[alucius]

Hello folks,


I was wondering if a set of 20" wheels with some good quality all season tires (like michelin pilot sport A/s or Bridgestone RE960AS) can still be safely drivable in light snow conditions? I'm talking about driving in NYC area where sometimes there are snow on the road but not everyday since most likely they will be wiped. Has anyone had any experience with driving their A5/S5 quattro with 20" wheels in snowy conditions?

I am now considering two different options to buy my tires, it's either I get a 20" summer performance tires and keep my 18"OEM for winter, or I get a 20" all season performance tires and seel my 18" OEM.

I certainly could use your thoughts/opinions on this matter.

Many thanks in advance!

-Al-

 

[hzs]

Hi,

My experience is that all season tires are rarely a good idea - they are not as high performing as either summer or winter tires, and tend to wear more quickly. I have gone for the 20" summer tire / 18" winter tire, as I found it difficult to get good performance ice and snow tires larger than 18". That said, I live in Sweden where we tend to be quite picky about the winter tires, seeing as we have a lot of winter...

 

[audi_s5]

I am in WI and have done fairly well with 19" dunlop winter sport tires and saved the 20" michelin PS2's for summer.

They make 20" winter tires, but due to the small sidewall it is not advised to keep taking tires on and off rims.

Also IMO a 19" wheel/tire pkg in snow or ice is about as big as I would go.

I have 19" all season goodyear F1's on my sline A6 and it does fairly well in snow, but if I had to do it all over again I would get seperate winter / summer sets.

 

[alucius]

Yeah... reason I asked was because I've been hearing mixed opinions from tire sellers. They said I should do "just fine" in winter with 20" all season on a quattro system. I mean, I'm not expecting an excellent handling and grip, I just want to know if this car is "drivable" safely when occasional snow/ice happens on the road. Would appreciate more feedback on this!

 

[boomer]

Yeah... reason I asked was because I've been hearing mixed opinions from tire sellers. They said I should do "just fine" in winter with 20" all season on a quattro system. I mean, I'm not expecting an excellent handling and grip, I just want to know if this car is "drivable" safely when occasional snow/ice happens on the road. Would appreciate more feedback on this!

I had the 19 inch stock rims with Michelin sport pilot A/S on my 2008 S5 and drove through one of our worst Iowa winters in history and they did just fine. Likewise, they were fine for summer driving as well. The only time you would notice the difference would be when pushing the car to its limits. Yes two sets of tires/rims has advantages but certainly high performance all season tires are a reasonable compromise in my opinion.

 

[drjer1]

I agree with Boomer. I have Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S (19") and they work fine. I go up to the ski areas at Lake Tahoe 3 to 4 times per week and as long as I drive sanely, they work just fine. I am familiar with the weather in Champaign (I'm a Boilermaker!) and I am sure that a good A/S would work there. Yes, a real snow tire (on a smaller rim) would work better, but I just don't need to spend the extra money right now.

 

[alucius]

Many many thanks for your feedback! really appreciate it. I think I will go with a good quality all-season tire...


thanks!