I am looking at a used pair of wheels from a 87 4000 with the specs of
15x6 in size, with a 33mm offset and a 4x108mm bolt pattern. The hub bore is 57.1mm

Wondering if this should be fine for my Coupe Quattro. I noticed the Original wheels on the Coupe were 37 MM offset. Does the difference of offset matter for this car? Will the wheels above work fine?

 

http://www.1010tires.com/wheeloffsetcalculator.asp

Inner Clearance: 17mm MORE (the inside of the wheel to the strut housing)

Outer Position: RETRACT by 9mm (position of the outside edge of the wheel)

 

Will the 33 MM offset wheel look funny or small inside my wells with a stock wheel of 37 mm offset? Does it matter if the offset is smaller by 4 MM?

 

I just found out that the tires are 175 (very narrow) as compared to my 205X65X15 which were standard on the 91 Coupe. The ones on the 33 MM offset rims from the 4000 are 175X60X15. Would you agree that they will look funny in the wells (Too narrow) which will help my ice and snow performance however make dry pavement driving poor? Is that something you would consider? Will snow performance be much better with that narrow of a tire?

 

I think snow performance would increase considerable.

Im also looking at those BBS + Blizzak.

They will look a bit smaller.

How much performance do you want in Ice and Snow?

 

I live in Park City and Boulder and do a TON of snow driving! I drive very aggressive in the snow. I also have 2 sets of wheels currently with newer blizzaks and have never had an issue racing in powder. The other question is how much longer Blizzaks will be available in that size configuration? It might end up being phased out?

 

You could change the size of the tire once it out of tread.
Myabe 195/65/15 or 185/65/15 closer to original size.
I dont see a problem.
I see extreme winter traction.
You could test fit one before buying them just to make sure.

 

First of all the N/A coupe factory reco'd tire sizes are only two:

195/65-15; &
205/60-15.

However, that gives you a great deal of choice. These where not in any way chosen for how they look. Further, whether a tire rubs on the body work is not a fore-thoughtful approach as to how tires should be chosen.

Not included in the above basic specs are the required load ratings of these tires. I believe it is class "91". Those who fail to understand the implications of non-standard tire choice should perhaps refrain from doing so. See the handy owner's manual in your glove box. If not, borrow one or get one from the wrecking yard or Bentley Publishers.

The problem one needs to recognize is that the tires you are discussing are from a lighter car; and those tires probably don't have the same load carrying capacity that the heavier coupe <i>requires</i>. Where this can become an immediate issue is perhaps two-fold:

a.) With under-sized tires (i.e. less than reco'd load capacity), the hazard size required to bend a wheel is much reduced. When you encounter a pothole or any obstacle which provides an impact edge, it will more likely be sufficient to compress the tire against the rim. With under-sized tires there is simply insufficient volume to contain enough air, to prevent your wheel from being bent from said impact. Often, lower than OEM profile tires, even if of sufficient load rating capacity or greater, behave similarly. They simply lack sufficient height to withstand imperfect roads.

Then you will be back to shopping for wheels; again. Repeat as required.

b.) If you are involved in an accident and it can be shown that your vehicle is deficient, your insurance may be invalidated; or worse.

What works really well is a set of factory steel wheels with 195/65 cold temperature tires for the winter, and the OEM mags for the 205/60 warm weather ones. The <i>steelies</i> are less likely to crack and allow sudden tire deflation if you slide and hit something.

 

I run 205/60R15 Nokian snows. I have RSi's now and NRW's before and never had an issue in some of the worst conditions.

You can find OEM 15' rims at junkyards which would work fine for winter rims since they will probably be beat up.

I will note the choice of 205/60R15 is rather slim with 195/65 having a 3x selection.

Both are standard for the B4.