265.

I have factory s8 size tires on my wheels and have zero problems. 275/35/21. You can't go 30 series on 21" wheels since the sidewall ratings aren't strong enough to handle the extra weight of the d4. Trust me on this as I had to buy new tires since these RS7 wheels came with factory spec tires off an RS7. 275/30/21

derfA8L

I think he's talking about going taller on his A6, which likely did come from the factory with 245s on 18" wheels.

The_Capt

Ah I see. I assumed he had a d4 since he's posting in this forum.

IknowHuhA6

Yes sorry about the confusion. I purposely posted here looking for opinions from those with 21" wheels which is more the norm for cars on here than in the A6.

frybear

May or may not help, but I had 21s on my BMW 750 and while they looked amazing (car was lowered and had spacers as well) they were not good for Chicago streets with our potholes. They were extremely low profile, very little rubber at all - like having rubber bands around the rims. I swear I went through a minimum of 8-10 tires in something like a year or so. They were all warrantied so it cost me about $25 each time they blew. I also had Kumhos - don't get those, trust me. Hope this helps

IknowHuhA6

On my current 275/30/20s I hear the rim scrape when slowly backing out of a few steep driveways and hit change in grade level where I frequent.

Although I really like one of the designs of the S8's 21" rims, I'm starting to think it's not practical. After both helpful replies I'm almost convinced that I need to stay at 20" and step up to 35 instead of 30 series. Staying at 20" and increasing to a 35 ratio wall height should only throw my speedometer off by +3mph based on tire size calculator i'm using. I find that acceptable for the added protection.

For the 21" I'd need 30 series height to not throw speedometer off that much. Plus if I use 275/35/21 my ride height would increase by roughly .5 inches and I'd need to lower car with aftermarket springs to stay close to stock ride height.

Thank you all very much! I may not have an A8/S8 yet, but I'm absolutely overjoyed with my choice for now. Who knows what the future may bring

for what it's worth, I've been using the following tire size calculator to not overdo size
https://tiresize.com/comparison/