Decim8r

So I purchased my winter tire and wheel combo. I got the Hartmann Wheels below in the 19x8.5 ET 35 variety and the awesome Nokian Hakapelitta R2 wheels as recommended by this forum.

When I was getting them installed I did mention to the tire guy that calipers were very large and that there might not be enough clearance for the wheel weights if placed on the outer portion of wheel.

I even mentioned using them on the inside of the rotor arms, but either forgot to or thought they wouldn't balance when placed there. He subsequently placed them right on the inner rim where the rotor and wheel weights align.

He turned the wheels once they were loaded to ensure that the wheel weights were not hitting the calipers and to my surprise they did not, but there is literally 1 mm of space (a sharpened pencil tip width) once the wheel weights line up with calipers.

He lowered the car and I drove out...That night I went to Connecticut and encountered a number of bumps, hills and declines and to my suprise no apparent rubbing of the weights with the caliper whatsoever. So I seem to be in the clear. But I'm wondering if down the road I will have any issues?

I can post pics later of the clearance...

donaldp

Your logic is flawed if you think a bumpy ride could change the distance between the calipers and the weights. There is either clearance or there is not, period.

Glad this worked out for you.

DeerHunter

Not quite true, as wheels can flex a little. Case in point: I have a Miata with OEM forged 15" wheels. I added a Big Brake Kit (11" two-piece rotors with Monobloc 4-piston calipers) and the inside of the spokes just cleared when I checked. The first corner I took resulted in a scraping sound that took a layer of paint (and possibly aluminum) off the caliper. The wheels. fortunately, were undamaged, and they eventually clearanced themselves properly (or, improperly, if you will).

ctdw

I have the same wheels and just had them installed this week and they also installed the weights in line with the calipers. They are very close (probably the same as yours) and I have been wondering the same thing. I have only driven 10 miles since I picked it up but plan on watching it over the next few days. I am wondering why they didn't just keep them in the back.

Decim8r

The tire guy that balanced my wheels actually showed me how it was done using the road force balancing machine. Essentially, what I saw was that the wheel acted like the fulcrum point for a seesaw. He needed to put weights on both sides of the inner wheel to essentially "balance" the wheel as the tire was spinning.

The machine actually showed him where the weights needed to be placed and how many there should be. Very interesting equipment. I can definitely say that if they were placed on the rotor arms, the machine would have complained.

mwar99

I have the same wheels. I had them put the weights almost up against the spokes, they were able to balance them.

You will however get damage from rocks that get in the wheels and trapped between the caliper and the wheel. Gouges the inside of the wheel and gouges the caliper. Both my front wheels got gouged inside. Oh well...

Decim8r

Ha...How prescient that you say that...In fact as I was taking this pic I did notice some slight scratches to the front facing part of the caliper where the S6 is painted on. Some of it seems to be rubbing where one of the wheel "fins" actually may have rubbed upped against the caliper while driving (mad tight fit yo), while another scratch/gouge was in the middle and I was just wondering how that got there...Then I saw your rock comment...Jeez...Guess there is no escaping it...

Anyway...This is the clearance...

DD1546

I went to the tire shop today to put on my Michelin Alpin PA4 winter tires mounted on a second set of OEM 19" Audi wheels. After leaving I heard a clicking sound from the left front wheel. They found the weight (whose position was dictated by the Hunter Force dynamic balancing) to be nicked, presumably from the caliper. They rebalanced with a thinner weight and all is well. Incidentally,the tires are fairly quiet and handling seems OK, though I haven't yet stressed them.

Deazy

I had my oemwheelsplus 19" wheels mounted and balanced recently. When I did a test fit after mounting and balancing they balanced 2 with the weights just behind the spokes and 2 on the far inside. Luckily with the Hakka R2's being directional i had 1 wheel for each side of the car with weights on the far inside. I should be good for this winter but next year when i put them back on and rotate them I'll have the ones with the weights on the outsides rebalanced. The other thing I may do is use 10 or 12mm spacers which will take care of it. It is very tight with the weights just behind the spokes and it would bother me if there was that little clearance.

Decim8r

I was thinking of just buying 20" next winter, lol, but that would probably defeat the purpose of the winter setup since they won't handle as well as the 19s.

I was actually thinking of getting 5mm spacers to make more room for the front face of the calipers. Wouldn't the 10mm be too much tire sticking out from the fender. I also did the ecstuning check as demo'd in this video www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LeFZsyGRrs

There is barely 3mm in the front and about 5mm in the back. Maybe it does not apply in this case since the wheels seem to have a few inches of height clearance that tire to wheel well rubbing maybe a non-issue with the 19"?