Hard Slam! (courtesy of Retro Rides...)

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 19:48

What? You thought RR was all about getting excited over poverty-spec mk1 Sierras and Hyundai Ponys?

I got fed up waiting for my Air Ride compressors to turn up from the States, so went and bought a set of Coilovers from SausageBay.

I initially had the front wound right down, but I was clipping cats eyes, camber, and the local Ant Protection Society complained about a spate of missing antaenna.... :-[

So this is about an inch higher, now about 30mm from the ground to the lowest point, which is the lower front suspension arm mounting...

Balls to 30mm lowering. 30mm of clearance is commitment to your car's looks.

*n

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 20:05

andy said:
looks v nice actually

Proof (were it needed) that the right modifications, the right wheels and importantly the right stance 'work' on any car.

Clean is good. Low is good.

*n

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 20:15

olv said:
it simply deflates because the car is so cool

Troo dat.

With properly low cars, you have to take seed bumps at an angle...very slowly.

Never tried it with anything with a wheelbase longer than a Golf so I couldn't comment on how the 8 would cope...

*n

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 20:34

[TW]Fox said:
Horrible. Wheels are too big, and the wheels have really dated the car.

The wheels are new and are nice, clean, fresh-looking, and come with some lovely lovely dish.

As for size, they are sized perfectly for VIP-look, and compliment the car's size and stance perfectly.

What does he do when he's pushing on along an A road and hits a compression or something? Pull over and call a tow truck as he watches his oil gush out the sump?

When you're that low, the suspension doesn't compress much

*n

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 20:37

Trojan said:
Looks absolutely terrible.

Care to be constructive?

*n

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 21:30

I don't understand the whole 'dated' thing. Its a mid-nineties barge. It looks like a mid-nineties barge.

...as do the similarly aged and sized offerings from BMW, mercedes, lexus, jag and so on...

To me it seems that you are simply complaining that it isn't new... :/

The wheels suit both the car's shape (large, slab-sided barge) and its style (VIP).

It has had a few simple modifications to clean it up and it works really well in my eyes.

*n

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 22:52

wohoo said:
I think the wheels look spot on tbh, nice dish to them, it just sits right on those sort of rims, cant imagine it on any other sort of rim tbh.

A very good point...it just wouldn't work on spoked rims.

*n

penski · 8 Jul 2007 at 23:57

Jez said:
Annoylingly that was a nice car before it got wrecked by that chav

Exactly how do you deduce 'chav', Sherlock?

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 00:03

Jez said:
Used my eyes. Look at those wheels? Please.

They're subtle, restrained, the right size for the car and suit the car down to a T.

How are those wheels, on that car possibly 'chav'?

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 00:12

[TW]Fox said:
Did you just call 20" rims subtle?

On a car the size of an A8, yes. They're perfectly in proportion.

On an A3 they would be overkill.

Why do people throw the word 'chav' around without any clue as to what it means or what they are actually looking at?

This place is nearly as bad as the den of idiocy that is known as Barryboys sometimes...

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 00:16

[TW]Fox said:
Don't be so utterly ridiculous. Alloy wheels which require 30 profile tyres or lower are not the 'perfect' size for a large luxury saloon focused on comfort over handling.

Visually, they are spot on.

Sometimes I wonder if you have any aesthetic flair at all

Not everyone cares about comfort over looks.

*n

PS: it is a daily driver

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 00:19

Netvyper said:
what is the point? If you want a car that looks like its scraping the ground, dont buy an audi, surely? >.<. More like a Saxo or Something.

If you want to scrape tarmac then do it. it doesn't matter what you drive.

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 00:29

Actually, seeing as someone mentioned Saxos:

That...God, yes. It works so well.

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 00:39

DAvE18 said:
While I do like a lot of the things you post, to me that just doesn't sit right, perhaps a nice set of alloys and a tad higher it would look good. But then it would just be normal

*shudders*

Its a nice car and all but...with better wheels and a lot lower it would be nicer.

...and with it cleaned up a bit it would be great

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 01:05

DAvE18 said:
you mean kind of like what the S8 does without lookin to silly

No. I mean like the 4.2 in my OP

Speaking of S8s, does anyone have the pic of the satin black one on chrome monoblocks that I posted a couple of years ago?

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 08:43

[TW]Fox said:
So what did he buy an A8 for!

I can't speak for him but I'd love the chance to make a great-looking Euro VIP-style car. Proves that the Japs and Yanks don't have exclusivity with the look.

I'll ask him if he wants to come and 'defend' himself...

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 10:04

Simon said:
Why on earth would anyone change their opinions. This isn't court you know

He can give you exact reasons for his choices. I can only offer conjecture

I'm not asking you to change your opinion. Merely to understand the impetus behind making a low, good looking A8.

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 11:22

alexthecheese said:
Echo echo - those wheels don't suit the car IMO.

I'm curious as to what wheels 'would' suit it?

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 11:30

[TW]Fox said:
Parked at Loopia

www.nordicaudi.com

While they work on that S8, they would look too busy and too cluttered on the one I posted.

Because the car has been debadged and cleaned up, it requires a wheel which is quite plain and sympathetic to the car.

Plus, where is the dish? VIP needs dish!

*n

penski · 9 Jul 2007 at 11:55

alexthecheeseI'm not trying to be a "I hate what you like" kinda guy. :)[/quote said:
Don't worry. I simply question opinions to understand the reasons behind them

Fox's suggestion look good.

Click to expand...

They look alright on that S8 but wouldn't work at all on the A8.

I'd like to try to explain how things work stylistically but I can't quite formulate my thoughts into words at the moment (blame the painkillers)...But there are certain things that just 'work' - you need the right modifications, the right wheels and the right stance. any compromise results in the overall effect being reduced and does nothing but show your lack of commitment to the way your car looks.

And because someone will pipe up with something about performance then I can simply say that any concession to looks will compromise the performance and any concession to performance will compromise the looks.

That does not mean that performance cars do not look good but that you need to be clear about what your car is.

*n