Looking back over the past year I realized I never posted pictures of the OEM 19×9 ET33 S5 wheels I ran for about a month – so this post is long overdue! I found these wheels while surfing Craigslist at a VERY attractive price (~$600) and was looking to change it up from my BBS CH wheels at the time, so I scooped these up along with a lightly used set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports to produce the setup pictured above.
Fitting these was pretty simple – despite the wider wheels and more aggressive offset, the wheels bolted on with no fender rolling or modifications needed other than hubcentric rings, which you can purchase on the right. The B8 platform has a 66.6mm hub and the B6/B7 Audis have a 57.1mm hub, so this ring simply adapts the two – it is very safe and common to run these on aftermarket wheels, including BBS.
I then fitted the wheels with 235/35/19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. The only rubbing occured over bumps or very hard cornering, but nothing too drastic and fine for daily driving. The tires had a very small amount of stretch on a 9″ wide wheel, but nothing to be concerned about and actually looked pretty nice. This entire setup had a very subtle way of being aggressive – from a distance to the untrained eye, it looked like a stock setup. Up close, a real enthusiast can tell they’re wider wheels with an aggressive offset that fits perfectly flush with the B7 fender.
My favorite part was the concavity of these wheels – with the aggressive offset and the design of the wheels, they poked out every so slightly and really drew your attention to both the lines of the wheels and the car itself. You can see in the picture above both the amount of stretch in the tire (minimal) as well as the concavity of the spokes for the S5 – this same wheel design was used on the B8 S4 in a 8.5″ wheel with a higher offset and those wheels don’t have nearly as much concavity, so I definitely recommend picking up the S5 wheels over the S4 wheels if you can swing it and don’t mind a tiny bit of stretch and rubbing from time to time.
After running these for a little while, including Targa Trophy, I got tired of having two sets of black wheels so I put both up for sale – these happened to sell quicker, and for slightly more than what I spent on them, so it was a no brainer to let them go. I kind of wish i had kept them and painted them a different color, but they went to a good home and look great on the new owner’s B7 A4. It’s definitely a great setup for someone looking for an OEM plus look, and the fact that they’re OEM wheels means that they’re plenty strong and great for daily use, albeit slightly heavy compared to aftermarket options.
On a related note, the Michelin Pilot Super Sports were great tires the short time I had them – nice and quiet, plenty grippy, and a nice tread pattern. I didn’t keep them long enough to do an extended review, nor did I drive on them very hard, but I wouldn’t mind running another set again some day. The only downside to these tires is the price, at nearly $250 a corner, but I was able to pick this set up used for just a few thousand miles for $400 cash on Craigslist, which was a great deal given their condition.
That’s all I have for pics, hope someone out there finds this post helpful! Leave a comment with any questions or to share a pic of your ride 🙂
Great writeup as usual nick. I’m a budget audio builder if those 2 things make sense together? However I plan on purchasing peeler reps for the or look.
My pleasure Garrett – Peeler reps will look nice as well. Check out Craigslist though, sometimes you can find used OEM wheels for the same price…
I don’t think you are enhancing performance with wheel rub in bumps and aggressive cornering. Bad idea jeans…. Try bumping performance I hear you can juice 400bhp outta those underpowered engines…
Ha, you are right ray that the 19×9 OEM wheels are neither light nor “performance enhancing” versus stock, it would be more for looks. If you’re in to function over form, check out my latest pair of lightweight forged Volk LE37s: https://www.nickscarblog.com/featured-rides/photo-shoot-my-b7-audi-s4-on-volk-le37s
As far as 400HP goes, it’s a tough number to hit naturally aspirated, and that would be crank not drivetrain and there is a TON of drivetrain loss. I really need to get my dyno’d soon, I’ve got pretty much every bolt-on part available short of going supercharged and longtube headers, so it’d be interesting to see what that gets you HP wise.
I too have a Red B7 Audi s4 w/ Platinum Int. My car is lowered on Bilstein PSS9s but not sitting any lower than yours. I was looking at some Avarus AV8 19×8.5 ET32 and when I test fit them, they came past my front fender. I decided not to take them as I was sure that I would damage my fenders. (From what I’ve read elsewhere max is 19×8.5 et37)
Yours would be another 7mm further out. What I cant figure out is how you are able to drive around without major rubbing and bumps in parking lots must be impossible with the wheel turned. (Thinking the tire would come straight up into the fender)
Are you sure the wheel size here is correct?
Hi Kevin – the wheels you’re testing are 8.5″ wide versus 9″ wide, so comparing offsets is not apples to apples. Offset is the distance from the center of the wheel, so for instance an the middle of a 9″ wheel has 4.5″ stick out on either side, the middle of an 8.5″ wheel has 4.25″ stick out on either side, and so on. Check out this offset calculator to compare like to like: http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Wheel-Offset-Calculator# – you can see the 19×8.5 ET32 will stick out 5mm more than 19×9 ET33 despite the offset being within 1mm of each other.
You can definitely run 19×8.5 ET35 though, that is what my BBS are. They’re very close to rubbing though, so I’m guessing that’s as low as you want to go.
Nick, according to the 1010 offset calculator it shows that my 8.5 et32 wheels compared to your 9″ et33, the 8.5s would be retracted by 5mm. They should fit then.
arrrrrr this is so confusing
Hi Nick, your ex-wheels looked great. Did you have spacers on there as well if yes, what size?
No spacers, that’s how they fit without any work or modifying other than hubcentric rings to the correct centerbore.
Just picked up some 19×9 peelers for my b7 a4 avant! cannot wait to install them once i get my hubcentric rings the tires are ps2 235-35-19 hopefully they fit with my h&r spring setup
Should be a great setup! Might rub a little in the rear when you’ve got people in the back or are going over bumps but I’d think you’ll be fine otherwise.
Thanks for the fast reply! Can’t wait to post photos
Nick,
I really like this look. I have a few options I am throwing around and wanted to get your thoughts. Using the calculator you linked to and comparing… I was initially looking at a 19×8.5 ET25 wheel, which would put it 2mm closer to the fenders than yours. Now I am comparing it to a 19×8.5 ET42 wheel, which would be plenty safe for fitment but I would really like to fill the wheel well. What are your thoughts? I have a B7 S4 Avant stock suspension and planning on 235/35/19 tires. I currently have 18×8.5 ET35 Rotiform Nue’s (the ET25 setup would extend almost 10mm further out than I have now).
If you went 19×8.5 ET42 I’d run some 5-8mm spacers just to make it flusher and wider, but that setup would be fine. The ET25 might be a little aggressive, I think that would poke out a little more than you want, even with stretched tires. ET35 is really about the safe zone for an 8-9″ wide wheel, so add or remove at your peril but i’d keep at +/1 5mm if I were you.
Hey Nick! So I just bought S5 wheels. They are 8.5Jx19H2. Would these sit flushed on my B7 A4 base? What size tire would you recommend?
Hi Darith – are you sure those were off a S5? It sounds like they’re only 8.5″ wide. Regardless of 9″ or 8.5″ wide a 235/35/19 will work perfect. How flush it is depends on the offset of the wheels, do you see an “ET” number anywhere on the inside of the wheel?
I’m sorry they came off an s4. The ET is 43
Gotcha. They’ll be about as flush as your OEM wheels then. I’d recommend a 5-10mm spacer depending on how flush you wanna go. 5-8 is probably ideal, 10mm may cause some rubbing.
Awesome! Thanks for the help! Can’t til spring comes to try them on.
Hi Nick,
I have a b7 S4 on stock suspension. I’m currently searching for a set of S5 peelers. I would also like to run Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on them. What tire size would you recommend I run on the peelers? Could I run a stock tire size for this wheel since I am on stock suspension?
John, from what I’ve read you can get away with the stock B8 S5 tire size, although the tires are technically taller than the OEM B7 A4/S4 size, so you’ll be running a bigger overall rolling diameter which will throw off your speedometer some, and technically raise your car’s ride height some. If you’re cool with that, it shouldn’t rub so you’ll be fine.
Do the Tire pressure sensors work the same as other OEM sensors? I was told that A5/S5 use a different system then what my 07 a4 sline uses.
Thanks
Hi Adam – I’m not entirely sure to be honest, I thought TPMS were pretty universal but it’s possible some aren’t compatible with each other. I disabled my TPMS altogether via the VAG-COM and never looked back: https://www.nickscarblog.com/cars/must-have-vag-com-mods-for-b6-and-b7-audis
Hey nick are you lowered at all? Or stock height? And I have a b6 s4 lowered on bc racing coilovers and I was looking to get some 19×8.5 et35 rotiforms with 235/35/19 tires. Do you think that set up would fit fine?
Hi Ivan – yeah, that setup should be fine even if you lower your car quite a bit. That exact fitment is actually my preferred/recommended wheel, tire and offset specs for anyone who wants to lower their B7, it will sit flush but won’t have any rubbing issues.
Hey Nick, great write-up as usual, but I just had a quick question. I recently got some S5 peelers, just like the ones you had, and was planning on getting tires for them in the recent future, what’s the widest tire I can fit without rubbing? I’m currently running 235/45/17 on stock wheels and S-Line suspension on my B7, but originally wanted to go up to at least 245s on the peelers. However, I keep finding mixed reviews all over the forums and whatnot and therefore don’t know if they would fit without issues. Should I just stick to 235s and have that slight stretch, since I don’t know if that 10mm difference would clear? (Also, for reference, future plans may include Eibach pro-kit)
Thank you very much for your help!
My 235s rubbed in the rear some, so I wouldn’t go wider than that TBH. You could maybe get away with 245s but I think it would rub a lot more than desirable.
Awesome, thank you very much for your help 🙂
Picking up this old thread, I have a b6 S4 avant with standard suspension and had tracked down some S5 Peelers and was going to get some 235 35 tyres but the only tyres I have found come with a load rating on 91 when the standard is 95. This seems to indicate that the 235 option is a no no and even 245 seem excessively expensive and again difficult to source as 95 so then to a 255… Would you think this is too big or would running 91 load rating be a silly idea.
While I can’t legally condone it, plenty of people run a lower load rating without any issues whatsoever…I wouldn’t get hung up on it personally.
Thanks Nick, and after even more trawling, I found tyre sites recommending 91 and the door sticker doesn’t give a load rating so I dug out the handbook, it states 91, strange as hell as everyone I’d spoken to in the past says 95 but the weights in the book and eventually finding the weight plaque in the engine bay confirmed it. So 91XL it is.
Thanks again and it’s my first opportunity to say I enjoy the blog.
That’s really interesting, I need to consult my manual again and see what it advises but yes everyone seems to say 95 but then most people don’t actually run 95, that’s really curious that the manual says 91 is fine lol. I’ve been running 91 on my B7s for over 5 years without concern, and that includes plenty of track days, potholes, etc. so if there is an element of risk, it’s a relatively small one…
Hi Nick, I’m thinking of purchasing a new set of wheels for my Audi A4 B7, 2006, with stock s-line suspension, they are from an Audi A8, 19 inch , 9j wide, with et33, my question is will the car sit on these comfortably? Without any rubbing issues or turning angle issues?, also I plan on wrapping these with 235,35,19, sized tyres, what do you think, will it work?
Cheers thanks
Zack
It should fit just fine, same specs as my S5 peelers, but it will look a little funny on the stock suspension since it will poke a bit. I would recommend lowering your car either before or pretty quickly after. Here is what my car looked like on stock suspension at 19s: https://www.nickscarblog.com/cars/19-wheels-on-stock-b7-audi-s4-suspension
Cheers Nick that’s great, I will be lowering soon, did you have to use any spacers on this set up? And how much millimetres did you lower by? I will post some photos up shortly…
No spacers, not sure how many millimeters I lowered it but low enough that there was just about a finger of gap between the top of the tire and bottom of the fender…
Hey Nick, I’ve decided after a lot of shopping and reading your blog that I want to put 19″ peelers on my B7 A4. Besides purchasing the hubcentric rings, is there anything else I should watch out for or do to make them fit? I would greatly appreciate any help.
Nope you’re all set! Just don’t go too wide on the tires or it will rub, 235/35/19.
Hi Nick I want to put the wheels they are using your B7 (9J ET 33 c5 wheels) For I am with s-line hangs think to change the mainspring with eybah pro As depicted thoughts combination.
Hi Miroslav – shouldn’t be a problem to run those wheels with Eibach springs, that should look great actually. You may get some minor rubbing of the fender on the rear, but nothing too bad.
Hi Nick – I have just found this thread as I have recently purchased an S4 B7 V8 4.2, having sold my 3.2 V6 TT. I have just purchased some 19″ R8 replica multi spokes (8.5J with a 40 offset) I am guessing this offset is ok and that the best tyre set up will be 235/35×19 ? I am also wanting to go the route of coilovers to lower the ride height as I agree with your previous comments that the front sits too high. So my main question really is will a 40 offset be ok once the car is lowered on 235/35×19 ? Many thanks.
Hi Gary – you’ve got two options here, both of which are good ones. You could run 5mm spacers to have a final offset of ET35, and then run a 235/35/19 tire…that will sit perfectly flush. Alternatively, you could keep it at ET40, then get away with running a 245 width tire and have a little more traction and grip without any rubbing. Up to you!
Hi Nick – That’s great news. I am tempted to go for the 245/35×19 tire (extra grip always sounds good) Hmmm… I will have a think and let you know which option I chose. Just out of interest, what would your choice be between the two ? Many thanks.
I’d probably go for wider tires and no spacers. I like spacers but they can be a PITA, and only 5mm isn’t that huge of a difference.
Thanks for the advice Nick, really appreciate it. Just one last question, if I go the route of 5mm spacers will I require longer wheel bolts are can I still utilise the original OEM bolts ? Many thanks.
Ideally you should use longer wheel bolts, but the rule of thumb is 3.5 full turns of bolts and you should be able to get that – you’d be just on the very edge of acceptable, which makes me nervous personally. I’d rather over engineer than be right on the threshold 🙂
Yes agreed. I am correct in thinking that the standard bolts are around 27mm in thread length ?
I’m guessing 35mm thread length should be suffice.
Exactly, 35mm is perfect.
Hi Nick…Sorry to bother you again but I have another question. I have now purchased a set of 245 35 19 tires and am now going to get myself a set of BC Racing coilovers. What do you think would be a sensible drop (25mm / 30mm ?) bearing in mind I live in the U.K. and there is speed humps and potholes everywhere. I want the B7 to have a nice stance but need to be practical at the same time. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Gary.
Hi Gary – do you have the standard A4 suspension, or Sport/S4 suspension? I’d say 25-30mm sounds about right, but generally what I do is go for about a one finger gap from the top of the tire to the bottom of the fender…or another way of measuring is fender to ground, which I found 24.75 inches to be the sweet spot (about 63cm).
Hi Nick thanks for the quick response. To be honest I am unsure what suspension the car has as I have only just purchased it and do not pick it up until next Saturday. I think your comment about one finger gap sounds about right. Thank you for the advice on the measurements regarding the fender, very helpful and I will bear this in mind. Roads here are getting worse, local authorities are not spending the money for repairs so low slung cars with low profile tires are suffering. I guess in my case it will be a bit of trial and error and see what works best. Many thanks for your advice and keep up the good work with your blog….it’s the best I have ever seen.
Hey Nick – going to revive this thread in the hopes of getting some advice from you. I wish a did a bit more research before pulling the trigger on new wheels (unfortunately, I was under a time constraint and used one of those “guaranteed fitment” tools), but my A4 2.0T FWD on stock suspension is currently sitting on 19×8.5 et 42 wheels with 245/35/19 tires. I’ve been getting various amounts of feedback from the mechanics who installed the wheels, and users from some other forums. What I really want to do is get rid of the nasty wheel gap and throw some H&R springs on the car, but based on what I know so far, I’ll need spacers to clear the (control arm?), but with an offset of around ~35 will the 245 tire be able to clear it and not cause major rubbing issues against either that or the fender? It’s just my daily driver; I’m not going to track it at all and potholes aren’t really much of a problem where I live. Thanks in advance, always love reading your blog.
Hey Charles – I don’t think you’ll have too much of a problem with rubbing – I know people who ran 245 series tires on 8.5″ wheels and didn’t really have any issues. If you’re really worries about it, I’d go with a 5mm spacer putting your final offset at 37mm, which should be plenty of clearance in either direction. My hunch is you could get away with 7mm, especially in the front. The rear has a bit more tendency to rub. Since you’re FWD, have the front with 7mm spacer and rear with 5mm spacer is totally acceptable too, and might even help with understeer slightly. Food for thought!
Thanks a bunch, Nick! You’re the man.
Hi Nick, eventually getting to put the wheels on, changed my mind and went for some C5 RS6 19×9 ET35, trouble is the dilemma over the tyre size, the wheels came with some very worn (bald) 255/35 tyres, a test fit on the car (2003 S4 Avant with STD Suspension) and a drive to round the block, no rubbing… so now I’m looking for some advice, I know 235/35 was spoken about…
Finally picked up a set of S5 peelers after seeing this blog months ago. Do you recall what you were running for camber?
Nice, congrats. I don’t remember camber but it wasn’t very aggressive, pretty sure I was within OEM spec.
Hey Nick. I have a A4 B7 S-line & just got a set of oem 19×8.5″j ET32 wheels ( part# 8W0601025AM ) off a 2019 A5/S5. Putting 235/35 tires. will i have an issues with caliper clearance
I doubt it, but I’ve never ran that size before to be able to confirm.
Hey Nick
What happens if I ran on peelers without the hub rings? I’ve had them for a while and i’m getting vibrations at 60-70 mph, You think this is due to running without the hub rings? Thanks!
That is exactly what happens when you don’t use hubrings – vibrations, especially at freeway speeds. Easy fix!
Hey Nick,
Interesting piece, thanks for sharing this. There is a set of OEM S5 Peelers on my local CL for $450 in decent shape, minimal “curb kisses” as the seller calls them, haha.
I’m driving a non-S Line B7 A4 Q, 2.0T, but it does have the factory sport suspension (-.75″) and an upgraded 034 rear sway bar. Assuming everything is in good shape with my suspension, which it is, do you think if I ran 235/35/19 on these Peelers that I could avoid rubbing entirely? I like to send it when the opportunity presents itself, but this is my only car, and daily driver. Currently I’m on the factory 17×7″ split 5 spokes with 235/45/17 and I would be happy with the car feeling significantly firmer, but I don’t love the idea of tires rubbing over bumps/sharp turns. But the Peelers look so sick! Help 🙂
I don’t think it will rub, but I do think the wheels might make the wheel gap look a little funny…the factory sport suspension is still not very low, and has a little rear end sag.