millersntx

Somehow I've avoided (to date) bending a (19") wheel on Houston's crappy roads.

I will say that I keep them inflated on the high side - 47-48 psi.

markcincinnati

Someone here will likely tell you how that much air pressure messes up the handling, and that you should really consider some inflation number in the low 30's. I usually tend to go higher rather than lower.

I put 37 front, 35 rear in mine (18's) and the thing goes like a snake in a rat hole.

I used to (on my last S4) run 41/39 f/r, but have become someone moved -- by folks here -- to try a few pounds less. So far, so good.

I must say, however, I would think HIGHER pressure would mean the tire would give less thus allowing more of the energy to be transmitted to the wheel. Therefore, it would seem (to me) to be counter-intuitive to run super high.

But I really don't know what I'm talking about.

millersntx

Definitely has an impact on handling, but for daily driving, I'm using a fraction of what the beast is capable of anyway.

My thoughts are the higher pressures (may) help resist the tire bottoming out on the rim and direct the energy into the suspension. This is just based on my bicycling experience (with Michelin and Continental tires) is purely subjective and may have no basis in reality. Regardless - it makes me feel better.

But once I lunch these 19's, I'll buy some aftermarket 18's.

markcincinnati

As I sit here watching the drones during the opening sequences of the WinterOlympics, I wonder (all these years I bought the +sized wheels) WHAT WAS I THINKING?

There is no freakin' way someone willing to pony up $75K for a new RS5 will be willing to put up with the stock wheels, and the upgrades, while not expensive, overall, won't' last 15 minutes in Cincinnati. I'd buy the damn upgrades if they didn't get larger in diameter (wheels) and smaller in aspect ratio (tires). Who do I have to send money to, simply to get a practical wheel/tire for driving on US of A ("North Central Atlantic" states) without needing a line of credit to keep the thing in shoes?

This is torture -- offer up a glintzy wheel and make it offer both no practical improvement in performance and make it so GD fragile it is useless for where perhaps 60% of the population lives?

markcincinnati

Audi needs to get us it's best looking wheels in any size the customer wants and is willing to pay for.

The 19" wheels are a joke -- but they look good.

Now for the 40% of the country that doesn't relate to the "joke" comment, I am not suggesting anything you need to be concerned with. About 60% of the population drives on roads that will KILL expensive wheels and tires of the lower profile persuasion.

Yet, we (well, I'm done with it) keep buying these high buck wheels and tires and find out the error of our ways when it is too late and too expensive to change our minds.

Here's the real pisser -- configure a new RS5 (on a European site) and get it set up the way you want it -- but leave the wheels, as is. Gawd, the OEM base wheels are the definition of butt ugly.

That is crazy.

Almost as crazy as those of us who purchased 34 Audis but only got 33 since the extra cost of a whole 'nother Audi was eaten up in wheels that had to be replaced and tires that were blown out (FOR almost 40 years!).

If the company is looking for extra revenue -- and who could blame them -- why not just take my money for a tire/wheel combination that I can live with -- in peace -- for 3 or 4 years. Is that too much to ask?

Add $16,000 to the cost of your S4 and that is what it will be for a new RS5 SB (the logical next step in your addiction). I'll just buy one "wheel-less" unless they'll get real and offer wheels useable in the North Central Atlantic United States of America.

BTW, the Koreans, not BMW, not Mercedes, are what Audi fears most -- in part due to the fact that KIA hired some of the best talents on the planet from Audi and BMW. In all of the surveys Audi has me participate in, they never ask about Japanese cars, but plenty about Korean cars.

I swear, though, no matter how good the damn KIA Stinger gets (and it seems pretty good already), I "see" Killed In Action -- not a friendlier, apparently, KIA. But, I was born in the '50's. Most of y'all don't even know what I'm on about. So, Audi better be looking over its shoulder -- what it will be looking at is not Bimmers and Mercs, but Killed In Action Stingers.

I mean, really, did you see the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics tonight? No way that was done by North Korea (although they'll take credit for it), no wonder Audi is worried.

Of course, I'm sitting in front of a 75" Samsung UHD TV while my clothes are being washed in my LG washer as I drink a cold beer from another LG product.

What the hell happened to Cadillac anyway -- are they still in business?

aj6

Though I agree with you on wanting Audi to offer more options, I gotta say in my experience the 19s are pretty tough. I suffered a blowout last month on the pothole of a lifetime, wheel miraculously wasn't bent. Anecdotal of course, and very fortunate, but a data point nonetheless.

Edit: am temporarily in Texas for a few months for work... would not recommend the 19s in this state. They do not care about infrastructure or highway design here

markcincinnati

Yes, anecdotal -- but also a data point, which when added to the experiences since 1977 that my wife and I have had with our cars from Germany and Japan (one Acura and one Infiniti) starts to develop a pattern. Too, when the dealer "fulfills demand" and sells the upgraded wheels the customers demand, you'd think they at least should discourage this purchase (in pot-hole peppered areas of the country). I had thought -- briefly -- that the dealer had an obligation to "duly caution" customers who bought summer only tires (in Cincinnati, mind you) and/or plus sized wheels. I no longer think the dealer should discourage the customer from getting what they want -- besides, sales reps are incentivized on revenue.

In practice what happens is that the service department gets to be the bearer of bad news sometimes as early as the first (scheduled) oil change, but certainly by/before the second: "Mr. Jablonski, this is Warren from your Audi dealer, your car is ready, it's been washed and vacuumed, and I'm leaving it inside our pick-up area so that it will be warm for you; I did want to tell you, though that your tires are about at 25% of their usable tread life left. You'll need new tires in about 3,000 miles." (Silence). "To give you an idea of what you're looking at, I've worked-up a quote for four new tires, mounted, road-force balanced, and the recommended all-wheel alighment." (Mr. Jablonski: Uh huh . . .) "Four UHP tires, with a 15% discount, mounted and balanced will be $1,180, the all-wheel alignment is on special for AudiCare customers and is $160, all these prices are plus tax and the tires have an excise tax and there is a $9 per tire disposal fee for your old tires."

Mr. Jablonski's new (well sort of) Audi with just south of 11,000 miles on it -- with AudiCare picking up the normal service charges -- will, shortly have (based on the state's sales tax %) perhaps a $1,400 new shoes bill, and the car is only 9 months old. The bearer of "bad news" was the service department.

I have noticed virtually all of the cars on the showroom floor (but it IS winter, remember, in SW Ohio) have the no-charge A/S tires (those gawdawful "Grand Touring" H-rated soft sidewall things) fitted. The reps, who we have known for at least a decade (or more), when asked about this, say it would be difficult if not impossible to sell a new car with summer only tires in winter, so the cars are typically configured with A/S tires for inventory. Audi aficionados -- like those here -- scratch their heads and wonder why Audi would only offer UHP (summer tires) and H-rated (all-season tires). The dealer also sees the discrepancy in performance characteristics between the tire choices but can only shrug.

I'd hate to be a service adviser telling a customer about his/her tire replacement needs on what will seem, to most people, like a new car.

We've met the enemy and he is us.

- Pogo

mpatel1080

The best way to handle this issue is to use the 19 inch with summer rubber in the summer and 18 inch wheels with winter tires in the winter. Remember that in Europe it is mandatory to use proper winter tires if you live in an area with snow....these cars were designed with that in mind.

jayhawkmd

This is exactly what I do. These cars were not designed to be run on A/S tires, and the beating of 19" rims in the winter can easily be avoided by having an 18" wheel set in the winter. I took delivery of my S4 last month and had 18x8 winter rims/tires ready to go at the time of delivery and changed them out the next day. The 19" summers look good, are sitting on a rack in my garage, and will be on the car when pothole season is over. I get better performance in the winter with my UHP ice/snow tires than I ever have with UHP all seasons, including the much vaunted DWS06 which came with my previous (CPO) C7 S6. I also get to enjoy the benefit of maximum grip in the summer with the OEM UHP summer tires. There is no substitute, IMO. I have never had significant issues with tread life when switching wheel sets with seasons, and a nice side benefit is that you get to have two different looks on the car. For my part, I will never run A/S tires on an Audi. They are too damn much fun to drive in the winter on high performance winter tires!

markcincinnati

Although you are right, your approach is unlikely to catch on for what I must assume is a large portion of American Audi owners. The unwillingness of so many of us to follow the example set by our parents is, of course, well known by all of the global manufacturers. And, of course, the tire manufacturers have been quite willing to innovate ever higher performance all-season tires. Perhaps folks living north of a certain latitude still behave as did my dad: "Snow tires" were mounted in winter on the rear of the family Plymouth, Chrysler or Dodge du jour. I have no idea what the "summer" tires were, but the same tires that were on the front end of the family Chryco product were used year 'round, I assume because the cars were all rear-wheel-drive. My best guess is that the tires back then (in the 60's) offered no more than a 70% aspect ratio.

In any case, I applaud your determination to use single-purpose tires, but I am certain American drivers are quite unlikely to follow suit.

UHP All-season tires keep improving and I am certain most Audi owners in the areas where about 60% of us live, will continue to adopt this approach.