Sportstick

$1282.44 with shipping. Winter time calls for narrower tires for improved traction, so the cost of big wheels/tires is not required.

Sportstick

Respectfully, yes. Along the way in my prior career at one of the Detroit domestic "Big 3", I was involved in approving wheel selections. Price to buy and cost to produce are unrelated. Some well-known wheel brands' or OE parts departments' margins are huge. Some other aftermarket suppliers have a business model of using the excess open capacity after the OE orders are filled by a wheel manufacturer (OEs don't make their own wheels...they are outsourced). They compete at aftermarket brand prices, but can be with strikingly similar and equal quality products. Not all aftermarket are of high quality, certainly, so some homework is needed. More important than the actual price is whether the wheel is from a TUV/JWL/ISO approved source for its production facility process. Also, pressure cast wheels, even inexpensive ones, can provide excellent quality, beyond that of gravity cast. Of course, forged wheels are in another category and are hugely expensive, but very few folks ever buy those in the overall scheme of things....big bucks!!

Powerwheelspro.com has a good selection for just wheels from good sources, although varying inventory. Or, if you read the reviews on tirerack.com for wheels, you can find the highest rated ones....typically pressure cast. I've bought several sets of wheels from both of them with zero issues over the last decade+. I would never buy an OE wheel from the parts department as I know how badly I am being raked over the coals with pricing. I saw what we paid for them on programs I managed.

schalliol

Can you point me to what you picked to arrive at that? Sounds pretty good!

mchltschr

Is this shop legit? Certified TUV/JWL/ISO process as you indicated?

Haven't heard of them before and just curious on quality...

Sportstick

You can also look at Michelin XIce xi3 for slightly better dry handling but a bit less snow/ice traction.

Tire Rack may question this application for load carrying (as they did when I first called - btw, ask for Archer...he went through this with me), as Audi specified an XL load rated original tire. But, check the door label on your car. My GAWR is approximately 2750lbs and each of these Blizzaks can carry just over 1500 lbs., so 3000lbs of tire load capacity per axle. Bridgestone confirmed that the load can be carried at 36psi cold, so even though it's not listed as a recommended size, I see that it will work. And, narrower improves traction in winter due to increased downforce psi. We don't load the car heavily so we should not come close to that limit anyway, as the max load for the vehicle allows for 1102 additional pounds of people and cargo. Make sure you're ok with the speed rating. We certainly are for the usage! This size also matches the original overall diameter very well.

Sportstick

Yes....they do quite a business with Mercedes owners from the MBWorld forum. Bought 3 sets of wheels for both of our prior Mercedes and always had great results. But, styles and inventory can vary as they use the model of taking the excess production from high quality supplier sources, typically Chinese, but produced to specs. China makes some folks nervous or unhappy, but its more about the capability of the plant than where the building is located. I won't get into politics.

mchltschr

I care more about others experiences as a measure than geography. There are smart people and idiots alike running businesses in every country.

I'm in Wisconsin and come winter months I don't want to deal with a cracked rim. So if the standard of quality is there, I'm accepting.

NABS4

As far as the wheels that TR sells, the ones to avoid (in order) if you are concerned about quality are Sport Edition, Moda, and MSW. I've had all three brands and Sport Edition are the worst of the bunch. Moda and MSW are passable, but barely. There are some decent brands that TR sells that provide good bang-for-the-buck like Enkei, OZ and Rial. Rial is hub centric which means that centering rings are not required.

537playing

Getting back to my initial question- can an A4 rim fit on my A6??

schalliol

Good question, and also related to a question I have. The pricing listed above is pretty impressive. The S6 isn't offered with anything smaller than 19s, and it has 15.7" brakes in the front. The 18" wheels you've identified are really inexpensive, and I'm wondering if they'd work on an S6. Tire Rack's 20s are actually cheaper than their 19s, so I bet there are some decent deal 19s available too.