Advice on wheels/spacers.

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AdamKing

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I recently got some genuine 18" RS6 alloys. Before I fit them I want to get some spacers. I'm new to spacers so I would rather get some advice before I buy some. So sorry if some of the questions seem really stupid
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I understand that the spacers bolt onto the car and the wheels bolt onto the spacers. But will I need to buy longer wheel nuts or will the ones from my old wheels be fine? They were the standard 17" alloys that come with the S3.

Also what size would people recommend. I've heard that 15mm on the front and 20mm on the back looks good.

Thanks
 
If they're genuine RS6 rims they'll probably have quite a low offset as they are giving you a fair bit of poke, might not need spaces...

Do you know the width and offset? Should be written on the inside. . . Width is J number (maybe 8J or 9J) and offset ET (maybe ET35 or something)

Either way it would be worth checking what they look like on the car first then deciding how much you want to space them out by... And yes, you would need longer bolts for anything more that 5mm or so
 
On the inside of the alloy it says 7.5Jx18H2 ET54.
 
They usually come with the bolts needed. If you get 20mm they will likely bolt on. Use the supplied bolts to bolt the spacer to the hub then your oem bolts to bolt the wheel onto the spacer. 15mm are likely to need longer bolts which go through the wheel and spacer into the hub. I doubt you need longer bolts with bolt ons as they may go through the back of the hub and hit things.

On a side note dont buy cheap. I bought some delta mics spacers off ebay. Fitted them the same time as my new wheels, brakes and coilovers. My car developed a terrible wheel wobble. I spent a fortune trying to sort what the wobble was and of course it was the cheap spacers. Also read about the bolts supplied with delta mics spacers snapping. Avoid!!!
 
Also always spin the wheel gently by hand after fitting spacers incase anything does hit.
 
Mmmmmm, I would have thought that genuine RS6 rims would be at least 8J and possibly more. Maybe someone else can confirm that for us? If not, don't worry, they could still be genuine audi rims just "RS6 style". . .

7.5J with ET54 offset sounds really low, I'd imagine you'd want spacers on them to stop it looking too silly... Did you mean ET45? That would make a bit more sense anyway!
 
Are you sure they're genuine RS6 rims? They don't sound wide enough, aren't they 8j? Also you might need adaptors not spacers as they'll be 5x112 if they're genuine, you need 5x100 for an 8L.
 
I'll try and upload a picture. The seller I got them off described them as genuine RS6 alloys. He even said they were 8J. Looks like he will be getting an email.
 
They're genuine Audi (ronal) alloys, of RS6 style... Just not the actual RS6 alloys, wich is good cos they won't fit without adapters anyway! Do you know if they're 5x100

ET54 is a really low offset as well, will deffo want some sizable spacers on them I'd imagine... For example my winter wheels are 7.5J ET32, which means the face of the rim will sit 22mm closer to the arch than them and I still run spacers.

Just to help explain the offset is the measurement in mm's the centre of the wheel will be from the hub face (if that makes sense?) the higher the ET number the closer in they will sit, low ET numbers sit out more..
 
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I suppose that's a good thing then. Although I'm a bit annoyed that the guy described them as genuine RS6 Alloys 8"x18" ET43.

I'm not to sure if they're 5x100. Is there anyway of finding out? I've seen a guy on here from South Africa with a silver S3 with RS6 Reps on it. I think he's running 25mm at the front and 30mm at the back. I'm thinking of doing the same now.

A lot of people recommend the hubcentric spacers.Will I be able to use my OEM bolts with them? (using the bolts supplied to bolt the spacer onto the hub and the OEM bolts to bolt the wheel onto the spacer)
 
Aim for an offset of around 20, that tends to fill s3 arches well.
So with your -54mm, youl need at least 30mm to bring it into the ball park of something decent, 30 would give you an offset of 24.

You can't just go off what other people use either, those rs6 style wheels come on every car known to man in differs t widths and offsets.
If you offer them to your car now the wheel will fowl the shocks.

If I were you id use an online offset calculator (google it).
Put your current wheel specs in, then your new wheel specs, it will tell you the difference in terms of inner and outer clearance.
plus if you can say on your current wheels 'i wish they were xxmm wider' put in the offset till you get what you want, and that is the spacer size youl need.
 
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I reckon they're rims from an A3 8P S-line which would make them 5x112 PCD. PCD is the wheel bolt spacing so they won't bolt on without adaptors. Not a big problem as the adaptors will help space the wheel out and lower the overall offset, however I'd be getting a refund for wrongful description as I'd want the extra half inch width of 8j rims.
 
I think your'e right. If its a dry day tomorrow I'm going to take a wheel off and see if they'll bolt on. If not I'm going to get my money back. Think I will go for BBS CH or LM reps if I get a refund
 
[Dave B];2047961 said:
I reckon they're rims from an A3 8P S-line which would make them 5x112 PCD. PCD is the wheel bolt spacing so they won't bolt on without adaptors. Not a big problem as the adaptors will help space the wheel out and lower the overall offset, however I'd be getting a refund for wrongful description as I'd want the extra half inch width of 8j rims.
Click to expand...

Agree, the first of the photos has the part number 8P0....
 
They are rims off an 8p a3, which would defo be a 5x112 fitment..
 
superkarl said:
Aim for an offset of around 20, that tends to fill s3 arches well.
So with your -54mm, youl need at least 30mm to bring it into the ball park of something decent, 30 would give you an offset of 24.
Click to expand...


Karl's right but it is worth pointing out there'll be 6mm difference between ET20 on a 7.5J rim and ET20 on a 8J rim... Which is a fair bit when it comes to getting your stance right! (depending on how picky you're being that is)
 
I have fitted genuine rs6 alloys same design as yours and they're definitely et43 8J 18". I used 20mm PCD adapters at front and 30mm at the back. Prob get 35mm at back if you wanted. You will need to change the PCD from 5x100 to 5x112 to match the new pattern and as mentioned earlier don't buy cheap - make sure the adapters are hubcentric, I went with H&R just for peace of mind, last thing you want is to be dong 70mph and feeling uncomfortable lol. The alloys you have I can confirm are from an a3 8p hence 7.5J. Sidey has the rs6's on his and so you can have a look at his car to see what they look like with the adapters I've mentioned above (just search him). They do look awesome in my opinion so if you can find genuine rs6 alloys then it's worthwhile. Also keep in mind that if you have adapters and replicas you'd be increasing the unsprung load significantly as replicas can be heavy so if you can keep alloys genuine I guess it's better.
Anyway here's mine (terrible pic but it's the only one I have):
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1388885908180956

If you want more pics PM me.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the replies. I've decided to try and get my money back on the wheels. If someone described them as genuine RS6 Alloys 8J ET 43 I think that's what I should of got. I don't really feel like spending out £200+ on adapters for replicas. I would rather try and find some genuine RS6 wheels or get some completely different wheels.
 
Thanks for all the comments. They've helped a lot.

I've decided I'm going to get the BBS CH reps. 18" 8J ET35 5x100.

Karl said to aim for an offset of 20. So I should need 15mm spacers?

Two quick questions. Why do people run bigger spacers on the back? Is it because the arches flare more? So I should have 15mm on the front and 20mm on the back?

You can use the same wheel bolts if you fit spacers right? Sorry if that's a stupid question
 
Didn't realise the spacers come with extended bolts. I thought the spacers bolted to the hub and the wheel bolted to the spacer
 
BBS CH, good choice sir! :thumbsup:

Yea, bigger spacers on the rear cos there's more room in the arch... Spacers that bolt to the hub are usually hub adapters to give you a different PCD (if you did want to use gen RS6 rims for example)

Will need bigger bolts for anything over 5mm pretty much... I tried putting a standard bolt through a 12mm spacer a while back and it didn't even reach the thread on the hub.

Soon I should have a pair of 12, 16 and 20mm spacers for sale with longer bolts. I'll PM you when I do if you want dibs?
 
Ahhh that clears things up. Thanks.

I would be interested in the 16mm and the 20mm spacers when you're ready to sell them. Are they hubcentric? Also as long as they're a better deal than the ones online ;)
 
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