Kpj

Just found out my tires are wearing on their inside edges far more than normal. One of the tires actually has a leak because of the pattern, so the time has come to replace all four pieces.

Since my TPMSs are dead & the stock 20" OEMs are showing age [multiple blemishes/scratches/etc], I'm looking to simply get everything new.

I've been searching for a week now, but most of the styles I seem to come across are all 'bling-bling'. I want something tasteful.

I found a style that I like, but can't seem to locate them anywhere for purchase. They are RH AJ200 (ENG524 or ENG525). Do you guys have any idea where I could find a set of these? Any other suggestions or models that you've had experience with?

As always, I appreciate your responses.

A8nightmare

Did you check back a few posts. There are some pics of different wheels. I searched a lot before finding one for mine. You can look at Vossen Wheels,Conceptoneusa or check out EuroWheelsUSa on Ebay they have a website, but they have more pics on their ebay store. They sell a lot of Audi Oem style and aftermarket wheels. One last wheel that you should check out is Forgestar's F-14 check out their wheels at their website. That wheel looks great no blingy just sharp with a fast look..You can get it in silver....would go great with the w12. I was going to get them for my car, but went with the Vossen's instead. My Vossens are also available in hyper silver. They make the car look completely different in hyper silver vs machined/black. Hyper silver is more stockish look I think.

ModestW12

What year is your W12? If you have the 2007+ D3 7 double spoke wheels (A8 sport package/W12 optional) you might want to consider refinishing them. In case you are not aware, they are top notch forged and very lightweight wheels that you probably won't beat for less that $2000 new in aftermarket.

EDIT: Just noticed the photo in OP's post. Didn't load at first. Those are very nice looking wheels and in my opinion would look great on a W12. Fist aftermarket set that I feel this way about.

EDIT2: I found a site that shows the same car from additional angles and after seeing the rest of the shots I changed my mind. That style in that size looks too big and therefore too "blingy". See here for more photos:
http://www.rh-wheels.com/index.cfm?P...1666&MakerID=2

BRK

Agreed, refinish the stockers. This will cost you @ $100 a wheel and they will come to your house or work and do it. http://www.awrswheelrepair.com/

A8nightmare

Yes I agree refinishing them is definetely more cost effective and they do look great...on a side note i believe the wheels you may have wanted are discontinued.

tx170754

I have refinished my 19" turbines, the refinisher came at my house and did (on my driveway) a fairly nice job, it cost me over $600 for all 4 of them.

Kpj

Thanks for the advice & info. It does appear that the RH AJ200s are no longer being made which is a bummer. I really like the look of those.

Here is my car as it is now (smaller spare is mounted on other side):



Those 9 spoke rims have some blemishes and I don't really want to dump money into them at this point. Since I need new TPMS & tires, I thought I'd simply change everything out & keep the old rims as spares.

The rims say that they are 20 by 9 with a 46mm offset. All four tires show considerable more wear on their insides. Could the inside wall/area of the tires be rubbing the suspension/control arms/etc, or is this an alignment issue? Sorry for the silly questions, but I am new to 'car-speak' and up until this point, have never had to deal with these issues as I always leased/sold off cars before work had to be done to them. Here are images of the tire damage:



The more research I do, the more I like the look of a larger wheel (21 or 22), but I don't want to 'ghetto' out the vehicle, hence my search for a tasteful replacement. I also don't like the lowered ride that some of you are doing. I prefer to see the entire rim/tire, so that's something to consider as well.

Anybody here have luck finding these 22" wheels with the correct bolt pattern/offset:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/22-AU...-/270707161414

I'm liking those as well, but they don't seem to physically fit my car. All of the major sites (Discount Tire, Belle Tire, Tire Rack) are saying that 20" is the biggest rim to mount on this vehicle, but many of you have 21/22" wheels. How is this being done (correctly)? Does one simply install spacers when using a larger diameter wheel?

Thanks again.

mishar

Are all of your tires like that one? What size are tires?

Sorry, but in my opinion 22's and tasteful doesn't go together. You already have very nice high quality, easy to maintain rims. Probably the best ones. You definitely need a new set of tires. I would recommend Continental DW (summer) or DWS (all season). At Tire Rack you can get TPMS sensors for about $80 each. Conti's + sensors are still cheaper than Michelin's, for example and they are better tires.

You can lower your car by just software changes for up to 1" and still see all tires. Once again, tasteful and all road looks doesn't go together, of course that's my opinion. I drive 285/40x18 Continental DW's on 9.5x18 rims, lowered 1" and I like how that looks. Speaking about ride quality, safety, handling and performance this setting is far superior to any 20's.

Kpj

Forgot to mention (thanks mishar) that my current tires are Pirelli P-Zero 275/35/20.

A year or two ago, I had the tires rotated (fronts to back, backs to front) since I was told the tread was directional. At that time, the 'original' fronts had this wear to them (which are now the backs, as pictured). I don't remember if the 'original' backs had this wear, but they do now.

Kpj

Lowering the ride height to a visually appealing level *may* be possible, but this is what I want to avoid:



Some of the images I've found via google appear to look nice with 22" rims. The vehicle below has nice spacing (around the tire/rim within the wheel well) and doesn't hide the top of the rim/tire. This is exactly what I'm referring to: