Question for year one package owners
 

I’m coming from a car with 20” wheels on a sport suspension and 40 series all season tires all around. I’ve bent 3 rims and bubbled the side wall on 5 tires in 39 months. The roads just stink on Long Island NY. Most of this happens in late winter and early spring. In the rain a pot gold looks like a puddle and bang damage done. I do have wheel and tire insurance so it’s a non financial issue but it’s also a pain to deal with. My current vendor is horrible. I suggest avoiding IAS tire like the plague. Previous providers were awesome NSD. National safe driver.

Im loving the look of the year one package. Can anyone comment on experience with this wheel and tire set up in an Urban Jungle full of pot holes. I’ll be getting the wheel and tire protection package but I’d rather not use it often.

Thanks for any insight you can share.

I live in New Jersey and drive from Central to North Jersey and had some concerns when ordering the 22 inch wheels. I have had low profile tires in several of my previous cars, but had problems with blow outs and flats in a Mercedes CL550 that we’re 20 inch and (255/35/20) and in a S550 (255/30/20), their rims were very soft and bent easily. I’ve had a 2014 RS7 whose summer tires low profile 21 inch and winter tires that were 20 inch with 40 sidewall. My year 1 package are 22 inch, but I’ve only had the vehicle for two weeks. I have had no problems with my current 2015 A8L (265/40/20) or my 2017 Q7 that I traded in which was (285/45/20). The larger tire (265 or 285) make the side wall larger in size and less prone to blow outs. The rims also appear sturdier than my Mercedes which were a headache to not get a flat. I’ve used my Audi tire insurance once in the past three years with my Q7, with a flat due to a nail, but my each of my Mercedes averaged 5 flats per year. Just my observations over the past 9 years driving on New Jersey roads.

Thanks for the response. I’m going for the year one package and hope to get a fair price on my build.

Please keep us updated on your experience.

Thanks

I’m in NYC and had, due to the poor road conditions our area, the exact same concern with the 22”, but I’m very happy with them, the ride is surprisingly smooth and it generally feels better than in my 2017 Q7 with 21” (summer tires). I’ve had my Q8 for two weeks only, but already on even worse back roads in VT with the same positive experience. Both cars have air suspension — I’d not get 22” without air suspension in our area — on the Euro Audi websites I checked Audi forces AS with choice of 22”, for the Q7, though.

(FWIW, I’ve been in three Q7s over the past decade on 19”, 20, and 21”/19” summer/winter and so far never had a single rim or tire damage.)

Much better than my S6 which you could bend the wheels just looking at them.

What does the air suspension do to spare the rims and tires ?

I had not planning on checking that box. As it is this vehicle is over wnat I was planning to build. I do like tbe 4 wheel steering but I don’t want more to break either.

Thanks

Makes sense. I’m not sure it does much of a difference to spare rim or tires, so if that’s your main concern, you can pass on it. I do find, however, that AS (auto or comfort setting) makes a difference on the very harsh roads where the car can bounce around with the stiffer setup (occasionally to such an extent so that my kids will complain about it).

It also looks much sportier in Dynamic mode (the lowest AS setting) than the standard ride height on steel. This is a no-brainer option imo if you care enough about the sportier looks to already have optioned the YR1 pack. They go hand in hand. You also have the added comfort and adjustability of different ride heights and then of course the 4-wheel steering which improves maneuverability. Before ordering you should try to find a dealer that has two Q8s with the different suspension setups you can look at it for comparison.

The YR-1 package wheels are 22" -- normally NOT a good thing because often the aspect ratio (chosen by the auto mfgr) of the tires is below 40, sometimes even as low as 30. The tires the Q8 comes with are 40 series and they are high-performance all-seasons (not UHP or Max Performance summer tires.) What all of this means as a practical matter is that the wheels have an above average resistance to being bent on the moon-cratered Interstates we have here in SW Ohio. I have no issue recommending them. And, the YR-1 package is gorgeous.