I recently found a set of used and very rare Volk LE37s on the Audizine Classifieds and refurbished them – the wheels are very similar to the more common TE37s, but unlike the TE37s these come in a 5×112 bolt pattern. The other main differences between the TE37s and LE37s are the center caps, decals, and finish – but they’re more or less the same wheels otherwise.
The wheels have been discontinued so there isn’t a lot of information about them out there, but what I do know about the wheels is this – they’re 19×8.5 with an offset of ET35, they are a one-piece forged wheel, and they’re extremely light. Unfortunately the previous owner did not appreciate the wheels as much as I’d hope (or was just a terrible driver/parker) so it took quite a bit of handiwork to get these back to presentable shape – but after ~20 hours refinishing the lips coupled with new center caps and vinyl, I’m quite happy with the results. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on how to DIY repair curb rash!
For now, I have some cheapo tires on the wheels that will be replaced soon with something proper – but I’ll need to sell my BBS CHs first. I’ve had my BBS wheels for almost four years now (back to when I had an A4) and they’ve been a great wheel, but after having the Volks for a while I love the new look and the performance advantage of a wheel that is significantly lighter cannot be ignored. Last but not least I like something rare and a little different, and the LE37s satisfy both of those requirements.
What do you say – do you dig the Japanese wheels on a German car, or is this “rice”? Let me know in the comments, Facebook or Twitter, and check out the full photoshoot embedded below from my Flickr.
Slideshow gallery from Flickr:
Looks sharp. Wish I could have nice rims on my a4 year round, but the conditions up here are harsh.
I think they look great – will look even better once you are able to put the new tyres on.
Those rims really go well with the car. Sweet pics, and B7’s rock,as they are not a dime a dozen like the 3-series
Thanks, Summa!
So jealous! I have been hunting for these for a while, sadly I have not found a set that have made it to the great white north.
Love your blog by the way! High quality photos and solid content. Thanks for sharing!
Also what hood is that?
Thanks for the kind words Mike! I had been looking for these wheels a while, definitely hard to come by. Crazy how much lighter they are than my BBS!
The hood is made by Aerofunction, full review here: https://www.nickscarblog.com/reviews/b7-audi-s4-carbon-fiber-hood-vented-by-aerofunction
Thanks for the link sir!
Feel free to email me when you grow tired of those wheels lol.
Cheers
Will do Mike!
Great looking wheels Nick, what tyres you ended up with? I managed to pick-up R8 original 19″ forged front wheels for my S4 but the 235/35 only come in load capacity of 91 so a bit afraid to go that way as 95 is needed. What set do you use?
Hi Jan – I’m quite familiar with that problem, I’ve been running 91 load rating tires with no issues on my last 4 sets of wheels and probably 6 sets of tires, haha. No one really makes a 235/35/19 with a 95 load rating, just make sure it’s an XL rated tire and you’ll be fine. If you’re not too low, you can run a 245/35 and maybe find a higher load rating, but I wouldn’t sweat it too much. I’ve tracked, rallied, etc. on 91 load ratings and haven’t had any issues…nor have I heard of any on Audizine, etc. where thousands are running similar setups.
To answer your first question – right now I have Hankook R-S3 tires – they’re amazing. I’ve also really enjoyed Michelin Pilot Super Sports and PS2s, but they’re very expensive. Avoid Falkens, the FK452 are by far the worst tire I’ve had, and the FK453 is the second worst.
Great website Nick and I like what you have done with the car.
You have pulled it off with those 8.5 x 19 Volk wheels. Car sure does have a classy but still sporty look with that set up. That style of wheel does not suit all cars but certainly looks very good on your Audi.
I probably would have done the wheel paint in a very dark satin grey or satin black to keep the red and black theme of the car. Needless to say I also really did like the 19 x9 S5 wheels you had on the car for a while. Definitely looked aggressive and racey for an OE rim in all black.
I might look at dropping the front splitter about 3/4 of and inch or so in the front (using spacers on the front bolts) so you have less of an upward angle on the fitment. This will also give you some gap between the base of the front most section of the front bar and the splitter and improve the overall appearance. The splitter will sit with much less of an upward incline rear to front. On a lowered car this might cause some clearance issues though.
Cheers,
Cameron
Thanks Cameron! I actually just had the wheels refinished a few shades darker (but still grey), I’ve had too many black wheels on the car so I wanted something a little different. Stay tuned for a photoshoot with the new look very soon.
I like the idea of the spacers for the splitter, might have to try that. I do scrape all of the time though, haha. The lip is pretty beat up so I actually covered it in CF vinyl so it at least looked in better shape. Ideally I’d like to scoop up a DTM front bumper that has an integrated splitter, but there are a few other projects I want to tackle first…
IF you have any hassles with the front splitter getting too beaten up an alternative way of replacing it is this.
1. Locate some tough plastic sheeting of sufficient thickness and rigidity.
2. Mock up the shape you want and then have it laser cut to the shape you want. (You can also bond 2 or 3 sheets together for a thicker unit.)
3. It does not matter what colour the sheet is as you can very easily paint it yourself or even have it wrapped.
Having seen this done I can say it works very effectively and you get to choose the design.
Using a thick aluminium sheet or bonding 2 or 3 thick sheets together before cutting is another alternative. Again simple to paint or wrap. It is challenging to cut yourself so a professional cut is the way to go with that material.
Always make 2 and if you damage one you have a ready raw replacement.
This is the kind of result you can get (but these are production versions obviously) . The end result will look better if you have very minimal extension outwards from the leading edge of the front bar/fascia and you have a decent gap between the base of the fascia/bar and the splitter unit. There is too much front depth in this design on the red car and it is designed to be fitted flush with the bar of course rather than spaced.
http://www.roadtrackrally.com.au/blog/2012/07/apr-aero-parts-available/
Again, really great job you have done with your car both with the aesthetics and mechanical modifications.
Cheers Cameron
Thanks Cameron!
Hi nick what colour code are your wheels.? Thanks
I don’t remember exactly, I gave the powdercoater some pics and described what I wanted and this is what they came out with…my goal is to make it look as close to the way new TL37SLs look, which is a bit of a darker grey but not quite gunmetal color.
Thanks man. I’m gonna go to the paint shop on monday and try and get a match to that shade . I’m feeling that shade man