Moving up to 20's at last
 

I know my S8 isn't an FE, it's actually later than most of those and first registered in late 2003. :Confused:
But it only has 18" wheels, summer and winter.

I've just ordered a full set of five FE 20" wheels from our sponsor which will need a full refurb before use later in the year. +++

The plan is to use the factory-fit 18" FL Avus wheels as winter wheels next year, so I will move the tyres to them from my current 18" winter wheels once this winter is over.

The current (five) winter wheels are the PF S8 Avus design and they will probably be available in a few months time, possibly with some part-worn summer tyres. If anyone is interested please PM me, they are in reasonably good nick though most could probably do with a minor refurb due to a few scratches and scrapes. Hub caps are all in good condition. :cool:

My plan is to have the new 20" wheels looking great and with new rubber for the summer meet in Wales. :D

Excellent. They will look great with fresh refurbishment and new rubber. Let me know when the old 18's come up. I still need some winters at some point when funds permit.

OK, will do. The PF 18" Avus make pretty good winters as the faces and rims are less exposed to kerbs than the FL version. +++

And they've arrived. All nicely packed and the delivery guy was a car enthusiast (Triumph Herald!) so we had a bit of a chat while he unloaded. :D

The tyres however are a different matter, not that I was expecting any that I would use. :tuttut:
There is one single wheel that our sponsors have had for a little while, that had a decent-brand 255/35R20 the size I think I would expect, but old and worn so maybe a possible spare once it's been checked?
The other four came from a recent arrival and were a mixed bunch to say the least. One 255/35R20 and three 255/30R20. :eek:
And the tyre brands were all different, two I'd never even heard of! :eek3:

Based on this I don't think it had been owned recently by anyone here.......

I'm sort of tempted (subject to checking it's OK) to keep the single wheel "as is" as a spare (not refurbed) as it's still got much of its original finish (see photo).

No Andrew - get them all done. You'll regret it if you don't! +++

A spare wheel well should look like this......... +++

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps8kdtezvh.jpg

Mine looks just like that too :)

Ref the elderly tyre, I threw away an original pilot sport with good tread as it was as old as the car! There's no set age limit for three as its use and conditions that influence a tyre's life more.

I also had the conundrum about refurbishing my original diamond cut wheel to match the powder coated ones - in the end I did as it means I can alternate the wheels if I need to. My current spare is the best of the pilot sports that the previous owner had fitted in 2010. I have another spare that also dates to 2010 if it's any use? It's stored in the roof of my garage

As the others have to be repainted I'm going to leave this alone for now and investigate if the diamond cut finish can be resuscitated.
If it can I'm sure there's someone out there who would want it, otherwise I'll match it to the others. :cool:

HP, I've had some 275/30/20 tyres from my RS6 sat in the garage for a year, about 5-6mm iirc, Contis I think. Can check if you're interested in taking them off my hands. I changed to Goodyear Eagle F1's, nothing wrong with the Contis, was just my preference.

Thanks Amar, but would they not be too wide as 255/35 is I think the norm?

It is indeed+++

Glad you got sorted with some 20's Andrew, I'll put mine on the S8 while I get the originals refurbished to a very high standard +++

I had 275/30 or 35/20's on my FL D2 S8, no rubbing. RS guys used to go 20mm bigger on the C5.

Thanks, I'll think about it, plenty of time yet. I'm minded to go for a deeper profile for a softer ride, not that there's much in it (89mm vs 82mm tyre depth).

Every little helps, if you haven't driven on 20's for any length of time and your S8 miles have been covered exclusively on 18's you're in for a surprise ;)

I have driven similar but not specifically a D2 S8 on 20's. My focus has different sized wheels between summer and winter but that's only an inch, not two. Very noticeable difference in so many ways. ;)
I'll see how they behave once they're on in the late spring. Might keep the 18's for trips to Scotland etc! I wouldn't have wanted to do my excursions on Jura on 20's!

I likened going back to 18's on my D2 after 8 months of being on 20's as slipping on well worn slippers after wearing a new pair of leather shoes all day....maybe a slight exaggeration but you'll know what I mean having driven your Focus on different sized wheels and tyres +++

I have exactly the same set up.

Winter tyres on 18" Avus wheels and 'summer' tyres on 20" FE wheels.

The 20" wheels are, indeed, a harsher ride but how harsh (and noisy) is very dependent on the tyres. I bought the car with cheap tyres on it and thought a wheel bearing had gone! New Vredestein tyres made it a lot better for ride quality and noise, but they got noisier when worn.

I've now got a set of Toyos (on Marcin's recommendation) to fit when the 20s go back on, but 2 of the wheels need to be refurbished first. I spoke to the guy who refurbished them last time and he assured me of a match!

But, whatever the ride quality and noise, doesn't the car look great on in the 20s? :)

Just harsher in my opinion Jim, though I only drove on the Vredesteins so had nothing to compare them with. The harsher ride is well worth putting up with for the improvement in handling, well worth it +++

They're THE wheels for the D2, nothing else comes close :love:

The 20's look the best, and ride the best.

Yes, the 18's are softer, but on a flat smooth motorway the 20's are very capable of producing a comfortable ride.

I honestly find that much of the extra noise of the 20's is soaked up quite a bit when you have the alcantara headlining, so you'll be fine.

Get em stuck on and enjoy em... +++

Oh, and post photos.... +++

The new 20's don't have any centre caps. Do they take the same ones as the FL Avus 18's or is there a different design?
If so, does anyone have the part number......

They're a different design. I'll check the part number later. I have a few spares that you could borrow if you get stuck. Not brilliant, but better than a hole!

8D0 601 165K

But don't buy these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-Audi-14...item4d2b8925d3

I've bought 2 sets from these guys, for the !8" and 20" wheels, and they're rubbish!

Thanks Jim. The Chinese copies shipped from Hong Kong at the same sort of price look much better than those!

They are, but they're not lacquered. But a quick spray with clear lacquer seems to do the trick

Worked for me too Jim +++

I actually considered buying OEM from my local dealer if I'd got to put them back on my D2 as I priced them at £27 each and thought them worth the outlay, they certainly looked worth it

OEM are the best, with the bit of discount from Audi dealers there's not much difference in price...

New ones here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2216619433...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I just ordered a set

Yes, I was already "watching" those though it's not clear if they are Audi or aftermarket. Also have my eye on a genuine used set in good nick.

· Replacement Wheel Center Caps made in EU

It also calls them "Audi wheel centre caps", so I'll return them if they're not good and claim false description.

A8+20’’ FE looks too good.
but my old soft butt does notice the harsher ride.
however after a good clean and wax all is forgiven..

Not harsher, just firmer ;)

…and a lovely colour combination - the green is such a nice contrast with the wheel colour and chrome trim +++

I'm hoping mine will end up looking similar, though I think it's a tad darker, Irish Green Pearl.
It's a colour which looks amazing in the sun but can seem black on a dull day when not polished.

Very nice!

Best D2 wheels ever, IMO .... but then I'm biased :D

I'm sending mine back. They are far to tight a fit and don't sit right in the wheel. Don't waste your money on these. :(

:eek2: thats more than I need to know of your personal hygiene and body care issues. :ROFL:

:ROFL:

I'm willing to try anything once, but I'm a little sceptical that cleaning and waxing one's butt could make for a softer ride.

My tyres turned up today, just need the centre caps to arrive from Hong Kong. Garage is getting a bit full with wheels and tyres; I also have a couple of new summer tyres to fit on the Focus, the set of 20's and all the normal summer wheels for both cars! :tuttut:

Though I'm still debating whether to bother refurbishing the spare wheel which is still "diamond cut" but with minor rim damage or just polish up the edge and respray with lacquer. It's not bent, it's still perfectly round, but looks like it probably had a blowout and the rim has rolled along tarmac. :(

Arrived this morning, look OK but haven't yet had a chance to check how well they fit.