EF99

and those of you that have driven both, any notable difference in road manners in city vs highway driving, steering feel, or anything else you care to comment on?

mellow_sparky

I have the 19's and love them. They are fine on the "less than perfect" roads I drive on. I haven't driven on the Audi 18's, but my previous car had 18 and Eibach suspension. For day to day driving, I can't really feel any difference.

In terms of road noise - that will be a function of the tire you have - both 18 and 19 are very low profile, so the actual tread pattern and tire material will have a bigger impact on noise.

I'd say go for the style and look that suits you best.

(also - I had no problem in the snow with 19's)

MalSer

I have the 18" and after over a year I wish I'd gone with 19's based on appearance. Trivial, but just my take on it. I will probably switch to 19" custom rims when I replace the tires. No complaints about the 18's, just personal preference. I'm in Houston so no need for winter tire setup, if that makes any difference. Get what you like!

rktskicar

neither. aftermarket 18". I found the OEM wheels to be visually challenged, however the OEM 18" look better to me than the 19" (peelers).

Bruce

m444

I have the 18" wheels & no plans for 19". The sidewalls are still pretty stiff even with 18".

LeadToRome

Yeah I'm on 18's and don't plan to change. To my eye they are in perfect proportion to the car but the 19's look a bit tall somehow. Just my opinion. I've also almost kinda sorta semi-convinced myself that the center of balance would be a bit lower on 18's. (Like a millionth of an inch, I bet). There are lots more 18" wheels than 19" out there too - you definitely have a better selection

xxShadowxx

My winter setup rides on 18", my Summer setup is the 19" titanium wheels.

The ride is a bit more forgiving with the 18's - that I do know - but the 19's look a lot better. I would expect Winter tires to be more soft riding than max-performance Summer tires though.

Goony

Same here.....and wanted the 18's from the start.

primaltone

I have the stock 18's on mine I struggled with this when I ordered my S4, as I really preferred the OEM 19's. I ended up not upgrading to the 19's because:
- premium for the larger rims
- uber premium for tires for 19" rims
- my perception that the larger rims look better but don't have any added performance, which is what drew me to the S4 in the first place


Not sure what your motivation is for rim size, but I think this is a pretty good review of how 18's perform against 19's:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Glkf4jwkM

DrGP

My car came with the 18s. I swapped for some 19 inch A4 S Line RS4 type oem wheels. First impression is that the ride was less compliant. But after 6k miles with the 19s,it no longer seems at all harsh. Running 39 psi all around