Yes, I've found the S8 astonishingly efficient at putting the power down with almost unbelievable acceleration for the conditions......

However, stopping.... these cars have to obey the same laws of physics as any other car (F = Mu x N, and all that)
Other than the clever electronics, another huge factor is the contact/ weight ratio
ie when its slippery, the larger the tyre contact area (footprint) with the road surdace will start to work against you inasmuch as it will take less force to break traction for the given area of contact. Narrower tyres could well be a distinct advantage under certain conditions, as they 'cut through' the surface rather than 'gliding' on it (on snow & ice). Bigger may well look good, but its not always better.

i use 17" in the winter i had primacy's on a 55 profile never had any traction problems, i dont really commend the extra cost of changing to a winter tyre when i use the 17's every year in the snow they are fantastic and they cover up most of the breaks so less crap get's in at the wheels and disc's just drive with more caution, i agree that the traction is great but the breaking is hairy to say the least the abs dose tend to have a slight aneurysm when on a icy surface almost a shame it cant be turned off when needed, just my 2 pence worth +++

Well I've now solved the problem for my S8!

Today I acquired (at maybe a bit over the odds) an "average" (few light scratches) full set of 5 17" * 7.5J Avus wheels that I'm told originated on a 2002 S4.

Just got to decide on tyres and how many (probably only 4) and get them ordered and fitted. Oh, and tidy up the wheels a bit first.

I'm going to TRY and see if I can get them on without SWMBO even noticing.
I suspect that the subtlety of 18" vs 17" of the same design with deeper tyres will pass her by.... :ROFL:

lol nice one +++
Thats what I call a creative solution :D

Thanks. :cheers: Just ordered some Goodyears to fit on them, now I need to get cracking on cleaning them up.

why not show us some pictures then, we all love to see creativity at work and of course before and after's, top job wish my wife was not a petrol head she notices any subtle change and then i get a grilling of where its come from and the dreaded "how much did that cost" question Haha +++

I'd be embarrased. :o
The befores are so-so and I'm not going to get them done professionally as it's just for winter tyres. Just a rub-down and rattle-can job and I'm not very good at that.

Or did you mean comparing the car with 18's and 17's? I can probably do that.
Should be fairly similar though the centre caps are different - not sure if I can swap them.

Can't quite decide on what colour to use though. Ford Moondust Silver is reckoned to be a pretty good match to most alloys and Halfords Silver (for wheels) I've read is quite grey - which actually might be a good thing as my car is Agate Grey.

Well I can't, they're the same diameter but very different depth to the central mounting.

And I've decided to try the Moondust Silver, so lets see how it works out!
(I did a test on the centre caps and it looks a very good match) +++

Mobile tyre man called in briefly this afternoon and stripped the tyres off, so I'll start rubbing down tomorrow, weather permitting. He only charges £10+VAT a wheel all in (including disposal) which isn't bad for "darn sarf".

Is it just for removal? Local garages here charge £30-45 for removal, new valve, fitting and balancing for a set of 4 tyres and disposal is additional £0.50 per tyre.

£10 per wheel (+VAT) for removal, new valve, fitting, balancing, fit to car and disposal of old tyre.

The local tyre shop told me their "standard charge" was £21 each for tyres they don't supply with disposal another £1.20 (£1 + VAT).
(Home Counties prices!)

That's OK then. I misunderstood because you said you are going to try moondust silver and that he stripped tyres off so I though he just took old ones off and disposed

Yes he did that on a quick "passing by" no-charge visit yesterday and will come back to do the full job once I've cleaned up the wheels. I guess I wasn't totally clear in my explanation. :o

I gave him a tenner (which he didn't want) as he stripped 5 wheels and is disposing of 5 tyres (and making an extra trip here) whereas he'll only be fitting 4 when he comes back. Only based 3 miles away so I'm a convenient "fill in" job as I work from home so am usually here.

I'm going to clean up all 5 and decide on the best 4 when they're finished.
Scraped off the bubbly lacquer, did a bit of metal bashing on a small dent in one rim, filed down and polished out some kerbing scrapes and applied primer where required today.
Rub down and paint tomorrow if the weather is good and lacquer the next day or Friday.

I've finished the centre caps today and the colour match is very good. Moondust Silver has a slight sparkle in the sun, not sure what is in it to do that but it's effective.

I've taken a "before" picture from the side and will post it and the "after" in a week or two when the job's all done. :D

would these be compatible with D2 S8s??

ET40, 18x7.5j, 5x112.

215/45/18.

thanks,
Zip

Anyone....??

Ta Zip

Well, I can't say for sure, but based on the research I've done for my S8 I'd say they should be.
They will presumably be a bit smaller so the speedo will overread.
My standard tyre is 245/45R18 on an 8J wheel, those are about 3% smaller.
(I've gone for 225/55R17 7.5J winters which are almost exactly the same diameter as 245/45R18)

The offset is a few mm less then the standard wheels so they will sit slightly further out, but as they're narrower the outer face will be in almost exactly the same place.

What wheels/tyres do you have on now and what design/origin are these?

Would need to check the wheel clears the brakes on the front - if there's any dish to the wheel it probably won't clear

No good mate, the 45 is a percentage of the width so 215 is not wide enough for 45 to be high enough on the sidewall.

I had 225 40 18 on mine when i bought it and not only did the speedo tell lies i cracked 2 alloys one of them twice, since changing them for 245 45 18 i have had no cracks. Same roads too.

Theer is a tyre size calc tool posted here tha'll give you how far out they'll be.

Tyre size calculator tool as previously mentioned >>>

http://www.alloywheels.com/tyrecalc.asp

And another one I've used: http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/...ce-advice.html

PS Fitted my winter tyres on my little car (Focus) today; will probably do the S8 later this week.

This one is a good one too >>>
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
if you dont have java enabled then run the old version instead HERE

These are the ones I found that I was referring to ....

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/sale-wa...ood-tyres.html

Thought they'd be a good buy.

Zip

OK, at last I've got my 17" pseodo-avus winters on my S8 so here's the comparison:

Summer, Avus 8J*18 with 245/45 R18:
http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/q...man/Summer.jpg


Winter, 7.5J*17 with 225/55 R17:
http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/q...man/Winter.jpg
The centre caps are supposed, I think, to have a dark ring in the dish, but I decided to spray them the same colour all over to look more like the summer ones.

Well pleased with the result. :D

No problems with the front brakes, I can still slip a finger in the gap. +++
(Note to self - call insurers to let them know - Edit, job done, supreme disinterest but noted with no change of premium)

And sorry about the photo quality; taken on 2 different camera phones. :(

good job - nice solution, hardly notices until you see them side by side! +++

Thanks, net cost just under a grand including 5 wheels, tyres (1 part-worn as spare), fitting, paint/lacquer & materials. Plus a couple of hours refurbishment effort by me,
In case you think the car looks a bit odd, low at the front and high at the back, it's not when on level ground (which it isn't in the photos).

The driveway it's on is best described as "twisted" being near-flat where the front wheels are but sloping up significantly to the offside where the rear wheels are. You just can't see that for the low wall.
If you could see the drivers side it would be the converse, riding high at the front and low at the back. :p

By the way, the tyre guy was "on the limit" (a bit of body lifting by hand) trying to squeeze his inflatable jacks underneath and observed "these big Audis aren't half low".
I guess he hasn't seen the half of it as mine's just a standard S8, no additional lowering. :D

The wheels actually have quite a lot of detailed differences if you look closely, but otherwise are indistinguishable despite the different size.
I'm betting SWMBO won't notice........ :ROFL:

I'm still winning my bet after nearly 2 weeks..... +++

(Mind you, she hasn't even noticed the pile of 5 summer wheels/tyres just outside the back-facing living-room window! :ROFL: )