2018 RS3 tire options - staggered v non-staggered
 

Hi everyone - I wanted to get opinions on the Audi RS3 (2018) staggered tire option that Audi has given when you select the optional rims.

Standard the RS3 comes with the 235 / 19 tires front and rear. However in Canada (and I'd imagine everywhere else) once you option for a different rim, they provide the 255/19 front and 235/19 rear tire setup.

Based on early reviews, this allows the car to drift a bit more easily. What is everyone going for on these order? and even if you aren't ordering an RS3, has anyone run a setup similar to this and can explain if it's still good as a daily driver?

I've included the Canada build option list with the rims.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...9d26c1c694.png

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...0119c0ca45.png

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...1f146b3486.png

^Bump

Surprised nobody has any input on this...would appreciate any insight.

Here in the US if you want the sport exhaust, you get staggered. The car I ordered will have them.

I've already ordered 8.5" aftermarket wheels all around. I'd like to be able to rotate the tires. I might try adjusting tire pressure in the rear to try to compensate for this.

Between the various sites and facebook, I'm probably aware of 20-30 people who are getting RS3s in the US. Of those, only 2 of them are not getting the staggered setup (like John said, if you want the Dynamic Package or Black Optics here, you have to get it). I'm going to give it a whirl, at least for the stock set of tires. Like John, I'm also immediately replacing the wheels; haven't decided if I'm going to go 8.5" all around or stick with the 8.5" in the front, 8.0" in the rear. Either way, though, I'll be running the staggered tires until they need replacing.

Like mattvandyk said, the only way to get the sport exhaust in the US is to order the dynamic package which comes with the staggered wheels. If I could have ordered the sport exhaust separately I would have; I too would like to be able to rotate the tires and I do NOT want to replace the wheels.

I would be getting the staggered setup even if it was a la carte in the US. It's one of the tricks they've done to mitigate understeer in the car. It sucks for rotation, particularly if you have directional tires, but racecar.

I may end up doing track wheels though, in which case, I'd probably run 235s on 8s at all corners for daily.

I have 8.5" all around on my S3. As mentioned, I did this for better handling and ease of wheel rotation.

Just note, the wider wheels are on the FRONT with this optional configuration. Mainly as the front wheels are prioritized the torque due to the transverse mounted motor. Usually most staggered fitments your read about are wider rear wheels.

Good luck!

What size of tires are you running for your square setup?

Having had both square and staggered fitments...
 

... Not enough of an advantage for me to deviate from a square setup. The tires are lasting only about 10-12K with rotation, a staggered fitment would be unacceptably short. Understeer is in the DNA of Audis - I guess after having had nine of them, I have adapted my canyon driving to that fact. The sport differential sorts out most of the issues in our S/RS-Cars. The open diff A6's are a bit of a handful, but they were never designed for such shinanagans. However, they are still fun.

It will be interesting to see if the tire wear issue is extreme in the S/RS3. My closest experience has been in VW-R's which can chew through an inner tread bar in a weekend. Less aggressing alignment helps, but I was sure glad to put them on the back...

Good luck

Eric

I am running 235/35/ZR 19 Michelin Pilot SS XL's on all corners. Fit is great on the BBS's.

Only thing I noticed, on the front with the wider width you have the change of slightly more side skirt damage as the tire tread is a bit wider than stock.

Then again I only ran the stock wheels for a week so this is only what I notice now.