The real deal on staggered wheels

[Steve Pilaf]

Any reason i shouldn't run staggered wheels on a quattro. Will different width wheels or tires have any effect on the rear diff?
Thanks

[20VA4Turbo]

Rear diff and the center diff as well. Long explanation short... DON'T DO IT, you weill break something and it will be expensive to fix.
-Dan

[NotQuatt]

all the credible sources i have heard from say don't do it. nothing major will happen right away but over time, (so i hear) it will be harder on the awd system causing it to wear more rapidly... which can be costly. a lot of the nicer quattro's i have seen with what looks to be staggered wheels, are really just running a different offset in the rear so the lip is larger.
but a lot of ppl on here will say there's no problems whatsoever...
my vote is don't do it.

[A4_For_Baby]

The width makes absolutely no diff. (as long as you don't have diff. widths on the front, long story but nobody normally does that). Its the diameter of the wheel/tire that matters.
If you want to run 8"s on the front and 9"s on the back you can do that as long as the final diameter, that is wheel and tire, are analogous.
[IMG]http://*****************.com/smile/emgift.gif[/IMG]

[Steve Pilaf]

Can you guys point me in the right direction for some info. looking at some 18x8.5s and 18x9.5s. Would I be alright if I ran the same tire size on the front and back wheels, maybe 245 or 255s?

[TallaiMan]

Quote, originally posted by A4_For_Baby »

The width makes absolutely no diff. (as long as you don't have diff. widths on the front, long story but nobody normally does that). Its the diameter of the wheel/tire that matters. If you want to run 8"s on the front and 9"s on the back you can do that as long as the final diameter, that is wheel and tire, are analogous. [IMG]http://*****************.com/smile/emgift.gif[/IMG]

Correct! [IMG]http://*****************.com/smile/emthup.gif[/IMG]

[Steve Pilaf]

thanks for the responses guys!!

[blackavant]

Generally speaking the same size tire will not work well on two different width rims. Unless you are trying to correct or modify a handling problem then I would suggest using the same width wheel both front and back. Also, in my opinion, the look of the tires on one set of rims will look funny.
As others have posted, if the diameters are the same, you won't harm the differentials by using different width wheels.
'99 A4 Avant 1.8TQ

[laderlover]

Good point, yet the chance of finding a mis-matched rim/tire option that has an almost identical diameter is very unlikely.
Think about how important it is: Audi requires that you increase the PSI in your rear tires almost 10 pounds when going from 3 passengers to 5.* Think about what minimal effect that extra weight would have on your tire diameter, but Audi wants you to compensate with more air.
*This procedure is also a safety consideration.

Quote, originally posted by A4_For_Baby »

The width makes absolutely no diff. (as long as you don't have diff. widths on the front, long story but nobody normally does that). Its the diameter of the wheel/tire that matters. If you want to run 8"s on the front and 9"s on the back you can do that as long as the final diameter, that is wheel and tire, are analogous. [IMG]http://*****************.com/smile/emgift.gif[/IMG]

[Vrdady]

I hear alot of Don't Do it, not just here but when I talk to Wheel guys. Just a bad idea Quattro is expensive to fix.

[A4_For_Baby]

True, it would always be safest to go with the same setup on all four corners.
However, this is what I did on my dads TT.
18x8’s in the front with 225/45
18x9’s in the rear with 245/40
This setup yields the following:
Front:
225(mm) / 25.4(mm/in) = 8.858” <--width
8.858” * .45 = 3.986” <--height
(Assuming ~30-40% deflection at tire/tarmac contact location.)
.65 * 3.986 = 2.591”
(18” / 2) + 2.591 = 11.591”
This is more or less your running radius of the front end.
Rear:
245(mm) / 25.4(mm/in) = 9.646” <--width
9.646” * .40 = 3.858” <--height
(Assuming ~30-35% deflection at tire/tarmac contact location.)
.675 * 3.858 = 2.604
(18” / 2) + 2.604 = 11.604”
This is more or less your running radius of the rear end.
The difference between the two would then effectively be about 0.013” or 13 thousands of an inch. This difference is so small (0.1%) that its effect is negligible. Under/over inflation can easily create differences of 0.500” which is 40 times bigger than the above calculated difference.
So, as long as it is done carefully/correctly it can be quite safe.




Modified by A4_For_Baby at 10:55 AM 12-11-2005

[NotQuatt]

i just don't get what the point is... this is not a RWD car... it's awd. if anything, the wider rears are counter-productive.

[REN-JR.]

Why dont you ask that guy from Tuner-shop? He must get these questions all the time. They sell schmidt and other wheels that are usually set-up "staggerd". He would prob be your best source for this info.

[TurboNasty]

Quote, originally posted by NotQuatt »

i just don't get what the point is...

Looks, thats all. Some love it, some hate it.

[Itchy Foot]

staggered = understeer.
RWD cars sometimes run staggered because it will give it some understeer, since understeer gives the general driver relatively "more control".


Modified by Itchy Foot at 3:51 PM 12/11/2005

[Steve Pilaf]

Sounds good, I think I'm gonna call tunershop

[grounded87]

Quote, originally posted by NotQuatt »

i just don't get what the point is... this is not a RWD car... it's awd. if anything, the wider rears are counter-productive.

I concur. It's the same effect as a ricebox adding a big aluminum wing. Actually that would be a better mod as at least that doesn't hurt performance.
As for the looks... I still don't get it. It's not RWD. You're mocking a RWD car. [IMG]http://*****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif[/IMG]

[NotQuatt]

Quote, originally posted by Itchy Foot »

staggered = understeer. RWD cars sometimes run staggered because it will give it some understeer, since understeer gives the general driver relatively "more control". Modified by Itchy Foot at 3:51 PM 12/11/2005

well I think the main benefit is because all the power is going to the rear wheels, so you benefit from a wider rear tire for putting the power to the ground, and smaller fronts for steering and weight. Whereas on Quattro, the majority of the power goes to the fronts (yes I know, Quattro can push over 65% of the power to the rears)
AWD and FWD cars should have equal width wheels for best performance... which is why you don't see S4's, Evo's and STi's coming from the factory with staggered wheels, the way M3's and AMG's come.

[lotatimmy]

along these lines, would it be okay to run different offsets of the same wheel/tire combo on an AWD system to achieve the staggered look?

[ThePuke]

Does running staggered wheels increase stress on differentials and damage them? Haven't been able to get a straight answer....

[4Rings v2.0]

Only the overall rolling diameter matters. If the tire diameter is the same or extremely close (I'd say less then half of a percentage point difference) it will not cause any problems. For example 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 would be a good match at only 0.4% difference.

[threethirteen]

you could have 7" on the front and 25" on the back...as long as they're both 18" around.

[AHarmes5]

not to steal the thread but I've a question...
I need new tires soon and want to get 235/40/17 in the front instead of 235/45/17 (currently). And I'd like to keep the 235/45/17 in the back.
I'm guessing it will be fine, but I'd like to hear someone say yes because it would make me feel better

[4Rings v2.0]

You guess wrong, the diameter difference between a 235/40/17 and a 235/45/17 is a whopping 3.8%, which is sure to destroy your quattro quickly. The first number is the tire width, not height.
Check out this useful calculator to find the right sizes:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

[AHarmes5]

Yah, I know what the numbers mean. I want to keep the same width, but have a lower-profile tire in the front to drop the front slightly.