S6 C5 tyre sizes..
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 20
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From: Hove, UK.
S6 C5 tyre sizes..
Hi all, first post so please be kind.. 
I bought a year 2000 S6 yesterday that has a set of 18 x 8" Scirroco wheels fitted to it with 20mm spacers which I quite like but they have a cheap set of 255/35/18 tyres fitted that I need to change.
I realise that the stock tyre size is 255/40/17 which does equate to the 255/35/18 tyres but I'd like to fill the acrhes a little more so does anybody know whether 255/40/18s are safe? I realise this will increase the circumference by ~1" but I can live with that..
I love the car, love the V8, love the gadgets that all still work fine 11 years on and am looking forward to life for a while with my first ever Audi..
Thanks.
Peter.
I bought a year 2000 S6 yesterday that has a set of 18 x 8" Scirroco wheels fitted to it with 20mm spacers which I quite like but they have a cheap set of 255/35/18 tyres fitted that I need to change.
I realise that the stock tyre size is 255/40/17 which does equate to the 255/35/18 tyres but I'd like to fill the acrhes a little more so does anybody know whether 255/40/18s are safe? I realise this will increase the circumference by ~1" but I can live with that..
I love the car, love the V8, love the gadgets that all still work fine 11 years on and am looking forward to life for a while with my first ever Audi..
Thanks.
Peter.
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Hove, UK.
Thanks for replying. They're a make I've never heard of, Speedwell I think.. How easy is the S6 to lower? New springs..?
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,065
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From: Plano, TX
If the wheels are 35mm or greater offset (stamped on inside of rim), you will have tire clearance problems with your aluminum upright and your tierod end. I went with a larger circumference tire (245 35 zr19 is 25.75" compared to stock size 25.00") and had to go narrower (245mm vs 255mm width) or the tires would rub at all times.
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 20
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From: Hove, UK.
I'm not looking to pimp my ride but the picture below clearly shows a much larger diameter tyre than 25 or 26"... Would just prefer the arches to be filled a tad more than they are now. I'm sure 255/40/18s would suit if they're a safe fit..
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,065
Likes: 2
From: Plano, TX
Those are probably 26" tires, as the wheels are 19", aren't they?
I have photos of my Piaa wheels somewhere on this forum. Check them out for an example of how a 26" tire will look on a non-lowered car.
I also posted up a thread a while back with close-up pictures of 27" tires mounted, and even without lowering, they nearly rubbed everywhere and would not rotate because they rubbed the front spindles.
I am not trying to rain on your parade, because I am also a big proponent of larger diameter tires, and run tires larger than stock on four of my five vehicles. As long as they do not rub the spindles and you can deal with them contacting your fender liners, I say go for it.
If you purchase 27" tires, though, you will likely need a total offset (including wheel spacers) of no more than 25mm, so if you've got ET35 wheels now, you'll want to purchase 10mm spacers, etc. Hopefully you can find someone who will let you test fit parts before you buy them - I was stuck with those 27" tires for almost a year before I found a buyer for them.
I have photos of my Piaa wheels somewhere on this forum. Check them out for an example of how a 26" tire will look on a non-lowered car.
I also posted up a thread a while back with close-up pictures of 27" tires mounted, and even without lowering, they nearly rubbed everywhere and would not rotate because they rubbed the front spindles.
I am not trying to rain on your parade, because I am also a big proponent of larger diameter tires, and run tires larger than stock on four of my five vehicles. As long as they do not rub the spindles and you can deal with them contacting your fender liners, I say go for it.
If you purchase 27" tires, though, you will likely need a total offset (including wheel spacers) of no more than 25mm, so if you've got ET35 wheels now, you'll want to purchase 10mm spacers, etc. Hopefully you can find someone who will let you test fit parts before you buy them - I was stuck with those 27" tires for almost a year before I found a buyer for them.
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Hove, UK.
If the wheels are 35mm or greater offset (stamped on inside of rim), you will have tire clearance problems with your aluminum upright and your tierod end. I went with a larger circumference tire (245 35 zr19 is 25.75" compared to stock size 25.00") and had to go narrower (245mm vs 255mm width) or the tires would rub at all times.
I'm fairly sure the Scirroco wheels are ET35 so with 20mm spacers, they should be ET15 but I will whip a wheel off tomorrow to check the ET.. At ET15, the 255/40/18s should be a safe bet, nice..
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Tech Guru
Joined: Mar 2003
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are you talking external (rolling) diameter?
If what you want is minimum fender gap, you want to lower the car a bit - not so much as to mess up your alignment (camber and camber change with travel), nor so much as to make it a clearance issue, but maybe drop 1.25" from OEM normal or 0.5" from OEM sport.
You can easily go +3% in rolling diameter and up to 255 width, so long as your offset is 35mm or less. I would avoid spacers like the plague.
G
If what you want is minimum fender gap, you want to lower the car a bit - not so much as to mess up your alignment (camber and camber change with travel), nor so much as to make it a clearance issue, but maybe drop 1.25" from OEM normal or 0.5" from OEM sport.
You can easily go +3% in rolling diameter and up to 255 width, so long as your offset is 35mm or less. I would avoid spacers like the plague.
G
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Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Hove, UK.
ET is 15 with the 20mm spacers so 255/40/18 should be good to go..
Thanks for your help..
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Hove, UK.
are you talking external (rolling) diameter?
If what you want is minimum fender gap, you want to lower the car a bit - not so much as to mess up your alignment (camber and camber change with travel), nor so much as to make it a clearance issue, but maybe drop 1.25" from OEM normal or 0.5" from OEM sport.
You can easily go +3% in rolling diameter and up to 255 width, so long as your offset is 35mm or less. I would avoid spacers like the plague.
G
If what you want is minimum fender gap, you want to lower the car a bit - not so much as to mess up your alignment (camber and camber change with travel), nor so much as to make it a clearance issue, but maybe drop 1.25" from OEM normal or 0.5" from OEM sport.
You can easily go +3% in rolling diameter and up to 255 width, so long as your offset is 35mm or less. I would avoid spacers like the plague.
G
Yes, going up from 25" to 26", which with ET15 shouldn't be an issue. The Scirroco wheels won't work without spacers and I know what you mean about them but I ran and competed in a 630hp Skyline GTR for a number of years with 'proper' spacers and never had any issues, this is her:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAPsL...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGdRjWq6xv8