RS3 Wheel Specs for Planning

[BlackAce]

Hey guys. A few of us have scraped together the wheel specs for Dynamic package on the incoming RS3s (US), and I thought some of you might also want to get a head start on your wheel planning before your car arrives. So here's the details that we have gathered... and are waiting to confirm as cars start getting sold:

Front is 19x8.5 255/30/19 ET46
Rear is 19x8 235/35/19 ET42

Stock front fender to wheel gap is 13mm, rear is 20mm, so that's the space you get to play with to make it flush.

Good luck! :-)

[mattvandyk]

Hey guys. A few of us have scraped together the wheel specs for Dynamic package on the incoming RS3s (US), and I thought some of you might also want to get a head start on your wheel planning before your car arrives. So here's the details that we have gathered... and are waiting to confirm as cars start getting sold:

Front is 19x8.5 255/30/19 ET46
Rear is 19x8 235/35/19 ET42

Stock front fender to wheel gap is 13mm, rear is 20mm, so that's the space you get to play with to make it flush.

Good luck! :-)

*the 13/20 being subject to confirmation (which will happen Sunday)


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[keninblaine]

Hey guys. A few of us have scraped together the wheel specs for Dynamic package on the incoming RS3s (US), and I thought some of you might also want to get a head start on your wheel planning before your car arrives. So here's the details that we have gathered... and are waiting to confirm as cars start getting sold:

Front is 19x8.5 255/30/19 ET46
Rear is 19x8 235/35/19 ET42

Stock front fender to wheel gap is 13mm, rear is 20mm, so that's the space you get to play with to make it flush.

Good luck! :-)

Thanks! This will be a useful thread.

[tonymission]

There's a guy on the facebook group with 15mm spacers all around and it looks pretty good so now I'm confused about the 13mm front gap. =I

[mattvandyk]

There's a guy on the facebook group with 15mm spacers all around and it looks pretty good so now I'm confused about the 13mm front gap. =I

Ditto. That's why I asked the follow up question to him. On Sunday, I'll see this thing in person and will measure myself (and update the group).


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[John P.]

There's a guy on the facebook group with 15mm spacers all around and it looks pretty good so now I'm confused about the 13mm front gap. =I

Could you please post the picture here? I don't Facebook and would be really interested.

[FuzzyHat]

Could you please post the picture here? I don't Facebook and would be really interested.

http://imgur.com/a/7Rbj9

"15mm all round. Tried fitting 20mm at the rear but it started scrubbing going into driveways"

"Straight off the showroom floor & straight to Hills Eurohaus! This spanker RS3 came in today for some H&R Springs & some spacers fitted up. Enjoy the eye candy. This is how these cars should leave the factory floor! The results? An owner who is over the moon!"

Car has no Mag Ride

[mattvandyk]

http://imgur.com/a/7Rbj9

"15mm all round. Tried fitting 20mm at the rear but it started scrubbing going into driveways"

"Straight off the showroom floor & straight to Hills Eurohaus! This spanker RS3 came in today for some H&R Springs & some spacers fitted up. Enjoy the eye candy. This is how these cars should leave the factory floor! The results? An owner who is over the moon!"

Car has no Mag Ride

You know what? @blackace, I wonder if the differing offsets w/in the same paint color code are for mag ride vs RS (and not sportsback vs sedan)...

[robertsonsylee]

Possibly because of wheel setup too? Non staggered vs staggered


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[mattvandyk]

Possibly because of wheel setup too? Non staggered vs staggered


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No, that's accounted for.


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[John P.]

Thanks so much for posting the link to the pictures. Very helpful!

[rex_racer]

There's a guy on the facebook group with 15mm spacers all around and it looks pretty good so now I'm confused about the 13mm front gap. =I

You guys are not including basic suspension dynamics, let alone ALL the other variables that come into play. The specs that Matt has sourced are likely correct and likely just for Sportback vs Sedan.

When the 13mm was measured, assuming it was correct. Was it done on a level surface? Was it on a setup rack? Assuming the body AND chassis is assembled exactly the same on every car, which it is not, if the measurements are not to this level of precision, than you will always have varying measurements.

To add to that, as the suspension compresses the alignment cambers in. This results in the tire tucking up into the fender. Look at any 9-9.5 wheel setup in the aggressive wheel thread and you'll see wheel/tire combos that poke past the fenders but have no clearance issues while driving. The stated 15mm is perfectly within tolerances of what would clear.

[mattvandyk]

You guys are not including basic suspension dynamics, let alone ALL the other variables that come into play. The specs that Matt has sourced are likely correct and likely just for Sportback vs Sedan.

When the 13mm was measured, assuming it was correct. Was it done on a level surface? Was it on a setup rack? Assuming the body AND chassis is assembled exactly the same on every car, which it is not, if the measurements are not to this level of precision, than you will always have varying measurements.

To add to that, as the suspension compresses the alignment cambers in. This results in the tire tucking up into the fender. Look at any 9-9.5 wheel setup in the aggressive wheel thread and you'll see wheel/tire combos that poke past the fenders but have no clearance issues while driving. The stated 15mm is perfectly within tolerances of what would clear.

I just don't want it to poke out of the wheel well, that's all.

Guy who measured it (UAE is his username; forget which forum) did this:




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[crazytex21]

I am kind of glad that I have to wait for my car to get delivered in Sept. Means that everyone will have worked this issue out for perfect fitment. I will leave the dealership to go get my suspension installed and the perfect set of wheels and tires that I will already have

[BlackAce]

You know what? @blackace, I wonder if the differing offsets w/in the same paint color code are for mag ride vs RS (and not sportsback vs sedan)...

Hmmmm.... hadn't thought about it. Seems like an expensive move on their part, but at this performance level, maybe...

No, that's accounted for.

Do we know for sure that he has the Dynamic pack (15mm all around guy)?

I am kind of glad that I have to wait for my car to get delivered in Sept. Means that everyone will have worked this issue out for perfect fitment. I will leave the dealership to go get my suspension installed and the perfect set of wheels and tires that I will already have

LOL. Now that's just mean... but smart on your part. :-D

[jiannu]

http://imgur.com/a/7Rbj9

"15mm all round. Tried fitting 20mm at the rear but it started scrubbing going into driveways"

"Straight off the showroom floor & straight to Hills Eurohaus! This spanker RS3 came in today for some H&R Springs & some spacers fitted up. Enjoy the eye candy. This is how these cars should leave the factory floor! The results? An owner who is over the moon!"

Car has no Mag Ride

That looks sick!!! That's the magic number........... 15

[thebc]

Awesome thread idea, thanks Op.

Right now I have 2 sets of wheels I will be trying to see which fits better.

HRE FF01s 19x8.5 ET47 (and 5mm spacers)

BBS RG-R 19x8.5 ET32


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[robertsonsylee]

Confirmed through Facebook he has the staggered wheels


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[John P.]

Confirmed through Facebook he has the staggered wheels


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Allayed any fear I had about my BBSs not fitting; thanks again.

[thebc]

Good resource comparing many popular 18-20 inch wheels independently weighed.

http://www.bimmerboost.com/showthrea...8-20-inch-rims

[rex_racer]

I just don't want it to poke out of the wheel well, that's all.

Everyone's definition of poke will always be different. Is it based on the wheel, or the tire, or a tire that has a rim protector. If you look at the pictures of the blue lowered one, two things happened, the car is lowered, so it picked up some camber, this causes the top of the tire to dip into the sheet metal more. That means you could run more spacer to get to the same amount of "poke" as compared to stock. The tire also clearly has a rim protector that also appears to be pushing out past the body.

If you are trying to make a straight edge so nothing pokes out, you have to take into account which tire you will use. Certain tires paired up with the appropriate width wheel will sit very square on the rim, while others will stretch and others will balloon. These measurements really only get you into a 10mm range once you start looking at various tires.

[mattvandyk]

FWIW, I just measured this myself. 13/20 is right. The rim protector on the pzeros takes up 10mm of that, so the front is basically flush to the edge of the tire (3mm).


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[seanix9]

I've just replaced my old wheels on the rs3 . They were 19x8.5 +35. No issues with clearance whatsoever. This is on the sports back. The sedan has more room to accommodate a slightly more aggressive setup.

Current wheels are now 19x9.5 +44. +42 would work even better



________________________________
2016 Audi RS3. 2015 A4 Quattro

[mattvandyk]

I've just replaced my old wheels on the rs3 . They were 19x8.5 +35. No issues with clearance whatsoever. This is on the sports back. The sedan has more room to accommodate a slightly more aggressive setup.

Current wheels are now 19x9.5 +44. +42 would work even better



________________________________
2016 Audi RS3. 2015 A4 Quattro

This may we'll be the case, but I'm not sure it's necessarily true that something will work on a '18 sedan because it worked on a '16 SB.

Sudd note, just curious, how do you figure the sedan has more room? Is it because the stock wheels offset is 7mm lower?


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[seanix9]

Lots of ppl with the s3 sedan are running 19x9.5 +40.
That same setup on the rs3 SB will rub the rear guards.
The sedan has a wider track too.

________________________________
2016 Audi RS3. 2015 A4 Quattro

[mattvandyk]

Lots of ppl with the s3 sedan are running 19x9.5 +40.
That same setup on the rs3 SB will rub the rear guards.
The sedan has a wider track too.

________________________________
2016 Audi RS3. 2015 A4 Quattro

I'm not sure any of that translates to the RS3 as directly as we might all hope. Particularly after having seen both the RS3 sedan and S3 sedan yesterday in person, it sure looked to me like there was a lot less room to push out in the RS3 than there is in the S3.


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[BlackAce]

I'm not sure any of that translates to the RS3 as directly as we might all hope. Particularly after having seen both the RS3 sedan and S3 sedan yesterday in person, it sure looked to me like there was a lot less room to push out in the RS3 than there is in the S3.

Yeah this is why I've decided to just wait until I take delivery of the car to order my wheels. My wheels on my S3 have 15mm difference in the front than stock and no poke, so there was plenty of room. Not convinced this will be the case with the RS3, so I better wait before I make an expensive mistake.

[mattvandyk]

Yeah this is why I've decided to just wait until I take delivery of the car to order my wheels. My wheels on my S3 have 15mm difference in the front than stock and no poke, so there was plenty of room. Not convinced this will be the case with the RS3, so I better wait before I make an expensive mistake.

That's good thinking. I'm not waiting, but that's only because I decided on the wheels I'm getting, they only come in one offset, and that offset pushes basically not-at-all (3mm in the front and 5.3mm in the rear). Those will definitely fit, no doubt about it. Then the only question becomes whether I push it out a little more w/ spacers, but that's easy to do after-the-fact.

[rex_racer]

I'm not sure any of that translates to the RS3 as directly as we might all hope. Particularly after having seen both the RS3 sedan and S3 sedan yesterday in person, it sure looked to me like there was a lot less room to push out in the RS3 than there is in the S3.


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The sedan body style has greater clearance for more tire in the rear. The S3 is 19x8 et49, the RS3 according to the numbers above are 19x8 et42. That's equivalent of a 7mm spacer which is why the RS3 looks like it has less room than the S3. It was also confirmed in a number of articles that the rear track was widened by 14mm, ie 7mm of wheel offset per side.

[mattvandyk]

The sedan body style has greater clearance for more tire in the rear. The S3 is 19x8 et49, the RS3 according to the numbers above are 19x8 et42. That's equivalent of a 7mm spacer which is why the RS3 looks like it has less room than the S3. It was also confirmed in a number of articles that the rear track was widened by 14mm, ie 7mm of wheel offset per side.

Yeah, I covered that point further up in the thread. It does make some sense that all they did to widen the rear track was put 7mm lower offset wheels on it, which in turn, would at least intimate that it should've picked up 7mm of extra strut clearance. But, I would think they would've modified the suspension geometry a touch to account for that 7mm which likely means it's not a full 7mm "extra" on the inside.


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[rex_racer]

Yeah, I covered that point further up in the thread. It does make some sense that all they did to widen the rear track was put 7mm lower offset wheels on it, which in turn, would at least intimate that it should've picked up 7mm of extra strut clearance. But, I would think they would've modified the suspension geometry a touch to account for that 7mm which likely means it's not a full 7mm "extra" on the inside.


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They very likely did not modify the rear suspension geometry to "steal" back that 7mm of clearance. The front was not touched aside from a different hub carrier, likely to handle the larger hub bearings and cv joints.

[mattvandyk]

They very likely did not modify the rear suspension geometry to "steal" back that 7mm of clearance. The front was not touched aside from a different hub carrier, likely to handle the larger hub bearings and cv joints.

Well, that's good to hear. Should be able to easily run an 8.5" wheel in the back with roughly the same offset as stock, then.


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[davebeats]

anyone know how heavy the stock wheels are?

[rex_racer]

Well, that's good to hear. Should be able to easily run an 8.5" wheel in the back with roughly the same offset as stock, then.


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In theory yes, it is highly doubtful anything changed at the rear. There are plenty of people running 9.5s all the way around on the S3, shouldn't be a problem to fit that to the RS3, though the fronts will require more spacers to "flush" them out.

[crazytex21]

Looking at possibly running these 19x9.5 et45 for a little while until I figure out which HREs I want.




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[akionan]

Does anyone know if the new 20" TTRS wheels will fit a 2018 RS3 sedan? Looks like they are 20" x 9" maybe et52? Thanks.

[sean_entrust]

Looking at possibly running these 19x9.5 et45 for a little while until I figure out which HREs I want.




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I've been thinking about these in black


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[thebc]

In theory yes, it is highly doubtful anything changed at the rear. There are plenty of people running 9.5s all the way around on the S3, shouldn't be a problem to fit that to the RS3, though the fronts will require more spacers to "flush" them out.

A lot has changed with the front end actually. New hubs push the wheels out 3mm on each side. That's why we won't really be able to use pre-fl numbers. Good description in this video around 1:30.

http://www.tflcar.com/2017/07/tfl-to...otype-tfl-ava/


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[crazytex21]

I've been thinking about these in black

I have been thinking about some kind of dark grey. Super metallic and glossy gunmetal or something.



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[rex_racer]

A lot has changed with the front end actually. New hubs push the wheels out 3mm on each side. That's why we won't really be able to use pre-fl numbers. Good description in this video around 1:30.

http://www.tflcar.com/2017/07/tfl-to...otype-tfl-ava/


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Yes, the front has changed, but only the hub carrier, likely to support a larger CV and a larger hub bearing for the other transmission. The original expectation many had was different control arms, but they are the same. You wouldn't use pre facelift fitment numbers since the width of the sedan is drastically different from the hatchback anyhow. Comparing the S3 to the RS3 however, the front has minor changes, mainly in the wider wings and what is very likely identical rear ends when it comes to wheel clearance. Thus far suspension numbers and specifications on the RS3 are the same as the S3 minus the front hub carrier.