Has anyone experienced any trouble with putting 18's on their A6? Any rubbing during sharp turns?

That's a very general/broad question. Can you be more specific?:
- What kind/brand of rims?
- What size tires?
- What year/model A6 do you have? Part 2: What kind of offset are your current rims (if V6 then ET45; if V8, then ET35) Hint: an offset of ET35 will push the rim further out from the wheel wheel/hub.
- Are you looking for "Bling" or performance (answer honestly please. )?
- What kinds of roads do you drive on...on a daily basis? etc...etc.

Personally, I think 17's offer a great combination of performance without sacrificing too much ride quality. But, if you're looking for 18's cause you want to tout the fact that you're running 18's (without putting some serious thought behind it)...then you might end up:
A) Bending the rims over potholes; common for the heavy/strong OEM type too. BBS and/or the forged kind are the lightest and strongest.
B) Rubbing the tires on the control arms because the offset of a 18x8 rims is 45 (FYI - I had this problem when I tried to run 235/40-18's; ET45 on my 2001 A6 V6)
C) if you don't match the correct tire diameter of your stock rim/tire, then your speedo will be off. For instance, I run the stock 205/55-16's for the winter (stock/OEM size) and I run 225/45-17 for the summer and the speedo is off by 1mph at 60mph - no biggie).
D) if you are forced to run 8 or 10MM spacers (fyi - you'll need the hubcentric sort), you'll impact the geometry of the suspension components. Control arms and tie-rods can be expensive to replace.
E) If you have 16's as the stock setup and you upgrade to 18's, there will be a major wheel gap between the fender and the tire…and you'll notice it. To change this, you'll then need to install lowering springs (Eibach sells sets for the A6). FYI - even with my 17's, the gap is obvious…but not too bad.
F) 18" tires for the A6 aren't as common as the 17's but are more expensive. Your wallet will feel it.
G) If you go with 18's and a max performance tire for the summer, you might want to consider a dedicated winter tire on your stock rims (more emphasis on this point if you live in an area that has snow…or can get to be as cold as 20 degrees (F) in the winter. Do some research, and you'll understand why. Talk to people with dedicated winter and summer tires (see my links below).

Search the Wheel/tire forum and/or A6 forum in Audiworld.com for more info. Most folks on audiworld.com are quite educated in this area. You'll find some great research on that site. Also, tirerack.com has a great tool for fitting/sourcing rims/tires for your A6.

Good luck!

-ted

wow. thanks for all the info, def. more than expexted but greatly appreciated. I think I am going to go with 17's like I originally planned, and get some eibach's for it.

In the same boat. I have an 2003, A6 4.2 with a sport package (17s) . I am putting 18s on it as we speak and after a great amount of research and numerous answers, I am assured by the dealer and a trusted wheel/tire distributor that it will handle 255/40s, provided that the offset is between 30 and 35. As a new owner and just starting to tinker a bit , it is nice to have qualified feedback from people such as teddybgame. It is expensive to do with good rims and people will tell you a lot to sell to you. Definitely do the homework.

i posted this on a similar thread; maybe you can benefit from it:


18s will DEF. fit on your a6. 'rubberbands' don't feel like rubberbands if you get the right tire . i have 19s (see specs on sig) on my a6 and i'm getting sport suspension. i have yet to sacrifice the ride or OEM circumfrance, and have aquired better handling to boot.

the only way you can 'upset' the Quattro is if your circumfrance is inconsistant on any of the four tires. the only way the odometer or speedometer can be 'upset' is if you get a smaller or larger circumfrance than the OEM tire size. so what you want to do is stick as close to OEM circumfrance as possible; this can be done with less tire (the correct tire), and more rim (staggering doesn't matter).

click on http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....eModel=Direzza and scroll down to DIREZZA DZ101

this tire is awesome!!!! it won't even feel like you have 'rubberbands' on b/c it has some road noise elimination feature. you also won't scratch up your expensive wheels b/c the design of the tire eliminates curb rash. of course these aren't the cheapest tires but, as you probably well know quality costs $$$$$

Yea 4dot that was my post...

I think I finally decided on a 18x8.5 wheel with a 255/40/18 set up... that's the same dimensions as on an RS6. I called my local Audi dealership and they said I shouldn't have much trouble. BTW...I have a A6 2.7T.

Any opinions?

i think 18's are perfect for your car. i started off wanting 18's for my car but it came with stock 17s already; then i saw 20's on an rs6 w/ h&r suspension and fell in love with the way it made the car look. so i figured i would try to meet it half-way, sense i had the flaired wheel wells, but not the rs6 body kit.

18's will accent the 2.7t nicely. i would suggest you get aftermarket suspension though; car handles much better and looks more aggresive!!!

Yea well thanks... because most of the place have pretty strict return policies.... I just want to make sure that an offset of ET35 will not rub with 18x8.5 with 255/40/18 .... does anyone have this set up on an A6 2.7T '01????? Also I was thinking of upgrading to Porsche BBK.... what should I look for in a rim to make sure it will clear brakes and will not rub???

THANKS.... I know this has bene mulled over and over but I don't want to get stuck with wheel that I can't use.... THANKS!!!!