snagitseven

With low profile tires it doesn't take much to bend a 19 or 20" wheel wheel. One good pothole shot and there it goes. Bent, out of round wheels can almost always be straightened. Over 35K miles I've had wheels repaired 5 times on my A6 - cost was about $100 a wheel. None had to be replaced. My other Audis probanly had repaired another 8 or so and only had to replace one that ended up looking like a pretzel after falling into a 2 foot deep pothole. It's the price I have to pay for owning sport suspension, performance autos with low profile tires and the miserable weather that chews up our roads in Massachusetts.

DD1546

It states on my contract, "cosmetic repairs" and bent wheels. However, it is Allstate. I understood that there was also another company through whom wheel protection could be purchased but I seem to have been steered the right way.

hedgeclipper

Snagit,
Was that repaired at an Audi dealer or just a body shop for $100?

snagitseven

Interesting you should ask. In the past, none of the dealers were equipped to repair bent rims so I had to drive into Boston to the only guy in the city who had the proper jigs and skill to work on them (he was always swamoed with bent wheels shipped or dropped off). Also, I've discovered that very few body shops have the equipment or skilled tech to repair bent rims. It really xcan be an art form to do it right.

Then last week, when I brought my car in to service, I was told their sister Mercedes dealer was set up to fix bent wheels and they would send them over same day to have them straightened. Then after they were finished, my dealer picked them up and mounted the new DWS 06 tires and balance the wheels. I had Tire Rack drop ship the tires directly to my dealer in one day. To top it off, they gave me a discount since I had three bent wheels and charged me $80 apiece in stead of $100 for each bent rim. Very convenient one stop service for me - even had the usual no charge loaner.

The car now runs smooth as silk and I'm very pleased the they did a good job and saved me a lot of time and running around.

tenspeed

It's refreshing to hear a positive dealership review.

snagitseven

Of the four Audi dealers I've done business with, my current dealer of 12 years has been the best. It pays to have a good relationship with all the service writers, techs and service managers. Like anywhere, everyone has their favorites for which they go the extra mile and I've tried to be one of those. When I go in, it's like the old TV show Cheers where everyone knows my name. That said, I think they do their best to take care of all their customers.

DD1546

I really don't know anybody at my dealership but they do treat me as a valued client. They send my wheels to a wheel shop in the am and they're back in the late afternoon - straight. "No charge, thank you sir, we re-balanced the wheels and did you like the loaner?" All that they ask is that I give them the 10 rating that they earn.

EasyRider

I feel bad for you guys with all these bent rims.

Makes me really question the current trend of buying larger diameter wheels.

I agree that large wheels often look cool, though I've seen some really large wheels that frankly look stupid, especially on trucks. But in general, large, wide wheels on sports cars do look bad ***.

But are they better?

Clearly large diameter wheels are more liable to get bent. I rarely hear someone with 17" wheels complaining about bent rims, sometimes with 18"s, but people with 19"s and 20"s it seems to happen much more frequently. Large diameter wheels mean less tire sidewall, which means if you hit a pothole there's simply less tire to protect the wheel.

Interestingly, larger diameter wheels often don't perform better, either. Here's an interesting article from Car and Driver comparing different wheel sizes:

Effects of Upsized Wheels and Tires Tested - Tech Dept. - Car and Driver

The test car was a VW Golf. It's interesting to note the skid pad results and braking seem to be most influence by the kind of rubber used in the tire, not necessarily just the width of the tire.

And acceleration, fuel economy, ride quality, and sound are all improved by moving to smaller diameter wheels. My understanding is that many guys that track their cars have found that 17" to 18" wheels is the way to go. So it's interesting to note that in a competitive environment where performance matters more than looks, people are choosing smaller wheels, not 20 inchers.

And that's all in the dry. Smaller diameter wheels with narrower tires are also more resistant to hydroplaning, and are better in snow.

There's a lot going for 17" - 18" wheels. Just something to consider.

snagitseven

Technically It's not the size of the wheel that's the issue but the amount of rubber acting as a cushion between the wheel and the pavement. Since all A6s have the same overall tire/wheel diameter, regardless of wheel size, with a larger wheel comes less rubber as the profile of the sidewall gets lower to maintain that common diameter. Also, the sport suspension plays a role due to less compliance or "give" with the stiffer setup.

All things equal, with tire profile/wheel size it's always been a trade-off between handling, ride comfort, and damage risk. Then there's also the appearance factor since most feel the larger 19-20" wheels look better on a bigger car like the C7, especially with the lowered sport package and its lesser fender gap. I've had both sport and non-sport on my Audis and prefer the 19" sport package set up on my current A6 - I just wish they did a better job maintaining our roads here in the Northeast.

EasyRider

Do you prefer the look mainly? Or do you believe 19" wheels would outperform 18"s on an otherwise equivalent A6 or S6 at the track (same brand wheels, tires, same car)?