Just put on a set of 17x8 ATP Rivas with Bridgestone Potenza S-02 Pole Positions (with SmartTire) from Tire Rack.

I also got H&R springs, which I will be having put on shortly. Everybody always posts the "after wheels and suspension" pics, never the in between shots, so I'll be different and show the mid-mod pics.

The order was monumentally screwed up when I first received it (I'll go into that in a followup) but the replacement order they shipped out seems to have resolved my problems.

Images below...

 

<center><img src="http://v0.net/images/rg/car/audi/0302_012.jpg"></center><p>Just to show where I started from. Welcome to winter in Massachusetts.

I had Nokian Hakka 1's mounted on the stock (PSK) wheels. They rocked. The car climbed like a fast European goat.

Unfortunately, I had them on right through the beginning of May, because I kept forgetting to order new wheels and tires.

 

What a great shot. Transplanted Michigander here, and you're bringing me memories.

 

<center><img src="http://v0.net/images/rg/car/audi/0430_001.jpg"></center><p>So, here we are. Splufty new rear wheel mounted. Massively grippy Hakka 1 on ground. Car filthy with residual winter grime.

 

<center><img src="http://v0.net/images/rg/car/audi/0430_002.jpg"></center><p>Finished now, and after a quick-n-sloppy bath..

The wheels -barely- clear the calipers. Yoink!

 

<center><img src="http://v0.net/images/rg/car/audi/0430_003.jpg"></center><p>close up of the tread.. sorry its such an unnecessarily large pic. :-)

 

<center><img src="http://v0.net/images/rg/car/audi/0430_004.jpg"></center><p>view from where the sun don't shine (see, the sunset is on the opposite end of the car, proving my point)

 

<center><img src="http://v0.net/images/rg/car/audi/0430_005.jpg"></center><p>like, um, another view, 'n stuff.

 

<center><img src="http://v0.net/images/rg/car/audi/0430_006.jpg"></center><p>So I receive my new wheels, and whaddaya know, the wheel location is written in marker all over the wheel. Literally 10 times per wheel. 5 of which are in just about the most visible locations imaginable.

In permanent marker.

I tried water. Soap. Dawn. WD-40. Paint thinner. Honda spray cleaner/polish (from my motorcycle). Fingernail polish remover. Random other solvents from my shelf, including some that were labeled in German, left from the previous owner of my house.. who was German. Figured that maybe German solvents would work best on my German car's wheels.

None were able to completely remove the marker. Some would fade it partly away, but when I drop a few large on tricked out wheels, I don't want them covered with graffiti. I tried Citrustrip, and it wasn't able to remove the marker fully, but started to eat the clearcoat or polish away, so I stopped that one in a hurry.

The customer service person I talked to (and his manager) were astonished that someone did this, and claimed that they never write on the wheels with permanent marker.

Oh, and one wheel was missing a dust cap. And another dust cap was dented.

The final straw: when I bounced the any of the four wheels, I could hear something rattling around inside. The SmartTire sensor? Shouldn't be moving. Hmm, on one wheel, you can hear it rotate freely when you rotate the wheel. Sounds like a weight on a poorly tied down piece of tin strip. Great for wheel balance. Yikes.

What kind of lousy QA process would allow this kind of amateurish screwup to even go out?

All seems to be well now, though. I got a replacement set shipped to me a few days later (not expedited or anything, which seems to me would have been warranted. The first order was shipped FedEx and the followup was shipped UPS even though I requested FedEx again.)

Now I have to ship these back, which is a pain in the butt since there isn't a UPS near me and they tend to have horrible service around here (i.e. leaving $3000 of electronics out in the rain in front of the garage, yet leaving only notes and requiring a signature for $20 orders from Amazon. *grumble*)

Kudos to the customer service rep who worked to get my order fixed quickly. Screwups happen, and the mark of a good company is one that tries to fix it ASAP.

I'd be even happier if they sent me the ear of the putz who fouled up my order, though. :-)

 

I am an ex-New Yorker living in Indiana looking to move to MA. Considering 'summer' tires as well as 'snow' tires. I'm considering getting the Nokias on my OEM wheels for the winter and upgrading to 17x8 wheels for summer. Is this what you have done? has it worked well making the change?