19×9 HRE P47SC Wheels

I’ve recently picked up a new set of HRE P47SC wheels for my 2012 Audi TTRS, and couldn’t be more excited about how it came out. Purchased “pre-loved” from a fellow TTRS owner, these one-piece forged wheels were custom made by HRE here in San Diego, CA to have the ideal fitment for this car. The specs are 19×9 ET43, but with different concavity between front and rear to allow massive BBK clearance up front, but taking advantage of the extra room in the rear to get more concavity. When new, these wheels were roughly $1600 a wheel but have been discontinued for some time now.

I wasn’t originally sure on if I’d like matte black or not, fearing it would lose too much contrast as black wheels can sometimes just look like a black hole where your wheels once were. My shiny new Girodisc rotors help provide some contrast, and eventually I’d like to paint my calipers red to give it an additional pop, but overall I’d say the wheels work pretty well with the other carbon fiber & black accents throughout the car. I’m glad my car has the Black Optics package, otherwise I don’t think I’d be able to pull it off as well. I’m tempted to plasti-dip my badges black to complete the look, at least in the rear.

They came wrapped in 255/35/19 Michelin Pilot Super Sports rubber, a tire I’m familiar with and really enjoy for its plush ride, good handling when you need it, and fairly sensible price tag. They rubbed a little in the rear, but I’ve since trimmed down the tab in the rear fender and it seems to have gone away. They’re definitely on the aggressive side of fitment, no spacers needed, but still plenty of room for a decent sized tire which is perfect for my needs. The OEM wheels never quite filled out the fenders well enough, and adding spacers was a pain that I’m glad I don’t have to deal with anymore.

Before installing, I applied CQuartz Dlux Wheel & Trim ceramic coating to them to help protect against brake dust. It gave the finish a little more depth and gloss, while still being mostly matte – I’d maybe call them closer to satin black now. I’ll do a full write up on the coating once I’ve given it a few months of testing for durability, but I’ve never been let down by CQuartz in the past so I’m hoping it’s no different now. I’ve also installed new EBC Red ceramic brake pads, which are supposed to be relatively low dust which I’m helping helps with keeping the wheels clean.

The great thing about a forged wheel compared to cast is not just how much lighter and stronger they are, but they tend to age a lot better with time too. Anyone who has bought used cast wheels typically has to deal with bends, minor vibrations, or just a decreased ride quality and need to get them rebalanced a lot. When I got these, I just bolted them on and it immediately rode like a dream – as good if not better than my OEM rotor wheels, actually.

With eleven months of ownership under my belt, I’ve finally got the car where I want it. It needs a few small tweaks here and there, but man am I happy with how things have shaped up. I’ve actually had these wheels on for a few weeks now, but with lots of travel and distractions I didn’t have a chance to take some decent pictures until yesterday.

A big thanks to Tim for the deal on the wheels, Brent for detailing, and Rodger for letting me store them at your shop. Stay tuned for more pics!