[brycemcintosh]

Wismie, I use the same 18" wheels in winter and simply change the tyres. Here's my thinking:

- Didn't want to run on smaller or not-so-cool wheels for the Nov - Mar winter months. Ruins the look of my "R"
- Modern wheels are lacquered and well protected from the winter salt, grit and other shit
- Popping the tyres off the rims each season does no harm to the tyre bead at all

Last Nov, I did my usual super-extensive research into performance winter tyres. After considering all the angles, grip, noise, handling, looks, price, ride etc, I bought Vredestein Wintrac Extreme..
http://www.vredestein.com/Banden_Bandtypes.asp?BandgroepID=2&BandtoepassingID=0&BandtypeID=7&PageID=1&UserSessionID=25423396

Also see thumbnail below..

These are high speed performance winter tyres. It's not snowing all the time in the winter, so I didn't want to compromise too much on the handling, when the roads were clear and dry.

I've had them on since Nov 07 and they are THE best winter tyres I have ever had, and I've had them all - Conti, Michelin, Pirelli. As a Scotsman, I was also pleased to see that the Vredesteins (or "Freddies" as I call them) cost significantly less than the other big names mentioned above

 

[wismie]

Thanks Bryce, so if you were in my shoes, you would go the 19'' tires way ?

Both my vendor and Euromasters tell me that 17'' would be much better (they don't advise 18'' either), so I am really confused now

 

[golfdeeko]

Well, of course i'll take outside shots as soon as possible. The only little worry is that I have to switch to winter wheels, and the whole look will probably be degraded a bit (with 17'' wheels it's not the same). That's why I wanted to see the car before they changed the wheels.

But I was stunned when I saw the car this morning, I knew it would look good but it's even better than I expected. I do not regret the extra $$ put in the exclusive color.

Now, long wait till Wednesday

Stunning! Looking Good !Enjoy the car & I see you got your armrest N.B. armrest pulls forward as well as up & down for your driving pleasure. Also lookn fwd to outside photos. Great link for your dealership photos very professional looking.You should have the car by now right? Hope you enjoyed the ride home

 

[wismie]

Thanks, I took outside pics today (see link above). And yes, I got the car yesterday.

 

[Ianhp1]

Ian, actually I always had two sets of wheels for my cars, and with a smaller size for winter. I know that smaller is supposed to be better and so on (for winter, I mean), however car manufacturers do pretend that now, they're able to provide high performance winter tires for sports car.

This page is from Continental, only on the German site however, but basically they claim that larger tires is also better on snow. Haven't tried it yet, but I know some people on this forum (mainly US residents) do use 19'' winter tires and seem to be satisfied. I am quite confident that in northern US states and in Germany, they also do get a lot of snow and difficult road situations in winter.

http://www.conti-online.com/generat...um_br_im_winter/breitreifen_im_winter_de.html

That's why I am confused, actually - two contradictory advice. Fitting the car from Audi original parts (17'' or 18'' wheels) will be much more expensive than just changing the tires. A contact I have who ordered a S5 (in Daytona !) in the same dealership than me told me he will go the 19'' tires way.

I'm still waiting for some offers from different providers and see what they can propose to me. I would just hate to put on my car the standard 17'' "Gamaparts" wheels the importer proposes here (they're not too bad but you see them on all VAG products in winter in Switzerland).

I concurr... If 19s can work then do it! worst case scenario... they're not so good and you will have to drive steady!

The car really does look fantastic in that colour it looks a million dollars! (or swiss Francs... or even Euros!!) You really do have a beauty there... and exclusive too. If I were ordering now, I'd drop the sat nav and get that colour instead.

 

[brycemcintosh]

Thanks Bryce, so if you were in my shoes, you would go the 19'' tires way ?

My tyres are 225/40 R18 size, and I've never had any problems with them (or any other 18" winter tyres on any of my previous cars)

Maybe it's a different story for the A5 255/35 R19 tyres

I didn't notice so many winter tyre choices for 255/35 R19 on ReifenDirekt or Pneusonline.ch for the French pages..

http://www.pneusonline.ch/start.html

 

[wismie]

Bridgestone and Dunlop have winter tires for that size, price very similar. Still trying to find out information on the net about performance

 

[brycemcintosh]

This is a good tyre review site..

http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_winterreifen/index.html

Lots of good info

 

[wismie]

Thanks Bryce, but seems there are no reviews for the 245/40 R18 (225/45 being possible too) or 255/35 R19 I am looking for

I will probably take the 18'' wheels, so I have a second set of (cheap) wheels for winter, and the size will not "degrade" the look of the car too much.

Choices, choices

 

[A5inReston]

Wismie.... great set of outdoor shots (2nd day). The Daytona Gray is fantastic.

Well done !

 

[wismie]

Ok, choice on winter tyres/wheels done...

Dunlop WinterSport M3 225/45R18 with Anzio Ultra wheels... pics coming as soon as the weather allows

 

[brycemcintosh]

Good choice Wismie

Those "M3s" rated very high on the attached table (with almost 6 milliion miles driven ! )

Couldn't resist looking up the wheels, so I thought I'd better upload the pic too. They are looking very nice. A lot like the classy 9 flat spoke RS4 (B5) wheels from a few years back (see pic attached)

Me likey

 

[crespo]

Excellent! Thanks for the pictures.

 

[wismie]

Yeah, they're close to the RS4. I'll show you the end result in the coming days, I'm quite happy. Of course they do not match the 19'' Y wheels, but for a winter setup they're quite nice (much nicer than the Amag ones BTW).

I wanted initially the Dunlop 3D, but they don't seem to be available in that size. Anyway, it's done now

 

[AntRS6]

I love Daytona Grey.... here is my old RS6 in the said colour... one of the best colours that Audi have produced.

 

[brycemcintosh]

my old RS6

The old RS6 is still a great looking car. Purposeful, "taking-no-shit" squat stance, and simple clean design

We see a lot of these here in Switzerland. Especially the estate or "Kombi" as it is called here. A real do-it-all car. Take the whole family and equipment skiing, race a 911 up the autobahn, go shopping or take the kids to school. You've got it covered

BTW: In the wheel pics, I notice that the paint looks pearlescent where the "side blade" meets the wheel arch. Is it really pearly ?

 

[AntRS6]

It's little bit a trick of the light, but both shots are of the rear wheel arch (meant to put one front and back on) and there is a thin rubber translucent pad (stone chip guard) which might make the light also change a bit.

But, get the Daytona paint sparkling it changes colour depending on the time of day and season. It has yellow and silver specs in the structure. Can look absolutely stunning at dusk, just when the light is fading and can look very dull on a wintry wet grey day!

 

[wismie]

A few pics with winter wheels (Anzio Ultra 18'')

Bigger pics here

 

[Ianhp1]

I still can't get over how good that colour looks!

 

[houseofg]

Love the (larger) photo with the glint...heheh