Ok guys, I'm sorry for opening another "winter rims" post but I've been googling for days now but I can't find a definitive answer on this. Most tire places online dont have my exact car as an option (its either up to 2008 or 09 non-sline) so I don't know "for sure" if the rims will fit, and I don't want to buy rims that don't fit. On 1010tires they have my car (yay!) but they seem to think that 18" rims won't fit on my car. I've test fitted a 17" rim so I think some 18s should too.

My car specs: 09 a4 3.2 sline

The rims I "want" to get are the 18" RS4 replicas (like VMR V708 ):
http://www.1010tires.com/images/whee...S_lg_super.jpg

I think the 18" ones will fit but on 1010tires they dont even list any 18" rims for my car, only 19". I'd rather not get 19" for winter because the ride would be rougher.

So I need some help. What have others with the same car done for rims?? How do you "know" if it will fit? I know that the bolt pattern is 5/112 and the offset is 35mm (I think), so why wouldn't the 18" 38mm from 1010tires fit?? Is 3mm really that much? How can I find out..
Thanks in advance!!

 

Nice to see you want to shop in Canada, but you're right about the limited functions of the vehicle selector on the 1010 website. Whether you buy from them or not, you can always try the Tire Rack. They vehicle selector is a little more informative and often they will be better priced...especially when our dollar is so strong.

First off, the OEM wheel sizes for your car are as follows:

19x8.5 ET43
18x8.0 ET47
17x8.0 ET47
17x7.5 ET45

If you are in love with those VMR V708's, the 18x8.5 ET38 will extend the wheel 5mm out. Not a big deal. You might even prefer the way it flushes the wheel up a bit more with the wheel well. Keep in mind that you need the larger bore (66.6) wheels for B8 (A4/A5/Q5) cars.

If you are more flexible, I would go down to a 17" wheel. You won't find the VMR's in that size, but you will be able to run approximately an inch narrower tire and likely save yourself some cash. The narrower tire will cut through deeper snow, where wider tires will tend to sit on top of the snow.