BLT4SPD

Well, I REALLY just didn't want 18" snows on the S8. I like the fact that I can get 225 wide tires in 17's and the fact that they are half the price doesn't hurt either. I really WANTED plain ole' 17x8 Polished 5 spokers that are found on a large number of D2 A8. However, it seems that they are extremely popular with the A4 crowd and the MkV VW guys like em' too because they now have 5x112 bolt pattern and they need that high offset.

So, I ended up buying a set of A6 4.2 "Sport" wheels (Commonly called "Fat Five") off of FleaBay. I always liked em', but I liked the idea of A8 wheels a little more just because they seemed a little more suited to the D2. Oh well, they were $300 and that is almost stealing em', so how could I pass them up?

Now, where this MIGHT get interesting....as you may now by now, I have a friend that does some excellent work with a CNC mill. He is the one that has been making the brake blocks for me/us and he has been making one-off stuff for the Vortex guys for a while now. The one thing that he has made TONS of are center caps with the "VW" logo for TT "Fat Fives" because they are so popular with the VW crowd. I figured, if he can make them for the TT wheels, why can't he make them for the A6 wheels?

It turns out that they are only different in the O.D. So, I sent him a high res pictures of the S8 trunk badge and said, "I want that on my Center Caps". He came back with this:

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/RawSet.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

These are what they look like "in the raw" after the come out of his deburring machine. So, I get a little handy with the paint and polishing and ran a few samples with different colors to see what I thought would look best. I tried Red, Black, Burgundy Pearl (Color of our car) and left one unpainted.....

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/3WithBurg.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/3together.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Close up of the Red one and Unpainted one before clear coat....

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/IMG_1203.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/RedClose.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

....and here they are on the wheel....

Black:

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/BlackWheel.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/BlackWheelClose.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Red....

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/RedWheelClose.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Unpainted....

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/BareWheel.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/BareWheelClose.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

And finally Burgundy Pearl (might as well be Black)....

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa294/coloradoaudi/BurgWheel.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

I think I am going to paint them all Burgundy Pearl just because I have it and I might as well use it! Trying to match the factory polished finish is IMPOSSIBLE! ETKA Calls the finish "Burnished" and it is really hard to match, but they look REALLY good none-the-less. Given that the cap is right at the center of a very concave portion of the wheel, the finish difference could almost be written off as the light reflecting differently.

If anyone else is looking for a set, let me know. This is NOT a Spam, I make NOTHING from the sale of them. I just thought they were a pretty cool little touch and thought I would act as a middle man if anyone else wants a set. I already paid him for the set up of the logo AND I paid him $60 for the caps. So, in fact, YOU are the ones that would gain from my having them made, not me. Heck, I'll even polish and/or paint them for you if you want! So, let just say $65 for the caps with Priority Mail to your door. He did tell me that he would only make them on a "Per Order" basis. So, from the time you send me Paypal to the time they are ready to ship will be 7-10 days.

Please note: These center caps will fit the A6 4.2 Wheels I have pictured here AND stock 17x8 ET48 D2 A8 wheels (polished 5 spoke wheels) AND the 18" D2 A8L "Pie Plate" wheels. All three wheels share the same center cap, so they will work in all of them.

Also, since he already has the Logo ready to go, he can put it into anything else you can think of. So, if you have some cool little S8 "Trinket" you want made, drop me an e-mail and I'll run it by him.

I ONLY check the forum at night and on weekends, so an e-mail is going to be the fastest way to contact me. Send to: ben.howell@eeiengineers.com

PaulW

Very cool, I want to see the wheels mounted, post some pictures when you get them on

audikillsbmw

Sweet! I like the black and plain ones the most : )

BLT4SPD

I'd like to see them on the car too.....but I'd also like to see some snow! :-)

BLT4SPD

Yeah, the unpainted ones are growing on me the more I look at them.

NeilTheWheel@82atwrk

Jeeezuuss....... those ......are...........simply........gorgeous so sweet lookin

BLT4SPD

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22012/dsc03783.jpg"></center><p>This is from your very own picture poster......

KYNZ

email me.

PaulW

Thanks.....want to see what they would look like on a S8

BLT4SPD

....and I rather not pay to have them dismounted and then remounted. I am sure the A6 wheels will look great, so I'll just sit tight for now.

Thanks for the offer though.