A customer of mine ordered his 09 A4 and also ordered a nice set of 18's for it so the stock 17's he just gave to me. I had the guys in service throw them on today and ran into a problem I never dreamed of.. They rub!! Why in the hell a set of 17's are rubbing is beyond me. Also, if you want to run 09 wheels on a B5 you need hub rings as the hub diameter is larger on the 09 wheels. They are rubbing on the control arm in the back, the long one that runs over top of the tire.. Anyone have a fix for this?? I wouldn’t think so since it’s a non movable suspension component but figure I would ask.

Car has Tien springs and the wheels are 17x8 im guessing, 245-45-17..

I have a set of 234-45-17 at home (Pirelli) think those would fix the issue??

 

What's the offset of the wheels?

Also how low is your car?

 

A set of spacers might do the trick, but be careful how big you go beause it'll throw off the suspension geometry and grind off your tires. I guess the skinnier (is that a word?) tires would be worth a shot, but if you're rubbin' really bad i dunno if taking the time, effort, and possibly money to swap out a set of tires and balance them would be worth it. I would start by checking the offset between the stock B5 wheels and the stock B8 wheels and see where that leaves you. GL!

 

damn 17s rubbing? thats weird! ur car must be slammed or something!
anyway hope you fix it! GL

 

If your car is dropped, an 8" wide rim with 245mm rubber will definitely rub.

Additionally, 245/45/17 is too large for a B5. The correct size is 225/45/17. That's a large difference in height and thusly in rolling circumference. The B8 tire is almost 1" taller overall than the B5.

You can run 8" wide rims with 245/40/17. If the offset is different, you'll need wheel spacers (They won't chew up your tires, it has minimal effect on the suspension). If you're dropped, you'll likely need to roll the fenders to prevent rubbing.

 

Per your recommendation I grabbed a set of 225-45-17 bridgestone potenza's. Have them on the car here in a couple hours.

Here is a pic of the car this morning as it sets with the 245-45-17 rubber on it now.

Sorry its so dirty but not much to do about it when its +3 outside and roads are nothing but salt.

 

Yeah, you're car is dumped in the front. Looks good though. Any rubbing issues? Did the tires fit OK on the 8" wide rims?

 

Well, so that everyone knows now, you can run B8 wheels on a B5 if you run 225-45-17 tires. We tried test fitting a 235-45-17 and again the rear tires rubbed, but very slightly so maybe not everyone will have this issue. The 225-45-17 fit like a glove. Here is an updated pic.

 

234/45R17 is still too large of a sidewall. You'd have to use 245/40R17 to prevent rubbing from too much height, but 245mm wide may require rolling the fenders to prevent rubbing from width.

I like the look. They look better on a B5 than a B8!

 

i really like ur ride height in the front? how much would you say its lowered and what susp setup do you have??
it really looks awesome!