Whose running 20 inch rims ? help please.

[bam_bam]

This is one of the main reasons I stayed with 19s.

[bam_bam]

This is one of the main reasons I stayed with 19s.

[DAylward]

I might sell my 20s and go back to OEM 19s so I can have the proper size tyre and load rating

[iR8V10]

The hankooks will address any concerns no?

[DAylward]

not really as i have never heard of them and i dont want to be shelling out £200+ a tyre every few months.I'd rather have a tyre that is safe and will do the job without having to worry about splitting or breaking up under load.For the moment the contis i have on at the moment are wearing evenly and have plenty of tread and are causing me no problems.I will see how i go with these and may well buy another set and keep the 20s if all this proves to be scaremongering

[Wolverine]

I just checked the Hankook website ....

and the 255/30/R20 are 92 load. I think Blackcircle have made a mistake. If you can fit wider rubber, 265, then they have a better 94 load. But not sure these will go on without possible wheel arch rubbing.

Going back to the original question, ABT sold my alloys through Audi dealerships at one stage. They used 255/30/R20 92. Maybe they felt they were within acceptable tolerances ???

[iR8V10]

Daniel ran hankooks on his sprint blue plus when he had these wheels. He could confirm load rating?

[Wolverine]

Had a closer look at my blown out tyre and wheel arch. Think I've been hit by the dreaded "knobbly" bit extrusion, as you can clearly see from the fresh rubbing. Can someone here please confirm that this is the knobbly one ??

[Wolverine]

And here are pics of my blown out tyre ....

[Daveperc]

Yep - that's 'ol knobbly all right - and the tyre damage looks consistent with contact....

[DAylward]

I might have to take my wheels off and check mine incase i suffer a similar fate as i am not sure whether mine was sorted prior to fitting 20s

[Wolverine]

So Dave, any ideas on a solution ? Can I not just sand this bit down or is this some specifically engineered knobbly thingy thats vital to the suspension?

[iR8V10]

I had mine taken down by doug at MRC when we put the wheels on...it's 100% not contacting now.

[Daveperc]

Two thoughts on "Ol Knobbly"...

1) If Audi put it there it must serve a purpose - it must cost money to shape it that way, and these cars are engineered to the last penny. I have always presumed it was thickened so that a thread or similar had sufficient meat round it;
2) If Doug had successfully reduced it, then I assume it is safe to do so - those guys at MRC know what they are doing!

Only other advice is "tell the insurers if you mod it" - explaining to the nice lady on the phone that you've had your knobbly bit ground down to make more space for rubber should be hilarious!! (Seriously though - it is a "mod" and as such should be declared")

Dave

[Wolverine]

"engineered to the last penny" .... hmmm ... I wish I could agree with that, but you should see how many of my hard earned pennies have left the bank over the last 4 yrs of ownership!

Okay, I'm more comfortable with the fact that my two blow-outs in the past 2yrs (both fronts) are more than likely caused by the "knobbly one" rather than the load rating. Now need to buy another pair of front tyres ... I'm thinking of buying the new Continental SportContact 5P in specific Audi fit as these are also recommended by ABT.