Superleggera's

[cris_b]

I'm having a think about the whole performance improvement thing for a bit, so I've decided to address some other stuff instead.

Does any one have any experience of, or know anyone that has tried OZ Superleggeras on an S3? I am thinking of sticking with 17s as the roads are very rough near me, but am not sure whether to go for 7J or 8J width and also i'm not sure if I'll need wheel spacers or not.

I see from the TTOC site that a few members on there have them, but I'm not sure how similar the running gear between teh S3 and TT is in this respect.

Any help or advice on this would be appreciated! Also performance alloys.com seem to be about the cheapest you can get them - doe any one have any experience of dealing with them?

Cris

[Ryan_s3]

Standard avus are 7.5" x 17",so you would have to go for the same size,
Ideally though i'd go for 8" x 18" as it improves the handling a touch.
Although i don't think the oz's suit the s3.

[Brooner]

I was at a meet ages ago and ther was an S3 with BBs alloy wich IMO looked ok on the car the bule one in the picture below

[cris_b]

I take it those BBS are 18s? Seem to be filling the arches a bit more...

If you run 18's what tyre size/profile do you go for?

[J]

I have 17" superleggeras on S3:

http://galleria.on.zapto.org/displayima ... fullsize=1

Fitted them on car with performance in my mind, however improvement wasnt as good as i expected.

[Nige_RS4]

Fitted them on car with performance in my mind, however improvement wasnt as good as i expected.

What were you expecting in terms of performance increases??

[bakerdcb]

18" wheels on my S3 (RS4 style) did nothing for the handling. They are generally 225/40 18 the lower profile of which can make the ride harsher. They may flex less in cornering but I found the ride overall was worse and more skittish. They do look good however!!

They will have no effect on performance whatsoever except possibly to take a slight edge off the acceleration since their rolling radius is slightly more than the 17"s but you probably won't notice much difference. I kept my 17" Avus which I used on the track with a different set of tyres and then I posed on the road with the 18"s. Worked for me if you can afford to do both

[J]

Nige: as we all know superleggeras are more than half lighter than original S3 rims... but you can hardly notice the diff. Thats what i ment.

[Nige_RS4]

Nige: as we all know superleggeras are more than half lighter than original S3 rims... but you can hardly notice the diff. Thats what i ment.

Did you not notice an improvement in ride quality / feedback - I have them fitted to my S4 and the difference was huge!

[aroS3]

Best looking apperance and performance in our S3 with BBS RC 8X18.......

[cris_b]

Thanks for the help on this. Interestingly when I played around with wheels on my Rallye, the immediate difference of going to bigger alloys over the lightweight steel wheels was only noticeable in the loss of ride comfort. It was only after a summer of use and I put the steel wheels back on for winter that I appreciated what a difference the lighter wheels had on the handling (turn in) and acceleration and braking. I suspect that the power steering and increased bulk of the S3 will mask some of these characteristics, but with almost a halving of the rotating mass, you should experience some difference - although this might not be noticeable until you put the heavier wheels back on.

J - thanks for the photos. They're a big help and your photography is stunning. My current plan is 17s Superleggeras with a suspension upgrade to try and counter some of the body roll (possibly Bilsteins). Just waiting for box of goodies from Forge Motorsport to arrive and once some bits have been fitted in the engine bay, I'll be looking at the wheels and suspension.

[bakerdcb]

Put Bilsteins on my S3 and they were very impressive on the track when set hard. However, they were woeful in everyday driving. Far too harsh in their hardest setting for normal roads especially with 18" wheels

Backed off a fair way they were great and good quality too IMHO.