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I think the typical approach for most is to buy a second set of wheels and winter tires so it's an easy swap. I found that purchasing 20" winter tires was actually only about 10% cheaper than the setup I purchased from tirerack.com. I went with an 18x8 wheel with Dunlop WinterMax snows. Big fan of dunlop tires because they have been very good to me when I had issues on my sportmaxx tires on my previous S4. There are also quite a few more options for 18" snows versus 19's or 20's from what I saw.
IMO, definitely 18’s. In snow you need more sidewall for the tires to flex so they can stay in contact with the ice and snow, a narrower tire will dig in more with the same overall car weight (amounting to a higher lb./sq. inch downward force) and not “float” on the surface and the higher profile of the 18’s will help in not being deflected by snow/ice ridges as 20’s would. My thoughts, anyway. Stay warm!
Thought I would add a pic of my setup. Decided to keep the theme of the gunmetal colored wheels like the black optics 20's the car came with.
From Tirerack
Sport Edition 18x8 ET35
Dunlop Winter Maxx XL
I did the same thing but in reverse since I could not buy the summer wheel/tire combo when I purchased the car (European Delivery in the winter months). I put Bridgestone Blizzak WS70's on the stock 18" sport rims then went with a summer combo (19" Rotors with Pilot Sport PS2's). In the winter, the car is unstoppable in the snow and ice.
The nice thing about having two sets of wheels is the swap is no cost (for mounting and balancing) and fast. It takes me 40 minutes to do so in the spring and fall and, as mentioned earlier in the thread, it allows you to fit properly sized snow tires (thinner tread, taller sidewalls) for the vehicle.
I currently have a 2013 A6 Prestige with 18" wheels.... Probably place winter tires on the and purchase a set of 20" for the summer from either Tirerack or eBay.. When you get the tires from Tirerack what happens with the tires pressure monitoring system?
I currently have a 2013 A6 Prestige with 18" wheels.... Probably place winter tires on the and purchase a set of 20" for the summer from either Tirerack or eBay.. When you get the tires from Tirerack what happens with the tires pressure monitoring system?
These use the ABS sensors rather than TPMS. There is no TPMS sensor separate in each wheel. (I have the same vehicle)
Yesterday I put a new set of Blizzak LM-32s on my 20" black optic wheels. Ive been very happy with the Blizzaks in prior years. I've never bothered with getting new rims and haven't ever had a problem with the low profile winter tires. Plus I prefer the OEM look.
10-29-2014, 01:20 PM
A6 C7 winter preparation
