A3 vs Custom Rim upgrade

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Jado127

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
7
Am I the only one who thinks Audi has put their worst rims on the etrons?
Even the sport package-upgrade 18" wheels look dumb. I know it's a hybrid but c'mon Audi give me some options.

My dealer found some 18" A3 wheels and is checking into wheel clearance and offset, appears to fit so I have ordered. Plan on etron for life so will likely put winter tires on stock rims when they are worn down. If anyone has any further info or experience please post info/pics. Wish this forum offered image uploads, not URL links. Someone went cheap :roll:
 
You are not alone. My wife and I decided almost immediately that the 15-spoke turbine wheels were hideous. In our case, not even suitable for winter tires. We only ran the turbines for 2 weeks, couldn't stand them. We stayed with 17" so we could use up the stock tires, bought a set of R8 replica wheels for normal use, sold the turbines, and bought a really cheap set of older 16" A4 wheels for winter tires. Here's the post I put in the wheel pictures thread that no one else has posted in.

arne":1cnqhsmm said:
Well, we made a decision and did it. Audi R8 replicas, silver paint with machined and clear coated face. Specs:

17x7.5 (same size as stock)
et 35 (16mm less offset than stock, fills fenders better but does not protrude)
23.0 lbs each (10.5 kg, 3.5 lbs. lighter than stock)

etron-r8-wheels.jpg
 
Arne thanks for reply. I just got news my rim order got canceled as they are no longer available in US. Whatever that means. Your setup looks good. I was wondering about the offset. I'm still looking but will definitely go light as possible with Aluminum.
Here's the rims that we had found. Back to the search engine.



 
For a 7.5" wide rim, 35 is as low an offset as I'd want to use. They look good, and have no clearance issues, but do throw more road spray and such on the side of the car. 40-45 might be better, but in affordable replica wheels like mine, offset choices are limited.
 
The wheels don't bother me, but I'm glad you found some options that work for you. This is a fun/nice car and you should be able to configure it the way you want it.

I knew Arne would chime in as he's the only one I recall mentioning it. He was the trailblazer on getting new rims.
 
I agree!.. None of the available stock rims do anything for the car. The 8v sportback is (IMO) the very best looking A3 ever made, with flawless design elements, and it looks great with 18 or 19 inch rims, and a set of Eibach pro-kit springs to lower the car 30mm in the rear and 33mm in the front. I put 18" Miro 111's on mine , 8.5 inch wheels and a 45 offset, and stretched 225/40 pirelli tires.

audi%20lowered_zpsyt9uhkgm.jpg

audi%20night_zpshbtc3dht.jpg

http://s349.photobucket.com/user/5x112/media/audi%20night_zpshbtc3dht.jpg.html
 
So to answer my own question. Yes A3 wheels will work on etrons. The bolt pattern, wheel well, and offset is COMPARABLE. Probably same for some other AUDI models. I put on a set of 4 Enkei's
18x8's with 45mm offset. In fact they are 3.5lbs lighter. I stuck with LRR tires ( low rolling resistance) The tires/wheels stick out a good 0.5cm more than stock but still stay in rear wheel well and only at bottom of wheel well in front. It looks really good. I included a picture of the stock rims and tires for comparison. Yes a 1" drop all round would look better but I need all the height I can get where I live.

IMG_1550.jpg

IMG_1553.jpg

IMG_3517.jpg
 
The first thing I did after my recent purchase was replace the super-hard-to-clean 15 spoke, 18" wheels with something sportier. It took some time to find the specifications of the stock wheels, so that I was sure to purchase replacements that would fit.

USA STOCK WHEEL SPECS
•18x7.5
•5-112 pattern
•51mm offset
•14x1.5 27mm lug bolts

UPGRADED WHEELS
I purchased replica VW Golf wheels from oewheelsllc.com. They are the same specs as stock to make the swap easy.

•Source: oewheelsllc.com
•Style: VW Golf replica
•Color: Gunmetal, machined face
•18x7.5
•5-112 pattern
•51mm offset


IMG_0897%201_zpsgo5eub4s.jpg

IMG_0902%201_zpsz5whmobj.jpg

IMG_0921%201_zpsnvfvpuoc.jpg



SPECS
•2017 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 1.4T FWD S tronic (USA)
•Tango Red metallic
•Black Interior
•Sport package
•Aluminum roof rails
 
Not sure if this has been discussed before. But has anyone who has switched out wheels noticed a drop in fuel efficiency? I always assumed the stock rims were the way they were because of wind efficiency reasons.
 
quasitime":1cwt2r3f said:
Not sure if this has been discussed before. But has anyone who has switched out wheels noticed a drop in fuel efficiency? I always assumed the stock rims were the way they were because of wind efficiency reasons.
That is possible, I suppose. I only had the stock rims for a couple of weeks, so I can't really be sure whether there was any difference or not. I'm going to guess not since my economy is consistent with that of other etron owners I've seen. I was far more worried about weight of the wheels compared to stock than I was about aero efficiency.
 
I've sold Audis for about 2 years now at a dealership and also a proud owner of a white 2016 Audi A3 e-tron. From my experience, there seems to be an average of 2MPG drop with every inch of wheel diameter increase. 16in wheels I've seen avg MPG of around 39-40 (without charging, only hybrid mode). My e-tron came with 17in wheels, I get an average of 36-37MPG (without charging, only hybrid mode). One of my co-worker, he installed a set of 19s from a S3 and clocked around 33-34MPG avg only in hybrid mode. Since 16in wheels get the best MPG, that's why Audi's e-tron ULTRA only comes with 16in wheels.
 
@tchu619 - How does the car know that you have installed 16's, 17's, or 19's?

I ask because I have the 16 inch wheels and my speedometer always reads higher than reality (i.e., an indicated 57 mph is actually 55).

I think that might be due to the speedometer not knowing the size of the installed tires and assuming the counted number of revolutions is for a different size wheel (poss. 17's). That would account for an error of that magnitude. It would also explain "reduced" gas mileage when you look at different wheel sizes.

Another way to think of it is smaller wheels turn over more revolutions to cover a given distance when compared to a larger wheel. That means smaller wheels produce a higher indicated speed as well as more miles covered, meaning an increase in MPG.
 
When it comes to efficiency with wheels & tires setup, rolling mass is always key. Small wheels with more tires weigh less than bigger wheels with less tires (metal vs rubber, which is heavier right?). Less rotation mass (wheel & tire combined) requires less energy (fuel & electricity) to get it rolling and keeping it at speed. The car have no idea what size wheels you are using. It will accelerate the same regardless, but think of it as if you are lugging some extra weigh around when you upgrade to a bigger wheel setup, therefore lowering your overall MPG.
 
tchu619":3fjnb5f0 said:
I've sold Audis for about 2 years now at a dealership and also a proud owner of a white 2016 Audi A3 e-tron. From my experience, there seems to be an average of 2MPG drop with every inch of wheel diameter increase. 16in wheels I've seen avg MPG of around 39-40 (without charging, only hybrid mode). My e-tron came with 17in wheels, I get an average of 36-37MPG (without charging, only hybrid mode). One of my co-worker, he installed a set of 19s from a S3 and clocked around 33-34MPG avg only in hybrid mode. Since 16in wheels get the best MPG, that's why Audi's e-tron ULTRA only comes with 16in wheels.

This is really helpful information.

Do you guys think the spoke design has any effect on mpg efficiency? I have no idea of how the physics of a spinning wheel's spoke's affect wind resistance, but it's interesting to think about.
 
tchu619":2huvb3te said:
I've sold Audis for about 2 years now at a dealership and also a proud owner of a white 2016 Audi A3 e-tron. From my experience, there seems to be an average of 2MPG drop with every inch of wheel diameter increase. 16in wheels I've seen avg MPG of around 39-40 (without charging, only hybrid mode). My e-tron came with 17in wheels, I get an average of 36-37MPG (without charging, only hybrid mode). One of my co-worker, he installed a set of 19s from a S3 and clocked around 33-34MPG avg only in hybrid mode. Since 16in wheels get the best MPG, that's why Audi's e-tron ULTRA only comes with 16in wheels.

Unless you're also changing the tire size to something low profile for that rim size, you won't really affect anything. A 16" wheel should be fitted with tires that make it the same size as a 18" wheel with low profile tires....
 
srwhitney":288z5fes said:
Unless you're also changing the tire size to something low profile for that rim size, you won't really affect anything. A 16" wheel should be fitted with tires that make it the same size as a 18" wheel with low profile tires....

^-This.

Unsprung weight (wheel + tire) is the only thing that could potentially cause a measurable change in MPG in a passenger car assuming tire diameter is the same or negligible. Aero on the wheels? In theory it might make a hundredth of a second difference in an Indy car race. Your etron on a daily commute? Nah.

If MPG changes are observed moving up wheel size it is because unsprung weight went up as well. Audi OEM wheels are manufactured by Ronal Wheels using casting. A larger cast wheel (the cheapest option) is going to weigh more than stock and decrease MPG. A larger, lighter wheel that has been flow formed, pressure cast, or forged (more expensive) is going to weigh less and increase MPG.
 
Here is a setup with S3 OEM wheels. 19 inches with 235/35/19.

I haven't noticed a drop in mpg, but if it did it's very negligible. I weighted the two wheels and it's pretty much the same weight.

My original A3 etron wheels, as I recall, weight about 48 lbs with tires about the same as the S3 wheels.

WP_20170128_16_25_36_Pro.jpg
 
totalfixation":tbgrkz6d said:
Here is a setup with S3 OEM wheels. 19 inches with 235/35/19.

I haven't noticed a drop in mpg, but if it did it's very negligible. I weighted the two wheels and it's pretty much the same weight.

My original A3 etron wheels, as I recall, weight about 48 lbs with tires about the same as the S3 wheels.

WP_20170128_16_25_36_Pro.jpg

I was thinking about buying these same wheels, but concerned about the ride height with 19" wheels. Do you have a side picture? Or do you think the car should be lowered?
 
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