safelder

This is probably a totally stpuid question, but how do I know what sort of wheels will fit my 2007 S4 if I want to swap to 17s for the winter? Besides bolt pattern, what other numbers need to stay the same?

Then, once I go from 18s to 17s on the wheels, I assume I also need to get tires with higher-profile sidewalls in order that the speedometer, etc. all read correctly. How do I figure this out?

jprice@CPS

bolt pattern is 5x112, offset should be somewhere betweeen et40 and et35 IMO.

There's more to fitment than that though. The way the spokes are designed plays a huge role for you as you have large front brakes. Many 17s won't fit because the back of the spokes will not clear the calipers.

So, the easiest way to go about this is to go to <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR4&url=%2Fsnow%2Fchangeover.jsp"> the Tirerack wheel selection page</a> and select your vehicle. When the car comes up, select 17" from the drop down on the left. There's 17" wheels that will fit your S4. I like the Borbet Type FS form the B7 S4 selection. 5 spokes makes it easy to clean the snow out that gets stuck in the wheels and causes imbalance in the winter.

Another option is to go to the <a href="http://www.ronalusa.com/cars/audi_s4_b7.html">Ronal B7 S4 wheel page</a> and take a look at the styles. The R41 would work best for winter out of those.


For tire size, I recommend going with 225/45/17 isntead of 235/45/17, as narrower is better in snow.

safelder

Do you have any thoughts on whether I'd be better off buying a second set of wheels with winter tires (and TPMS sensors) vs. just swapping the performance tires for all-seasons once and running the stock 18s year round? I live in DC--we get some snow, but not much, and when we do, the city basically shuts down.

jprice@CPS

Mainly because if you run all seasons, your performance vehicle is being limited all the time.

Consider possibly running high performance winter tires during the winter? Nokian WR or Dunlop Wintersport 3D would work great for your situation it sounds.

dgkula

Just went from a set of all season to dedicated summer &amp; winter and the diff is well worth it

Hartmann/Achtuning

We sell allot of packages for the B6/B7 S4. We will typically use the Dunlop M3 from Tire Rack on a set of our 17" starting around $1250-$1300.<ul><li><a href="http://www.hartmannwheels.com">http://www.hartmannwheels.com</a</li></ul>