[Ageing Biker]

Hi Everyone,
I would like to ask a question about the very emotive subject of wheels. I have seen from the many threads that the vast majority of owners seem to go for the 19 or 20" wheel upgrade. Am I the only one who has experienced the heartbreak of getting just too near to a kerb and making your £1000 wheel option look decidedly second-hand? Even with 18" wheels it is quite soul destroying spending months trying to preserve the look of your wheels, only to have one rushed manoeuvre scuff them to bits. I cover over 20K per year, and this result is almost inevitable. With anything over 17" you only have to breathe near a kerb and the wheels are scratched.....or is this just me????
N.B. There is still time for me to "upgrade" as my car is not due for build for a while.

 

[RoddyT]

ahhh parking...

My wife hates it when I am parking as I usually try and avoid other cars and kerbs - often resulting in a longer walk to the shops. I hate it when you return and there are cars parked beside you... I only have 18" wheels just now and after 35 months and 39,000 miles there are only two or three very minor dinks.

I know that when the A5 arrives there will be even longer walks to the shops but I hope the parking sensors will help with the street parking as well.

If you search other threads you will see some info on wheel repairs which seemed reasonable - if you get a bad scratch

I went for the 20" as they were on an A5 I had for the week-end and they just looked great.

 

[quattro joe]

Hi AB,

You're not alone, kerbing wheels hurts us all regardless of size. When it's happened to me in the past all I want to do is replace the whole wheel ASAP and make the memory go away.

The reality is not so bad, there are many professionals who can repair wheels to 'as-new' condition.

I would think that wheels would be one of the easiest things to change on your order.

IMO 17" wheels on an A5 look really ordinary when you're parked next to an A5/S5 with 19". Take the plunge, park carefully and order the 19"

 

[Scouse5]

IMO 17" wheels on an A5 look really ordinary when you're parked next to an A5/S5 with 19". Take the plunge, park carefully and order the 19"

+1 .......I have 19" Y's & love 'em

 

[robb]

I still have the painful memory of kerbing my Y's in the first 2 weeks of getting the car, rushing back home parked up going forward in to the space as there was plenty of room, silly mistake. It was only made 1 tiny little dink, but you cant tell me its nothing, I knotice it everytime I was the wheel and it pisses me off. I park next to a kerb everyday when I'm in the UK. My rules for parking;

1. ALWAYS REVERSE IN WHEN PARKING NEXT TO A KERB

2. ALWAYS PARK NEXT TO A PILLAR OR WALL IN A MULTISTORY, AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN GIVING THE SPACE NEXT TO YOU AS MUCH ROOM AS POSSIBLE.

3. NEVER PARK NEXT TO A FAMILY LOOKING CAR IN THE SUPERMARKET

 

[Ageing Biker]

+1 .......I have 19" Y's & love 'em

I'm slowly being persuaded, but still very nervous about anything bigger than 18" (why does that sound so rude?). Any chance of a bigger version of your little picture, the car looks so nice in it!

 

[quattro joe]

I'm slowly being persuaded, but still very nervous about anything bigger than 18" (why does that sound so rude?). Any chance of a bigger version of your little picture, the car looks so nice in it!

AB, it's not about the size of the wheel, it's about how you park!

Doesn't matter whether you've got a 14" Festiva wheel or a set of 25" wheels on your Range Rover. It's going to upset you either way when you curb them.

Larger diameter does not equal curbing, larger wheel width does!

Please get yourself a nice set of 19" wheels and park carefully, they'll look fantastic and you will not regret it!

 

[Scouse5]

I'm slowly being persuaded, but still very nervous about anything bigger than 18" (why does that sound so rude?). Any chance of a bigger version of your little picture, the car looks so nice in it!

Yep in photos at top of page, search Scouse5

 

[RoddyT]

One suspects he is looking for a close up of your "optional extra"

 

[robb]

AB, it's not about the size of the wheel, it's about how you park!

haha

 

[Ageing Biker]

One suspects he is looking for a close up of your "optional extra"

Damn, sussed! and so early on too!

 

[Ageing Biker]

Yep in photos at top of page, search Scouse5

Tried that yesterday. You're, I mean it's not there.:

 

[Ageing Biker]

Trouble with the wheel thing is that, because it's a company car, unless I buy it at the end of the contract, I am paying for something which is only serving to make the car easier to sell at the end of the contract. The only real benefit I get is to enjoy the look of the car for three years. Is that worth the extra £440/£8 per month?? and I only really like the 20-spoke two-piece ones better than the standard s-line 5-spokes.Still confused...

 

[Scouse5]

One suspects he is looking for a close up of your "optional extra"

LOL Roddy.....Two loves of my life..My Girlfriend and my A5

Photos A5 Public / Photos Girlfriend Private

 

[Ageing Biker]

LOL Roddy.....Two loves of my life..My Girlfriend and my A5

Photos A5 Public / Photos Girlfriend Private

Good point, well made!!

 

[Scouse5]

Tried that yesterday. You're, I mean it's not there.:

D'oh! It's da girlfriend

Also my A5 is leased £435 stock/ £14.99 Y Alloys (total £449.99 per month)

But look at it this way. If you bought the car - you pick your extras - pay for them, then worry about sale price later!!
So your intitial spend (car plus extras), you only get a percentage back anyway for optional extras, even if it does make the car easier to sell when fully loaded.

With my A5, wether bought or leased I class it as mine (my car), and I wouldn't keep a car longer than 2/3 years anyway. If I spend money on my A5 in the meantime...so be it !!

At end of lease nowt back for remap - but had pleasure that it brings.
I've kept stock exhaust to put back on, so I can always "weigh in" the milltek

 

[Ageing Biker]

I agree. This is the first time that I have chosen a car that I want to drive rather than one that fits in with my family needs. I am still getting grief from my teenage daughter about the fact that it's "a two-door car" (spoken with a whiney voice). But at the end of the day it is me that spends most time in the car, on my own, so it's only right that I should enjoy it. If only they had some nicer 19" wheels that were available on the s-line.

Thanks all for your input. Time to make up my mind. Cheers.

 

[Giom]

I went for the 18" V-design and having seen a few with those they look great.

Although I actually never hit the curb when pocket parking, the only thought of having too-nice wheels that risk to be scratched would inevitably end up with them being scratched ;-)
Also at 3600€ the 19" Y-design, I reckoned it was a better idea to get meself a nice new watch instead ;-)

 

[Ianhp1]

Actually, it's quite hard to scuff the alloys...

The alloys (I have 19" wheels) and they are concave, so nothing sticks out beyond the lip of the rim... the tyres are the right size for the rims, and so with the added bonus of the 'rim-saver' lip on the Dunlop SP sport tyres, you can bump the kerb and only the tyre touches... and I've done this a few times no problem... get 19" if you can.

People tend to have problems when the rims are convex and when they buy silly wide rims and the tyres don't match well and are therefore 'stretched' onto the rim, exposing the lip for scuffs.