are 20's too big performance wise for an a6 4.2L?

Not sure what you mean by "performance wise" but I'd recommend against it. The ride will be brutally harsh and you'll pay a small fortune for ultra low-profile tires. Go for 18"s

thanks for the advice...

im not sure if 20s will fit but i do know that 18s are too small for such a big car. get 20s if they fit and 19s if they dont. i saw many an audi rollin 18s and its pathetic. doesnt seem like 1 inch would make that big of a difference but it does. spend the cash and get 19s.

ORIGINAL: blacka6

im not sure if 20s will fit but i do know that 18s are too small for such a big car. get 20s if they fit and 19s if they dont. i saw many an audi rollin 18s and its pathetic. doesnt seem like 1 inch would make that big of a difference but it does. spend the cash and get 19s.


VERY much a matter of opinion here. My 2001 came with 16" stock (which I kept as winter wheels) and I now have 17x8" wheels. Many people have complimented me on them, asserting they look perfect (I happen to agree). I think 18" is about as big as I'd ever go -- for reasons of both form and function. Bigger will give you a VERY harsh ride and I think they start to look ridiculous -- BLING BLING!! The A6 is a beautiful automobile and I think its subtle looks are stolen when people put rollerskates on them. As I said, this is a matter of opinion.

it is a matter of opinion, it does depend on what look you are going for, but 17s and 18s look small on big a6's, a4s can get away with small wheels, go bigger, but pics say more. see what you think- blacka6


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/blacka6/newwheels009.jpg

Not working for me. Particularly with the big wheel gap. If you're going to go larger, you've at least got to be lowered. Again, I state the qualification that we're in the realm of personal taste here so to each his own.

yea why is the wheel gap so huge????

Stock suspension leaves a pretty large gap -- putting on larger wheels with lower profile tires visually exagerates it. The sport suspension (what you're seeing on my car) is lower. People often lower the suspension with after market springs/coilovers.

ORIGINAL: SouthboroAudiGuy

Stock suspension leaves a pretty large gap -- putting on larger wheels with lower profile tires visually exagerates it. The sport suspension (what you're seeing on my car) is lower. People often lower the suspension with after market springs/coilovers.


So what's your recommendation for a 2006 A6 4.2 with the air suspension? Even in the lower "dynamic" setting the gap seems a bit too large for my taste. I have 18" wheels. Wouldn't 19" wheels of the same profile decrease the gap? Can I get the air suspension to go lower?

Thanks for any help. It's really the only thing that bugs me about this great car.

Might I remind people here that statistically speaking, adding 1 inch on your wheel size is the equivalent of putting a 10 pound weight on your unsprung weight. So choose wisely. I would say 18 is as big as you should go.

ORIGINAL: Mott Power

Might I remind people here that statistically speaking, adding 1 inch on your wheel size is the equivalent of putting a 10 pound weight on your unsprung weight. So choose wisely. I would say 18 is as big as you should go.


I'm not sure what that means. What are the implications of adding a 10-pound weight to my unsprung weight, other than, presumably, there's 40 more pounds and added friction the engine has to deal with.

But assuming that you're right about not going bigger than 18", and I'm sure you are, what is the option for reducing gap on a air suspension 4.2 with 18" wheels?

ORIGINAL: WaterGuy

So what's your recommendation for a 2006 A6 4.2 with the air suspension? Even in the lower "dynamic" setting the gap seems a bit too large for my taste. I have 18" wheels. Wouldn't 19" wheels of the same profile decrease the gap? Can I get the air suspension to go lower?

WaterGuy,

I'm not familiar with the "air suspension." Is that the same thing as offered on the allroad (goes up and down based on a dashboard switch)? As such, I'm not comfortable suggesting how to lower it. The usual path would be different springs/shocks or coilovers. That might not be a good option for you as it may involve replacing an otherwise dynamically adjustable suspension.

As far as larger wheels reducing the gap... The traditionally accepted way to increase wheel size is to use the "plus concept." This involves stepping DOWN in aspect ratio (profile) as you go up in wheel size so that the outer diameter of the tire remains constant. This is important to prevent any tire rubbing and to keep your speedometer accurate. If you've got a large wheel gap you might be able to go with a larger outer diameter, but I don't have any direct experience and have never seen it discussed so I can't say you would not run into problems. At the very least, your speedometer would read inaccurately. All in all, I'd recommend staying away from this. You'd be better off to modify the suspension or get happy with a bit of wheel gap.

Do you have any pics you can post?

the air/gas/hydraulic suspension is from Citroen but slightly upgraded it has a high and low switch which can be altered if fitting large wheels but the width is the most important as that's where most problems are seen, not sure about mpowers calculations on 10 pounds on unsprung because when upgrading to larger wheels all your doing is adding more metal and less rubber if we do the math right

I have the stock 17's on mine and I'm going to go with 18's. You don't have much of a wheel gap with the 4.2 due to the sport suspension. 18's will look great on it.

The air suspension has 3 modes, changed by the MMI. First is standard, which results in a softer ride and raises the car a few inches. Wheel gap, even with 18" wheels is pretty large. Second is "automatic" which automatically lowers the car at freeway speed to improve aerodynamics. Third is "dynamic" which lowers the car to its lowest option. I use this most of the time, although on rough freeways it's great to have the "standard" option. Even in the dynamic mode, I consider the gap to be a bit large (I'll try to post a pic). Since I paid extra for the air suspension and really enjoy it (except for the aesthetic), I don't want to replace it. Seems my options are to find a way to "program" the suspension to go a bit lower -- guess I can ask the dealer about this; or change the overall diameter of my wheels/tires, but that seems like a poor solution (decreased comfort, speedometer will be off, etc.).

If anyone knows anything about reprogramming the air suspension, let me know.

Thanks for the input.

Waterguy or anyone else, how do you adjust the suspension via the MMI? I have an '01. Thanks.

ORIGINAL: SouthboroAudiGuy

ORIGINAL: blacka6

im not sure if 20s will fit but i do know that 18s are too small for such a big car. get 20s if they fit and 19s if they dont. i saw many an audi rollin 18s and its pathetic. doesnt seem like 1 inch would make that big of a difference but it does. spend the cash and get 19s.


VERY much a matter of opinion here. My 2001 came with 16" stock (which I kept as winter wheels) and I now have 17x8" wheels. Many people have complimented me on them, asserting they look perfect (I happen to agree). I think 18" is about as big as I'd ever go -- for reasons of both form and function. Bigger will give you a VERY harsh ride and I think they start to look ridiculous -- BLING BLING!! The A6 is a beautiful automobile and I think its subtle looks are stolen when people put rollerskates on them. As I said, this is a matter of opinion.


+++1

We seem to have the same taste.
My 1999 A6 had the 16's stock and they were replaced with 17's that compliment the look along with P235/45 - 17 Pirelli tires.
The ride isn't too harsh and even if I am foced into a pothole on these Toronto streets I don't run the risk of huge damage.

I've tried to put 20's on my 01' A6 but they were just too big. They almost hit the top of the controll arm.
On You Tube, there's a guy with a black A6 with 20's on his but I don't know how he got his on.
FYI the 20's I tried putting on were 255/45/20.

20's sound huge on the a6. i just ordered 18" rims myself. the roads are shitty where i live, i needed to put some rubber between the road and rim. it think its the nice in-between, looks good still and will handle excellent. everyone i talked to said 19"s are pushing it. personally i'd rather not have a nice car that rode like a hoopty.

Iwent with 19's on my A6. I love the look and the handling.19x8.5 and 19x9.5 fill the rear up nicely. I am running a 275 on the back. I dont know about the extra weight thing because the first road trip I took increased my milage by 5-6mpg? Get what you want cuz the last thing you want is to walk outside and wish you would of got something else. Everybody told me not to get 19's or staggard sizes and I am really glad I didnt listen to anybody but me.

I would not go with 20's. I have 19's which I think are perfect. 18's may be the required size for optimum performance, but you have to go with your gut. I can be the first one to tell you that I have to dodge the potholes!

OOOO

Will 19" even fit? I tried to put Audi Calera Wheels with Goodyear F1's and the hit the spindel under the front fender. I have a 03 3.0 Quattro. What am I doing wrong?

20's will fit on an A6 but you have to get a 35 series tire. I personally think that 20's fit nicely and fill the gap just right, but 19's also look really nice if you lower it about 1.5 inches. Here's a link to a guy on cardomain.com that has a nice A6 on 19" BBS wheels.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2075171

I just bought my Audi a month ago and its on 20's.... I dont really like them and the ride is not as harsh as bad as the leaning it does... its up so high it leans to much on corners. I would suggest going with 19" ...18" min. As i will be getting rid of my 20's and gettin something smaller.

Now that we are on the subject of 20" wheels...
I bought my car with 20" wheels. Big and chrome.... ME NO LIKEY.
its up high and leans alot on turns...
if I lower the car with 20's will it rub , I will eventually get smaller wheels,
I was just wondering if I should get a jumpstart and lower the car already.
And what you suggest i use as a lowering option....
or are Eibach still the way to go.....
thanks a bunch

I have 20's on my 2001 A6 and personally, I like them. Obviously, ride will suffer from the stock 16" but I think they work very well overall. The tire size on them are 225/35 20.

local://upfiles/52629/226F6DCBD6634E7696105625634D7A6C.jpg

damn,.. what are you guys spending on rim/tire set ups? Looks awesome

i had a a4 with 18" 225/45-18 they rode just fine yesi did feel a slight decreace in ride quality but i would not call it hash at all. well at least untill i put in the coilovers. My cousin had a A8 with 20" 255/30-20 the ride quality wan't bad. On an a6 19" look great lower it a little get the right size tire and you'll be just fine. On my a4 ithought the18's didn't even look that big, so on a bigger a6go for the 19's.Also if you really care about the ride quality and still want big rims just get a nice tire. Yes its going to cost you alot for a good tire but it will help the ride quality.

BTW You could prolly even fit a 26" rim on an A6 but you just couldn't put a tire on it. If you want big rims you got to go with a lower profile tire. There is a certain point to where you cannot get the right size overall diameter tire for the size of rim you want. Look up a tire size calculator to see what will work for the size tire and rim you are considering.

19s... and whoever said MMI with 01 ... your 01 does have mmi haha