ninestone

Hi, Im about to switch from my original 15x6 ronals with original 205/60/15 on to some URS4 16x8 225/50/16.
Im on Bilstain HD and stock springs.

Anyone running this tire wheel combo? I think the front is going to be fine, the back might rub. How much rub will there be?
New springs and Rolling the fenders will come in the future. Its these first 1000 mile trip with some wieght that has got me a bit worried, or tentative to pospone the change until then. What do you guys think?

thanks

AirCooledRules

You should have ZERO rubbing issues.

I ran those wheels with 225/40/16 with Eibach springs and Bilstiens and had no issues.

Here is a photo of what mine looked like.

ninestone

thanks, I hope you are write although a 40 side wall is much smaller than the original 50 sidwall im planing on running. When you started posting here I asked you a while ago the size of your tire because I have been thinking about it for some time. You said you would get back to me but never did. I figured it was a 45 side wall since it looked like a smaller tire than the original on the pics. The extra beef might rub, we will see today.
No one else wants to post, 50 views, no posts. So everyone is running the original ronals or 17s.
Thanks for your input.

racingiron

I tried to post a reply last night, but the system timed out and I was too tired to recreate the message. I'll try again:

In theory, the size you've picked is the same diameter as stock, and 10 mm wider on the inside and outside. The wheel offset pushes everything out by 5 mm, so you'll have 5 mm extra on the inside and 15 mm on the outside. In the real world, you also have to consider the variances between different brands/models of tire. (IOW, no guarantees until you actually mount them on the car!)

I run those wheels with 225/45-16 track tires. I've got factory rolled fenders and the later valence, but I have enough room to run a 12 mm spacer.

ISTR that the first place to rub is often one of the screw heads on the early valence. You might consider dropping to a 45 section to minimize that possibility. That's close to the stock tire height for the 15x8 wheels. I'm not sure why Audi changed the tire diameter, but I don't think they changed any gearing--heck, they probably didn't even recalibrate the speedo/odo!

If you're worried about an upcoming trip, I'd stick with the stock wheels (provided you've still got life in the tires). Why waste your new rubber on the highway? The narrower tire will also probably give you slightly better gas mileage.

AirCooledRules

My tires were a little bit smaller but i was running eibach springs which offered a mild drop which would more then make up for the difference between my tires and yours.

ninestone

Thanks for your insight.
I will install them today, and will be driving 100 miles, so I will now very soon.
Thankfully the tires are on there way out.

ninestone

I just drove 100 miles. The car feels great. It was a tight fit, but no rubing, especially with the tie rod.

JAMS6

AirCooledRules, the car looks great on the urS4 wheels. I have a set waiting for me to find the right urq! ;-)
I find it kinda strange that most on here are actually going with a 40-45 aspect ratio tire when the wheel calculator I looked at says the 50 is almost dead on as far as maintaining the rolling circumference. Are you trying to gain some acceleration from the gearing and less tire weight?
This was the calculator I used....I assume its correct.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

racingiron

I went with 225/45-16 because it's as close as I could get to MY stock tire size. The urq came with two different stock sizes depending on which wheels it got. Go to the Tire Rack and plug in the '84 or '85 urq. You'll see the two sizes listed because those cars came with the 15x8, or the Fuchs as an option. The slight gearing help doesn't hurt either, unless you want to drop the revs on the highway.

JAMS6

Ah, gotcha. I just noticed what you were saying in the above post.