I personally would like to see the 19" wheels from a 2016 cts-v on our cars.

 

I vote Apex or TSW. Inexpensive, flow forged and light as heck. My 19" street wheels....TSW Nurburgrings are 19.9lbs. My 18" track wheels......Apex ARC-8's are 18.85lbs. apiece. Hell Ford's C/F wheels on the gt350r spec racer mumbo jumbo weigh 18 lbs and cost 5X the price.

 

I'd go straight for Advan GT's or Volk ZE40's. Not cheap, but forged, light, and beautiful - but that's my opinion. I say do it right on a car of this caliber!

Try evasivemotorsports.com. They should be able to determine what fits and what doesn't; also, great selection of high-quality wheels.

 

Someone just spend the money already....so I don't have to lol. I wanna see a V with the Apex ARC-8's.

 

Does Anybody know the weight of the originals?

 

Here's 19s
19x9.5 rear +35
19x8.5 front +35

 

Here's 19s
19x9.5 rear +35
19x8.5 front +35

View attachment 366737

Have you noticed any difference in ride quality in terms of comfort or handling in sport/track mode? Does the ride feel harsher in day-to-day driving?

 

I like those wheels, well done. I see too many posts where a good car is ruined by poor quality aftermarket wheels. Also, not too big. 19" looks about perfect.

Weight? Construction? Are they 0.5 inch wider than OEM or same width? I can't remember stock spec...

 

I plan on using these wheels/tires for street. For the track, I stick to the 18" stocks. I wasn't so concerned with the weights, but I did stick to forged to keep it on the lighter side.

These are forged Niche Targas, not sure on the weight. They are wider and stick out approx. 3/8" further out.

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Do you have any photos from the rear?
Curious how the rears extending out 1/2" looks. The factory offsets (+48) are already aggressive.

I'll try and take pics and post today.

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Have you noticed any difference in ride quality in terms of comfort or handling in sport/track mode? Does the ride feel harsher in day-to-day driving?

My buddy has the same car with stocks and I drove both mine and his yesterday. Handling seems to be the same, only drove around the streets and mild turns though. I put on Hankooks and thought the ride was going to be louder, but noise was also the same.

The difference I felt was going over very mild pot holes or 1" road bumps. On the 19s with the lower profiles, it can be harsh if going too fast. I'm learning to just avoid every bump I can while driving.

 

Do you have any photos from the rear?
Curious how the rears extending out 1/2" looks. The factory offsets (+48) are already aggressive.

 

Has anyone been able to find aftermarket wheels that are close to ATS-Vs OEM sizes and offsets?
5x120
Front: 9" 28mm offset
Rear: 9.5" 48mm offset sedan, 36mm offset coupe

I was unable to find anything that is close. The closest match would be some Enkei Tuning series wheels, but the front wheel is narrower at 8.5" and will need a 10mm spacer because the offset is 35mm.

 

Many custom wheel companies will build wheels exactly like you want. Two of my favorites include CCW and RTF.

https://www.ccwheel.com/

http://www.racetechforged.com/wheels

 

Thank you, but custom made wheels are out of the question. I am looking for something in the dollar range comparable to OEM, but a more aggressive design.

 

I just mounted my 19" Advanti Svelto wheels to my V. They are about as close as you will find on the shelf.

Front: 19 x 8.5 +30mm 5 x 120
Rear: 19 x 9.5 +45mm 5 x 120

outfitted w/ 255 and 275/30/19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. The 30 sidewalls don't require a speedometer recalibration. This set up fits the 2016 ATS-V like a glove.

Search all you want but you will find wheel mfgr's no longer make 18" or 19" x 9.0 wheels.

Added Bonus: Approx. 14 lbs reduction in unsprung weight.

Checkout Post #42 in the "Michelin Pilot Sport 4S" thread for pictures

 

Thank you. These are pretty light and I like the style.
Here is a good match. Slightly more aggressive offset front and back (for sedan, less aggressive for a coupe).
Front:
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/...BRA-EiwAc0hZk51dOoqyNNYEpqx9e5pPcB3mnZazTKI_GuO-tNXN65_FtBWL-YaiUhoCWewQAvD_BwE
Rear:
https://www.carid.com/tsw-wheels/interlagos-1995int415120m76-i-444626.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA8bnUBRA-EiwAc0hZk6vKaP8LG0Op7wu2XbBvGk-iq1PU_2Nv7MB5Rjt4Rx6hkfalc6Se_xoCGcEQAvD_BwE

 

What exactly is a "slightly more aggressive" looking wheel?

Are you sticking w/ 18" or upsizing?

 

I have the Enkei wheels and the fronts fit fine - no spacer. Got them in June but Tirerack isn't listing them now.

 

I had Enkei's at the top of my wheel want list based on looks and weight but the price was a bit out of whack for my sensibilities. When I went to finally place my Enkei order my 19" were gone w/ none on the books to reach our shores (at least for 19"). Tire Rack told me they may or may not ever ship more to the states in the future.

My 19" Advanti's required no spacer and the fit is perfect.

My goal was to upsize to 19" and reduce my unsprung weight at the same time. Enkei's and Advanti Svelto's were the only option I could find w/o having to drop $5K on custom Forgeline's.

My OEM wheels, which I thought were fine looking, are now mated to my All Season Extreme Contact Continentals for Winter use.

 

After my debacle with a set of Niche wheels from Unleashed Wheels in San Diego, I discovered some nice wheels with the perfect fitment from tirerack - the wheels are from Flow One and sold exclusively on tirerack.com.

 

Wanted to share the results of my so so experiment. I ended up going with 18" Enkeis 9.5" +35mm front and rear.

Upfront, they do not fit without a spacer. The wheel hits the strut. I was planning on using a 5mm spacer anyway (had them with OEM wheels), but it would have been nice if I had a choice. As it stands, I do not. Must have it.

It looks good in the rear. There is 13mm of additional poke. Looks reasonable.

Now, my issue that the ride has changed. The car is now more bouncy. It is like the suspension is more pre-loaded....I did not think that extra 13mm pushed out at each rear corner would have this affect. With a 5mm on the OEM wheel, the ride felt the same as without a spacer. The tires are the same. Moved them from the OEM wheels.

Any thoughts or opinions?

 

So it has occurred to me that I now have pretty much coupe spec rear wheels (36mm offset on the coupe). It appears that the front suspension is the same in a coupe and sedan and in the rear, only the springs seem to have different part numbers. So that may explains the bounciness with the new wheel setup, as I effectively reduced the effective spring rate in the back by going down to a 35mm offset. This is likely at least some of the reason why a sedan uses different (and most likely stiffer) springs in the rear. On the other hand, a sedan seats 5 in the back, vs 4 for the coupe, so that would require stiffer springs for the sedan. The new wheels are also quite a bit lighter than OEM, so that should require less spring. Don't know. Probably not a biggie.

 

To follow up, if anyone is interested.....
I struggled to put my finger on what I am feeling and the difference in the way the car rides and handles with only lighter wheels and 15mm more offset in the rear and it had me concerned. This article from tirerack, pretty much sums it up.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=108

The jumpiness, dartiness and increased sensitivity to pavement imperfections is actually an effect of reduced wheel weight (OEM: 24.1lb front, 24.8lb rear. Enkei: 20.8lb front and rear). Its a positive (if one is into that sort of thing) and I can stop being paranoid.

 

Yes. I do realize that. I did not buy OEM wheels. I like their style, but dont like their price and their weight.

 

If your car is anything like mine, the wheels/tires cant hold the power the motor makes. Maybe I lucked out with my car, but I spin the rears mid-way through first gear, between 1-2 shifts, and sometimes when the car downshifts under full throttle. My search for a taller/wider setup which would hold the power led me to do a lot of research and a unique setup for my car. I have a 2017 stock V sedan A8. This write-up applies only to the sedan.


Factory Wheel Info
Sedan Factory Front: 9” x 18” / 28 mm offset / 120x5 bolt pattern
Sedan Factory Rear: 9.5” x 18” / 48 mm offset / 120x5 bolt pattern

Coupe Factory Front: 9” x 18” / 28 mm offset / 120x5 bolt pattern
Coupe Factory Rear: 9.5” x 18” / 36 mm offset / 120x5 bolt pattern

Sedan vs Coupe Rear Wheels
The coupe rear wheel offset places it more ‘outward’ vs. the sedan. Factory rear coupe wheels mounted on a sedan will stick past the fender – as will aftermarket / wider rears setup for a coupe. These are wider coupe wheels on my sedan (they didnt “tuck-in” when the car was lowered to the ground). These wheels sit flush with the fender on a coupe:

Factory Tire Info

Original Equipment: Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Front: 255/35ZR18 (94Y) XL / TPC Spec / Tread: 8.5/32” / Diameter: 25.0”
Rear: 275/35ZR18 (99Y) XL / TPC Spec / Tread: 8.5/32” / Diameter: 25.6”
For comparison, a 2017 Camaro SS (455hp & 455tq) runs a 275/35/ZR20 rear / Diameter: 27.6” / 2” taller!


Larger Wheel Fitment - Rear
Here’s the rear (no I don’t have pink rotors, I had a red-ish towel on the ground)

The metal body frame is the limiting area. There is stiff ‘felt’ material above the frame, which is soft… the frame not so much.
Doing the math, you can fit:
10.5” rear wheels, ideal offset: 60-62mm.
With this offset, the wheel is 1” more inward (moves toward the suspension / less clearance between wheel and suspension); no change outward (fender side). Stated another way: With this offset, the extra inch of wheel width goes under the car, while the face of the wheel stays at the same position as the factory wheel face.
11.0” rear wheels, ideal offset: 54-56mm.
This is 1” more inward (suspension side); 1/2” more outward (fender side). This will stick out a little past the fender lip - you’ll need to decide if you want the wheel sticking out 1/2” past stock.
10” rear wheels, ideal offset: 54mm.
This is 1/2” more inward (suspension side); no change outward (fender side). Obviously, there are more offset options to play with for a 10” wheel.


Larger Wheel Fitment - Front
Here’s the front:

The limiting area is the wheel lip to strut tower (metal) clearance. There is more room (higher up in the picture) for a wider tire/tire bulge.
Doing the math, you can fit:
9.5” front wheels, max offset: 27-29mm.
This is 1/4” more inward (suspension side), 1/4” more out-board (fender side)

Wheel Offset Calculator here: https://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Wheel-Offset-Calculator


Testing My Setup
The above is all theoretical, let’s see if the math actually works.

It is very difficult to find aftermarket wheels for this car – in the right bolt-pattern, in the very high offset needed, and in a style that matches the car's looks, short of very expensive custom forged wheels. I love the way the factory wheels look, so I ended up widening factory rear wheels. Yes, to widen wheels, the wheel is cut near the outside edge and a new ‘barrel’ is welded on. There are only a few companies in the country that can do this and have a good reputation. Luckily, I’m driving distance from one of them: Eric Vaughn Machine in Socal – they specialize in wheel widening. This is the 3rd car I’ve widen wheels on from Eric, including a Z06 which I tracked (HPDE). So I’m very comfortable with this option.

My car came with silver wheels, I wanted to switch to the factory Gray wheels and widen them. Before I bought four new wheels, I widened a test wheel 1” and mounted a 295/35/18 PSS (repro wheel and used tire) – to check that the wider wheel + wider tire would fit.
Test wheel

Taped up to test for rubbing

This setup fit perfectly, no rubbing, and sits flush with fender. Note that this is with this specific tire. YMMV.


My Final Setup
9” stock fronts, 265/35/18 PSS (did not widen fronts). 275s will fit in the front.
10.5” widened rears, 295/35/18 PSS. 305s will fit in the rear.

10.5” Rear (wheel width is measured to the inner wheel lip)

Old rear vs new rear:

Traction improvement is amazing. Rears don’t break loose except the very top of first in perfect weather. I can confidently go full throttle anytime. Car feels much more planted. I tested the traction management/active handling, (in a wet empty parking lot) – no issues as the front and rear tires increased in height by the same amount. Very happy with this setup!

 

My car came with silver wheels, I wanted to switch to the factory Gray wheels and widen them. Before I bought four new wheels, I widened a test wheel 1” and mounted a 295/35/18 PSS (repro wheel and used tire) – to check that the wider wheel + wider tire would fit.

Thanks for this excellent post. There is a lot of good information here.

Where did you find a reproduction ATS-V wheel? I am looking for a set of wheels for winter tires, but have never seen reproduction ATS-V wheels.

Thanks

 

Here's my probably dumb question. Looking at the side by side comparison pics of old vs new, it doesn't actually look like you gained more contact rubber. It just seems like the channels have widened. But the rubber that would contact the ground seems like the same width as each other still. So where does the extra traction come from on these tires? Does the same amount of contact rubber spread out over a larger area equal more traction?

 

A lot of what gives you launch grip in the rear tires isn't contact patch but tire flex. I accomplished the same thing by just changing from the factory 275-35-18 to a 285-35-18. The width of the tire increased the most but there is also a slight increase in side wall height. The increase in width along with a bit more flex with a higher sidewall combined to where I have to really try if I want to break the rear end lose. To fully burn out I have to do a boost launch or else the tires hook up pretty quick. I don't track the car so when I get on it a good 80% of the time is straight line vs. taking hard curves.

If you're running on a track (not drag racing) that extra flex may not be desirable. That's where the stiffer sidewall and larger contact patch help with lateral grip.

Suspension plays the biggest part in both scenarios so the above is just from the tire perspective.

 

It's also worth noting that taller tires reduce the gearing. In the OP's post, there's a 2% reduction in overall gearing (2% taller tire reduces the overall gearing by 2%, giving an A8 an effective 2.79:1 final drive). I don't think 2% is going to make that much difference but it's a difference nonetheless.

 

I thought the taller tires would affect acceleration a little, but I didn't notice any change... the car is quicker in first because it now hooks up!

Thank you for very detailed write up and pictures of your set up.
Did you see this post that I described my experiance installing 295/35-18 Pilot 2s tires on stock wheels?
Largest tire I can fit in the rear on the stock wheels?
See thread #24

Yes, I did see your thread. I know of a few owners who are running 295s in the rear. The extra inch of wheel width improved handling and definitely reduced power oversteer around corners.

How do the 265s feel up front? How is the steering?

The steering wheel feels a little heavier, which is nice. But no impact to turn-in response that I can feel. I think it's because the PSS sidewalls are pretty stiff.

 

Thank you for very detailed write up and pictures of your set up.
Did you see this post that I described my experiance installing 295/35-18 Pilot 2s tires on stock wheels?
https://www.cadillacforums.com/foru...illac-ats-v-series-forum/958106-largest-tire-i-can-fit-rear-2.html#post17499945
See thread #24

 

How do the 265s feel up front? How is the steering?

 

I replaced both wheels & tires for my car. Went from 18x9" 255's to 19x9.5" 265/30's up front (and from 18x9.5" to 19x10" and 285/30 out back).

As for the front, I felt an oh so slight loss in sharpness (transient response) and a little more tramlining going to the wider set up for some road conditions. Not to a point where I regret the move up... but I noticed the slight change. I decided I wanted to keep the changes symmetric front and rear.

I went to Hankook Evo 2's which might be responsible for this. I did realign the suspension to stock specs to ensure the car was properly set up for the new wheel/tire combo.

 

Leesrt,

What make/model of tire are you running on the rears?

 

leesrt,

what make/model of tire are you running on the rears?

ps4s