Wider tires - any negative effects on drivetrain?

[Waffles_s4]

Hi fellas,

Would appreciate some feedback if installing wider tires, like the 265/35R19 would have any negative effects on the bearings, suspension, or other parts?

Looking for a wider tire look as well as to fill a bit more of the gap between the tires and fender.

Thanks!

[Jay@JXB]

Nope, you’re good.



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[emrewawa]

Hi fellas,

Would appreciate some feedback if installing wider tires, like the 265/35R19 would have any negative effects on the bearings, suspension, or other parts?

Looking for a wider tire look as well as to fill a bit more of the gap between the tires and fender.

Thanks!

I ran 265/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all last summer, no issues. As long as tire circumference is within 3% of each other you’ll never have an issue with the drivetrain.


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[TC_S4]

I ran 265/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all last summer, no issues. As long as tire circumference is within 3% of each other you’ll never have an issue with the drivetrain.


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What are the specs of your wheels? Is the suspension stock? Any rubbing on bumps or aggressive turns?

[wes8398]

Width isn't going to hurt anything driveline related; it's the overall circumference that can cause issues. Go with a square setup and you're good to go.
What you need to worry about when going wider is rubbing. There are a lot of factors that impact this though...wheel/rim size, offset, suspension setup (stiff vs soft, lowered, etc), and so on.
I'm only lowered about an inch with h&r "OE Sport" springs (on Koni yellows) and running 19x9.5 +45 wheels with 265/30-19 tires. I run the rears with 10mm spacers (effectively +35 offset) without issues, but the fronts withOUT spacers rub on the fender liner when pulling into even moderate parking lot entrances, etc. I haven't been to the track on this setup yet, but I'm assuming I'll be burning a hole in the fender liner pretty quickly.

[raudiace4]

Lower offsets will wear out your wheel bearings faster. Wider tires and wheels will not have any detrimental effects on your drivetrain.

[Waffles_s4]

Lower offsets will wear out your wheel bearings faster. Wider tires and wheels will not have any detrimental effects on your drivetrain.

Say the car and suspension is stock, 19" wheels are stock, and the only difference is the 265/30/19, will that have any negative effects?

I don't really know much at all about suspension, etc.

[KAMP]

Hmmm, are you looking to eventually lower your car? I installed and lowered my car on Bilstein PSS10 coilovers and kept my stock wheels/tires. To fill in the gap, I went squared all the way around by adding 10mm ECS spacers. Sure, the wheels aren’t any wider, but they do look wider after lowering the car (specifically when looking from the rear). Spacers may give it the wider look that you’ve mentioned you’d like(?) Personally, I really like the setup and have no rubbing issues, car handles great and the gap is properly filled... without adding wider wheels.

https://i.imgur.com/ppWZPcQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IRzfmDy.jpg

[Waffles_s4]

Hmmm, are you looking to eventually lower your car? I installed and lowered my car on Bilstein PSS10 coilovers and kept my stock wheels/tires. To fill in the gap, I went squared all the way around by adding 10mm ECS spacers. Sure, the wheels aren’t any wider, but they do look wider after lowering the car (specifically when looking from the rear). Spacers may give it the wider look that you’ve mentioned you’d like(?) Personally, I really like the setup and have no rubbing issues, car handles great and the gap is properly filled... without adding wider wheels.

https://i.imgur.com/ppWZPcQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IRzfmDy.jpg

Keeping everything stock, no plans for any upgrades on that front

[Brother Owl]

Say the car and suspension is stock, 19" wheels are stock, and the only difference is the 265/30/19, will that have any negative effects?

Stock suspension/alignment - not at all. You might experience more "road feel" with a larger contact patch

[Brother Owl]

Nope, you’re good.



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What a beast! Did you notice an appreciable difference in handling with those louvers next to the headlights? never seen them placed there before

[raudiace4]

Say the car and suspension is stock, 19" wheels are stock, and the only difference is the 265/30/19, will that have any negative effects?

I don't really know much at all about suspension, etc.

Nope. You’ll have more traction due to bigger contact patch.

[Waffles_s4]

Nope. You’ll have more traction due to bigger contact patch.

Perfect, thanks for confirming!

[TC_S4]

Lower offsets will wear out your wheel bearings faster. Wider tires and wheels will not have any detrimental effects on your drivetrain.

Unless it’s extremely exaggerated, I don’t see why lower the offset will wear out the bearings faster? I have my original Peelers that I use for winter ET43 and my 5double spokes from S5 ET32 that I use for summer. The S4 and S5 are mechanical identical. If what you’re saying is true, S5 bearings should wear out must faster than S4 bearing at stock setup.

[theweebabyseamus]

Say the car and suspension is stock, 19" wheels are stock, and the only difference is the 265/30/19, will that have any negative effects?

I don't really know much at all about suspension, etc.

Won’t ride as well, speedo will be off and might look kinda meh. But beyond that I can’t think of any.

[speedycrw]

I have run 265/35/19 on my Black Optic rotor rims, have two sets one for winter. I have run this size for over five years. Absolutely zero issues. I run the wider tires to give better protection to the rims against curbing/damage. Works great! Car is bone stock except for the tire widths. It is a 2014 S4, I ran the same sizes on my 2011 s4 as well. It is a nice little upgrade.

[Ashtonts]

Unless it’s extremely exaggerated, I don’t see why lower the offset will wear out the bearings faster? I have my original Peelers that I use for winter ET43 and my 5double spokes from S5 ET32 that I use for winter. The S4 and S5 are mechanical identical. If what you’re saying is true, S5 bearings should wear out must faster than S4 bearing at stock setup.

Lower offset means there is more weight further away from the wheel bearing. This means more applied torque and more dynamic load.

That said, the effect is minimal for anything that will fit under our fenders. Unless you're running something stupid wide (it would have to be extreme -- even people with Allroads running flush fitment don't chew through wheel bearings), it won't cause any issues.

[Jay@JXB]

Lower offset means there is more weight further away from the wheel bearing. This means more applied torque and more dynamic load.

That said, the effect is minimal for anything that will fit under our fenders. Unless you're running something stupid wide (it would have to be extreme -- even people with Allroads running flush fitment don't chew through wheel bearings), it won't cause any issues.

That’s assuming the center of the wheel bearing is already inboard of the centerline of the wheel, and that there is zero camber. Has anybody measured the bearing center to hub surface distance?

Like you said though, any change would need to be extreme to have a measurable effect.


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[Jay@JXB]

What a beast! Did you notice an appreciable difference in handling with those louvers next to the headlights? never seen them placed there before

Yes those front canards definitely help with the balance. My guess is only 20-30 lbs of downforce but in competition you take what you can get.


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[Ashtonts]

That’s assuming the center of the wheel bearing is already inboard of the centerline of the wheel, and that there is zero camber. Has anybody measured the bearing center to hub surface distance?

Like you said though, any change would need to be extreme to have a measurable effect.


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Well, as long as the camber is constant and ET is the only thing changing, I don't think it would matter. That would just reduce the applied torque slightly vs. a 90 degree angle for any distance from the bearing. At least that's my thinking

That is true about the wheel bearing position, though. It may be that you actually reduce the torque by increasing ET to some extent (if the bearing is "in front of" the center of mass of the wheel to begin with). That would depend a lot on wheel design and size though.

Either way its definitely not really a huge concern

[Neil F]

Won’t ride as well, speedo will be off and might look kinda meh. But beyond that I can’t think of any.

That size difference is minimal.

The diameter is 0.3" larger. I'd say you would not visually see the difference

Your speedometer it not off a full mph until 90mph. You will be going 91 when your read 90.

I am running 275/35/19

[raudiace4]

Unless it’s extremely exaggerated, I don’t see why lower the offset will wear out the bearings faster? I have my original Peelers that I use for winter ET43 and my 5double spokes from S5 ET32 that I use for summer. The S4 and S5 are mechanical identical. If what you’re saying is true, S5 bearings should wear out must faster than S4 bearing at stock setup.

They technically should bc Physics.

[AerotusX]

Lots of people running 265/35-19 on this forum. With stock suspensions, you won't have any problems at all. Go with 35 aspect ratio (not 30); this will fill the fender gap and rides better.