[drjer1]

Hello, all!! Just picked up my S5 yesterday (20 March) after an agonizing 3 month wait--Ibis white with Tuscan Brown and all the bells and whistles. I have been driving Subaru's for the last 10 years.
I ski all winter so one of the first orders of business is getting some good tires. My questions are:
1. Get snows (Blizzack's) or A/S (Michilen Pilots or Goodyear Eagles)?
2. Use Audi 19" rims, get another set of 19" rims, or get a set of 18" rims/tires?
After spending $60k plus on a car I was a bit surprised that Audi did not offer A/S tires, especially after the Wall Street Journal road test where Audi delivered the test car with A/S's.
Any info or comments would be appreciated.
Drjer1

 

[JSC]

Welcome - and nice colour choice!

My personal experience is that there is no substitute for winter tires. When the temperature drops (as it frequently does here) you can tell that the A/S tires get hard and lose traction. And if you are driving on packed snow or ice winters are essential.

Also, after having my wheels beat up each time I had the tires swapped, I decided that a second set of wheels was worth the investment. Much less wear and tear, and now I can switch them myself when the seasons change - no hassles, no appointments, no waiting. I'd recommend a set.

 

[Stavros]

There's another thread around with discussion on this. Anyway, I have the Dunlops recommended by Tire Rack on some nice rims they sold me as pkg. Have 4000 miles of snowy N. Michigan roads behind me and they've worked just fine. TR told me there isn't a Blizzak that works. Virgin factory rims & tires are out in the garage at the moment thinking about how they'll look on the thing in a couple of weeks.
S.

 

[TXcarguy]

Welcome and congrats on finally taking delivery of your S5! As Starvos mentioned, there's an existing thread (actually several) regarding winter tire advice. See below:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Also, please see this reminder for new members.

 

[wrx_xb9r]

Follow the links TXcarguy posted. My comments are there. I found Tire Rack to have a great deal on winter tires with wheels. My winters are mostly dry but cold so I went with stock size wheels. If you have tons of snow I would go with 18" sets.

 

[boomer]

no comment (surprised I'll bet)