This car is in serious need of a bigger foot print and wider stance. I want to stay with 18's. I have 18 x 8's. The widest I can find for this car they tell me are 8.5's. I just don't think that is going to do it for me. Looked at 19's and they only go up to 8.5.
I watch BMW's, Mustangs and just about everything else cruise by with a nice wide tire look.
Is there a 18 x 9 anyone has found to fit this car? Or some other alternative?

 

Okay...someone else answered my question with their "discount tire" post.

I see they have a 18 x 9.5 wheel that they say will fit on my car. Of course I will verify with them by phone but does anyone else have a wider rim like this that could chime in.
And what would be the tire preferred tire choice for that width.

 

I've been looking around for wheels myself lately. You might want to try elementwheels.com. I talked to them for a while and a dude named Robert was extremely helpful on the fitments and why not to go certain sizes and stuff. They had actually just finished working on an 05 A6 like mine so were fresh with your cars needs.

 

not sure what year you have but you have to watch your offset on the C5 A6 or you will rub the steering knuckle

 

You will sacrafice handling by putting a bigger than 8.5" wheel on your car. It WON'T help you get anymore traction either, if you want a wider stance put on wheel spacers.

 

Thanks for chiming in folks.

I have never heard of wider having a negative effect on handling. Is that Audi specific or something? Because most everyone else is running wide.

Traction I'm not concerned about as I don't beat on the car and it is a Quattro.

I don't want to go "sick" wide, it's just a big car and could use a little more footprint. I have 18 x 8's now, I just don't think 8.5's will be a noticable difference and worth the money.

Was thinking spacers also but seems a wider wheel would kill all the birds.
Quite some time ago, maybe it has since changed, but I remember hearing spacers weren't real safe. True or not I do not know.

I'll check out element, thanks Dub.

 

going too wide kills steering response. yea sure you will get more launch traction, but it'll be sluggish turning into the turns. it will pronounce the awd understeer alot more as well. plus, a larger contact patch means more rolling resistance. it's not an audi thing, it's a physics/friction thing.

excessively wide spacers will move the offset too far to the outside and put alot of undue stress on the hubs and ball joints. plus it will handle like **** and probably rub the outside of the wheel wells in tight turns. when you go wider, you need to work on keeping the center of the wheel in roughly the same position it is with the stock wheel. moving out 10 or 20mm isn't going to change much, but large jumps like the 60mm hubs you see on a ford tempo with 14" rusted 100 spoke dayton knock-offs.. that's going backwards in performance and handling. you should be able to get most of the traction you're ever going to need with a 225/40zr18 or maybe a 235/35zr18. look for a 45mm offset for your C5 A6. that should put the outside edge of an 18x8 wheel flush with the outside of the wheel well, giving it that "fat tire" look. that's a guess though. i run 18x8.5's and i need 42mm offset to get to the edge.

cheaply made spacers are unsafe as they can bend or break entirely. get a set from a respected manufacture. personally, i'd recommend H&R Trak+ spacers. there are a few ways to see how much spacer you can take, most involve a straight edge flat against the wheel face, then measuring the clearance in the well.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Thank you much men.
I'm still trying to understand the too wide concept though. Of course there would be such a thing as "too wide" but these are pretty narrow to start with. I see cars daily much wider than me.
Why do race cars have very wide tires? That's a sincere question hoping for an explanation I can understand. Any vehicle I have ever gone wider on has handled better.
I do understand more rolling resistance though. I have heard it does slow you down but assumed in turns you would have more "stick". AWD I completely don't understand maybe it could mess with that?

 

i'll be honest and say that i am not 100% on the physics involved. i know it has to do with the friction involved, and excessively wide tires having to "scrub" more of the surface in a turn. i do know from experience, the wider you go, the less response you have. another thing i can say for sure; just because you see other people doing it, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. i mean, look how many people you see driving a prius, or putting 12" wide rims on an Escort. i urge you to go out and spend the thousands of dollars on different tire sizes to find the one that suits your driving style best. i know i have spent thousands on sets of tires over the years. i know what it's like to be surprised when the new "wider" tires scrub and howl more through the turns. i know what it's like to learn the hard way, and i encourage anyone who has the desire, to learn the same way i did. however if you don't want to spend the time and money, or you're just looking for advice, may i show you the 225/40ZR18's on 18x8.5 wheels?