Audi Tuning | VW Tuning

It was time for John and Lisa’s B7 Audi A4 avant to receive an updated look and they knew who to come to. For over a decade John has been a long time friend to Hartmann Wheels & Achtuning.

John is an internationally recognized automotive and product designer and was part of the original design team at the VW/Audi Advanced Concept Studio in Southern California. While he was visiting our showroom, he mentioned that “Everyone in the VW/Audi studio was an automobile fanatic. We all had gasoline in our veins and love the VW, Audi, and Porsche brands. We were constantly tuning our cars’ stance, wheels, engines, and trim. To this day, I feel that changing the car’s wheels is the most dramatic, yet easiest and least expensive change a person can make to their car.”

The VW/Audi Advanced Concept Studio has been behind numerous automotive successes. John was a key contributor on one of the most notable, the Concept One which eventually became the VW New Beetle. The design team was honored for their contributions by the IDSA in 2000, with the first ever gold automotive Design of the Decade Award. (http://www.jidpo.or.jp/worlddesign/backnumber/usd/tenji_e/tenji02.html)

John is a graduate of the prestigious Art Center College of Design, where many of today’s automotive design visionaries have graduated from. During his time there in the late 80′s and early 90′s, John conceived of a high performance Porsche SUV and presented it to Porsche a full 12 years before Porsche launched the Cayenne!

One of John’s latest design projects was customizing a high performance BMW K1200S with a full carbon fiber fairing, custom graphics and paint. His work took almost 40 lbs off of the bike and the engine modification, including a full titanium exhaust system, put its output at 190 HP.

Check out more of John’s designs in our gallery.

Good taste usually comes hand in hand with being an automotive designer so we are flattered we were chosen to provide better running gear for their Audi A4. Factory 17″ wheels on a B7 Audi A4 isn’t a bad thing but it’s clear the factory stance, the result of North American specifications, has much room for improvement. These cars can easily sit on a set of 19″ wheels and our Hartmann wheels allowed Lisa to get the factory “upgrade” look for a fraction of the cost! Not to mention our more aggressive offsets make the over-all stance just that much better. Below are pictures that were provided to us by John and Lisa.

The 19×8.5 Hartmann B7 HRS4-252B was selected with the 38mm offset. The rear wheels were just barely pushed out using H&R’s 5mm DR spacer, leaving just enough hub lip to keep the wheels hubcentric. Then wrapped with 245/35-19 Falken FK452s, the wheel & tire package fills the fenders nicely.

John, thank you for taking the time to share your great experiences and story with us, and for the opportunity to help you and Lisa spice up the look of your avant! We look forward to your next visit!

Barrier Audi already has Certified Pre-Owned B8 Audi A4s on their lot. This one is getting a nice little treatment of suspension and wheels courtesy of H&R’s OE Sport Springs and Hartmann’s consistently popular HRS4-252-HB wheels. The OE Sport springs offer a mild 1″ drop. This particular configuration includes Hartmann’s 18″ version of the HRS4-252_HBs with 245/40-18 tires.

Not a bad way to pick up a used, newer Audi A4 from the dealer…

Joe wanted to update the look of his 3.2L Audi A3 by replacing his stock 17″ wheels with Hartmann HRS4-252B wheels, an 18×8 et47 version which is a great fit for the high-offset requiring A3. 225/40-18 all-season Falken Ziex 912 tires that we keep in stock were wrapped around the rollers to complete a very affordable 18″ wheel & tire package.

With storage a difficulty in metropolitan Seattle living, our Hartmann Wheel Totes come in handy and make moving the wheels around much easier. Considering picking up a set on your next Hartmann Wheel purchase!