My wife and I are considering the purchase of a new Audi A6 with the standard 16" wheels. My wife is primarily concerned with ride comfort, rather than sport handling. My question is does anyone have any experience with or thoughts on ride comfort with standard 16" wheels versus 17" wheels?

Thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts anyone can share.

Stephen Stark

 

Stephen,

The big determinant of riding comfort is the profile (sidewall height) of the tire and it's stiffness. The former is a function of the wheel/tire combo, the latter of the tire itself. 16" wheels will necessitate a higher profile (larger sidewall height) tire which, all other things being equal, will produce a better ride. A tire with a softer sidewall will produce a softer ride for obvious reasons.

BOTH of these variables trade off directly with performance. If you want to go way in the direction of comfort, look for a tire that is rated well for ride comfort -- that will give you a tire with a softer sidewall -- and keep the 16" wheels. If you want to at least give a nod in the direction of performance, go for 215/55R16 tires that offer a balanced profile between ride comfort and performance. With the 16" rims, you will certainly not be going to harsh.

I have 17" rims (and wider, lower profile tires) for summer performance. My winter tires are on 16" rims (narrower and higher profile) because winter performance is about cutting through the snow with a narrower tire instead of riding on top of it (in part -- rubber compound and tread also play a role).

Enough info for you?

 

Hey SouthboroAudiGuy -

Nice car, rims and picture!!

Question: I have a 2001 A6 4.2...I believe both you and I have the same "large" brake components on our car, so which 16" rims did you go with for your winter tires that didn't interfere with the big brakes?

Also, which winter tires have you been using?

Thanks for the information.

Shoman

 

Shoman,

I have the 16" OEM "split spoke" wheels that came with the sport package in 2001. As such, no problems with the HP2 calipers. The BBS RKs you see in my pic are what I purchased for the summer. I'm running Dunlop Wintersport M3s for winter tires. Very well rated and a favorite among A6 drivers that I know.

Thanks for the compliments.

Tom

 

Yo SouthboroAudiGuy -
Very good info on the 16' vs the 17" - I'm looking at getting 17 x 7.5 sport rims from an '02 A4 - curious if they will fit my '02 A6 2.7T.
Do you know one way or the other - they have 235/45 tires on them..

Thanks in advance -
Charlie

 

Charlie,

Don't get yourself into a "can't return them" situation on my account (not THAT sure), but you should be OK. They dropped the HP2 calipers (HUGE, 2 piston front brakes) in MY 02 so the major fitment challenge <02 people face is not an issue for you.

Good luck,
Tom

 

Thanks - won't blame you if they don't fit.
I'm going to check with my local dealer today - they have a performance parts division so I will check with them...

Thanks again for all of your input re: everyone's questions -

Charlie