HELP--Tire rubbing with snows!

[john hulbrock]

I just installed my snows on ATE rims and have rubbing of the wheel wells when I go over "dips" in the road or on agressive cornering. I have ATE 18" rims with Pirelli 240 size 255-40 18 tires. This combination definitly fills out the wheel wells more than the stock rim/tires- It appears at least 1 " less gap between the top of the wheel well and the tire. The dealer provided these rims/tires so I feel they should take the responsibilty to resolve the problem. So far they advised that I reduce the air pressure- I did so with no improvement.
Anyone out there have a similiar problem? If not- what rims/tire combination are you using- If a different size/brand tire solves the problem I'll see if the dealer can swap out the tires.
Thanks for your help

JH

[gregoryindiana]

Have been reported on this site, other threads.

Audi did advertise an OEM wheel and tire combo;
7.5J X18 ET 20 with 245/45R 18 tires, Dunlop Winter Sport M3, as I recall.

Certainly this should have solved it. These are obviously higher aspect tires than those we got on the car for summer. Supposedly a limited number of these were made available.

How wide are the ATE wheels? I don't know if these tires will fit on the wheels you have.

One RS6 owner in Oregon, for whom rain in winter is the biggest concern, I guess, bought 4 of the standard 18 inch wheels and mounted snow tires identical in size to the high performance summer tires that came with the car.

[360M]

Find out what the offset on the wheels are. You need to determine where it's rubbing - suspension or fender or??

Edit: Just reread your post - sounds like it's rubbing on the fenders. You can roll them or get a set of wheels with correct offset.

[Aronis]

Tire Rack sold me
18x7.5 5-112 ATI Italia s5 $239.00
with 255/40VR-18 Pirelli Winter 240 SnowSports.

They fit fine and no rubbing.

Check post on Audiworld, there is a picture of them...

http://forums.audiworld.com/rs6/msgs/1435.phtml

[oregonbob]

Yes, I'm the Oregon driver with 255/40-18 Dunlop M3 snow tires on OEM wheels. No problems whatsoever.

If the ATE wheels are different width or offset than the OEM 18x8 stock wheels, they may be causing the tire to rub metal. Not good. And, in my opinion, reducing tire pressure to avoid rubbing is just plain foolish. The tire should fit without rubbing at proper air pressure. If it rubs, fix the problem; don't lower the pressure.

If the dealer sold you a tire/wheel package for your car and the tire/wheel combo rubs, then the dealer should make good by either providing the proper tire/wheel combo or providing a full refund.

Bob

[nene]

I am a Massachusetts owner with stock 18" rims with 255/40/18 Dunlop M3's on, and have found no rubbing issues.

I would say that wheel offset is one of the major culprits when it comes to rubbing, if the rim size has stayed the same. Also, the thread in winter tires is more aggressive, so that could be part of it as well, but have not noticed any rubbing from my Summer-to-Winter change.

Good luck JH!!!

[GoFastKindaGuy]

Dunlop Winter Sport M3 225/45 18 on stock rims. No issues, just snow time fun.

[john hulbrock]

A follow up on my tire rubbing issues- The dealer is getting replacement tires for me at no cost- We are going to try Bridgestone LM-22 size 245 X 18 and we'll see if that solves the problem
Let you know in a few days.

[john hulbrock]

Follow up:

The dealer installed Bridgestone LM-22 size 235-45 > 18 on the ET wheels and solved the problem completely- no more rub on any road surface! the dealer did right by me- no charge at all!

Finnus- You may want to consider putting this size snow on your car to avoid the rub.

JH

[Aronis]

I think I have some rubbing when I hit a deep road bump, but I have not seen any signes of rubbing in the wheel well or fender. I hear something very rarely. I doubt the tire rack will replace mine for free LOL.

Mike

[nene]

John,
I think it's not just the tire that was the issue. In your case I believe it might have been the tire and wheel choice.
If you had used the stock rim, using 255 wide tire might have been ok. I've never used the Pirelli tires you used, and it could be that their 255 is just slightly wider then Dunlop's but I think the wheel might have helped/aggravated the situation.

Just a thought!