RBeam6

First off, thanks to everyone that gave me feedback in my first wheel thread where I was obsessing over which to buy.

Called Hartmann back yesterday to ask a few more questions and a couple of the sets 19" anthracite that are styled after the S5 5 x dual spoke design (HS5-209) which had been 'on hold' were available for sale so the painful process of watching their trip from the top left corner of the country to VA begins.

This is the first time I've ever ordered aftermarket wheels for any car I've owned so I have a few more questions for any kind soul(s) that might have a moment to reply.

1. Doing the math for the 19" wheel with the factory recommended 255/40/19 size it looks like one rotation of new wheel/tire setup will cover 1.2ish percent more distance than my current 18s. I'm assuming this car is like my previous Audis and the indicated speed on the speedometer is padded by a few percent. So, the change in overall diameter will actually be making indicated speed a little more accurate. However, I know that all of the speed based calculations the cars computer makes are based on the 'real' number so is it worth having it calibrated for the new configuration with the difference being a little over 1%? If so, who needs to do that? The dealer?

2. Tires. I know the all season Contis that came on the car aren't that well reviewed but I've had no issues with them in the 2000 miles I've put on the car. Pretty sure I'd qualify as a 'spirited' driver but it's not like I'll be taking the car to track days and the A6 with the sport suspension (not sure how much difference that makes ... but I have it) makes it so easy to drive the thing at pretty absurd speeds through the twisties I'm not too concerned about extracting another .01 of lateral g force. If I can, fine, but don't want to give up much of the great ride quality the car has. Looks like there are a few good options for all season performance tires but are there particular brand/models to stay clear of? Also, is the road hazard insurance worth it?

3. What's the best way to sell my current wheel/tires? I do a fair amount of selling through ebay but thought there might be some other good option for something like this.

Thanks for any help.

snagitseven

1. There is a way to adjust the MMI MPG calculation with Vag-Com. Your dealer might also be willing to do it. It can be set up or down in 5% increments to compensate for difference in the computer readout. I've done this on my A4 as the car's computer is too optimistic anyway.

http://www.audienthusiasts.com/VagComDIS.html

2. If you have the Conti DWS, thet are actually rated very well as UHP A/S tires and should be easy to sell with a set of wheels. (They do not make them in the 255/40-19 size however - you must have 18"?). The #1 rated UHP A/S tire right now at Tirerack is the Bridgestone RE970AS. They are available in the 255/40-19 size. I'm getting a set myself for my A6 19" wheels.

3. I have a friend who swears by Craigslist. He just sold a set of tires very quickly locally - no shipping involved. If you live in a metro area, this might be the best bet.

RBeam6

Thanks. Unfortunately the OEM tire that comes on the 18" is the ContiProContact which doesn't get a great rating on tirerack. They seem fine to me but get hit hardest for not being very good in winter weather and don't have great tread life .... neither of which I've had to worry about with only 2k on the car.

I'm a couple of hours from the Baltimore/DC area so couldn't hurt to try craigslist before going ebay. My general experience with craigslist has been that if you don't get lucky and happen to have someone looking for exactly what you're selling you just get a bunch of people expecting you to give it away but I've never sold something like this before so worth a shot.

snagitseven

I'm a pretty active eBay user myself. The only downside to selling tires/wheels there is the freight cost. And the fees.

the_shindogg

hey. I am looking to get the same style rims from Hartmann, however I called them recently and they told me they would not have them for 6-8 weeks.

did you get yours yet?
thanks

RBeam6

Yeah. I called back last week to ask a few more questions and a couple of sets that had been 'on hold' had become available so I went ahead and pulled the trigger. They told me if those hadn't freed up it would have been a while.

Tires and wheels arrived Tuesday and was able to have them mounted and balanced on the 4th. I was really impressed with the quality, seemed to be at least as good as the factory wheels, and the guy that did the mounting said they where very 'balanced' prior to doing his thing.

When I look at the before pictures I think the car is a little prettier with the factory 18" but looks a lot more aggressive now. Kind of took me by surprise how much it changed the 'character' of the car.

Notice a tiny bit more road feel now but small enough that it's hard to say whether it's the different size wheel/tire or just going from the contis to the Bridgestone. Nothing like the difference I felt when driving the A7 with sport 20" on the summer performance tires.

Just took these in my driveway which is badly in need of some love, so not the most picturesque of settings, but they pretty well convey what the wheels look like in person.

http://users.rlc.net/rb/a6/LeftBackLong.jpg

http://users.rlc.net/rb/a6/LeftBackLonger.jpg

http://users.rlc.net/rb/a6/RightFrontAngle.jpg

http://users.rlc.net/rb/a6/RightFrontLong.jpg

http://users.rlc.net/rb/a6/RightMoreFront.jpg

CEBUSA

Hey that looks like my car! Good choice, looks good!

RBeam6

Yeah ... you posted a couple of pictures of yours in the thread where I was trying to decide between the 19s and 20s right?

You still liking yours? I looked mine over pretty carefully when I still had them in my living room and the manufacturing on them seemed near flawless. Seem pretty light too although haven't had my other wheels without the tires on them at any point to compare.

I've been swamped with work and not much time for driving around but ran a couple of errands yesterday and walking back up to the car with the sun glinting off the machined edges against the darker primary color they looked kinda dazzling.

Seki

Looks good!

CEBUSA

I was the one and yes I still love them. Hartmann did have to switch out one of the wheels initially. There was a manufacturer's defect in one of them. You could physically see it in the wheel-the machined lip was varying thickness. They replaced it without any issue or charge. Besides that I have had no other issue with the wheels. I was concerned that I would. I have had them on for 10 months and about 9K miles.

The wheels look spectacular, especially on our color car. It came out better than I'd hoped especially considering this was second choice for me. I wanted the 5 arm rotor wheels, but didn't want spacers etc (I was ignorant and didn't know what if any effect it would have on the ride). So many compliments I've received from the dealership, other customers, and in general. I HATED the 19" sport wheels that came with the car - they looked liked Buick wheels to me haha.