Originally Posted by Akenmaat

Yeah, my first instinct says to go with 19x9 for more sidewall and less stretch. But my thought is, Audi Sport had to have tested these cars with the 19" wheels as well and they settled on the 20". I was willing to write a certain amount of that off as marketing until I talked with the instructor at the driving experience.

Tires are definitely a concern. I REALLY want off the PZeros and onto the 4S. I absolutely loved the PSS on my R32, which also replaced a set of PZeros. So the next question is, how critical is the sidewall stretch in the handling performance. Again, I have no doubt that Audi Sport had access to 265/30/20 and/or 265/35/20 tires, but they chose the 255/30/20. So that will be on my list of questions the next time I have access to someone who does this for a living.

Unfortunately, I'm not one of those guys who can afford to get multiple setups to actually test what works the best. So I can't speak from first hand experience.

Originally Posted by ormandj

I just wonder what tires are they using on the track / making that determination with? Few of the typical DOT track tires seem to be available in the 255/30R20 size, so I'm curious how they determined 20x9 is optimal if there are no great track tires available - if they made that determination on P Zeros, I'd question their sanity.

Originally Posted by Akenmaat

LOL... agreed on the PZeros.

For the Audi Driving Experience here, they are on PZeros because Pirelli is a sponsor. The are all the stock cars with the Dynamic Plus Package. But the racing driver I was talking to was strictly speaking to wheel size, 19 vs 20, on the TT RS. We weren't really talking tires.

As for Audi Sport, I don't know. But since the 245 and 265 both seem to be much more available, I can't imagine they didn't test them. Especially when the 265 fits on a 20x9 wheel much better than the 255 does. I could be overthinking it, but it just seems to me like the 255 wouldn't be the natural choice unless they performed better.

Originally Posted by ormandj

FWIW the Leggera HLT 19x9 et42 supposedly will only clear the calipers (spokes) by 1.5mm according to Tirerack so that plan is out for me. This is so frustrating! I don't want to order custom wheels or spend 10% of the car value in wheels but it seems like there's not many other options. The BBS CI-R 19x9 are apparently a fit but are also 25.4lbs.

Originally Posted by Akenmaat

But you could run 10mm spacers to get it back to et52 right? Or am I missing something?

Originally Posted by ormandj

I went ahead and ordered a set of BBS CI-R in 19x9, and some 255/35R19 Michelin PS 4S to go along with it. It's my DD, so even if I give up 5% of maximum track performance, the trade-off will be worth it. Not to mention, the tires are significantly better, so any loss will likely be offset by the better tires.

I realize the CI-R are relatively heavy (25.3lbs or so) compared to some of the other rotary forged options (22lbs or so), but I want something that can survive the roads here without bending. The extra 1/2" of sidewall coupled with the BBS wheels should put me in a much better place. Also, it's a pain finding wheels that will clear the calipers. The BBS apparently do, according to Tire Rack. We'll see if that holds true when they show up - they are back-ordered for 10-14 days supposedly.

Originally Posted by ormandj

I went a different direction with wheels in the end, and I'm glad I did. 20.8lbs per corner, Neuspeed RSe102 19x9 ET45.



255/35R19 Michelin PS 4S. Definitely a better ride on the road and honestly it feels better on the track too. Didn't give up anything in turn in that I can tell, and gained traction due to the better tire.