KekePerkele

Hi All, new on this thread, moving here from Allroad section.
Just purchased used 2008 A6 S-Line with 44K on it.
Looking for recommendations and opinions on best winter tires on the market.
I live in one of the snowiest areas in USA, western part of NY and drive in serious snowy roads all winter long, but also lot of highway miles and long trips.
So, need to consider both facts ...
I'm considering Tire & Wheel compo from tirerack .... would you guys recommend 17" or 18" wheels ? Tirerack's "Experts" are recommending 16" .... really ?

life4sk8

Hi, I am driving an A6 06 Avant for the third year now. I am living in Canada, in the province of quebec so I know a lot about snow. As winter tire, I always had nokian hakkapellita 7 mount on 16" wheels. The car came with thoses tires. Thoses tire are the best tires I ever drove with. The traction are really impressive on all kind of road condition, they are not really more noisy than a really good summer tire. This is really good for a winter tire. And they wear lest than all the others tire I had since I am driving. For the first time since I am driving, it is the first time I can do 4 winters with a set of. Tire. I have 20 years of driving experience and I am driving 20k kilometer a year so around 10k kilometer on thoses tires. I would'nt go with any other kind of tire. This is my opinion base on my experience.

KekePerkele

originating from Finland, I am highly aware of Nokian Hakkapeliitta reputation as the best winter tires out there. I was going to check on those for sure. How is the noice level on dry/wet highways, highways here during the winter can be almost bone dry (white with road salt) and I have to consider the dry winter conditions also ..... would hate to drive 600miles with noisy winter tires, been there done that.

life4sk8

I understand your concern about noise. This noise can drive me crazy too if I am driving a lot of miles. But they are the less noisy tire I ever drove with. They are just slightly a bit more noisy than good summer tire. Honnestly nothing to be concern of...

s5blitzer

Smaller and narrower to help cut through the snow.

uberwgn

+1. Yeah, while not "fashionable" in the eyes of some, that's where the performance comes from when driving on snow. Also, you end up with a far more robust sidewall yielding a more durable tire for all those little winter surprises.


Keke, we bought a 16" pkg from Tire Rack a number of years ago for our C6 Avant:


https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...avant-2771940/







The set up has served us well and I think the Continental snow tire has been the best choice in snow tires I've made. I've bought several more sets of them for others cars. They've been terrific with excellent wear characteristics.


Those tires needed to be replaced and I bought the Nokian WR3 as I thought this car was going to be wintering over in the south where an "all season" type of tire would be better when the weather turned warm:






We have a steep driveway so cars with "all season" tires (including the Conti DWS) have to park at the bottom.

enoch861

While everyone else goes with 16" or 17"s, I went with 19" rims on 255/35/19 Blizzaks. Went through the past winter like it didn't exist. Performance was incredible while still looking good.

stuffinder

I've been averaging 35K yearly since 1970 in edge of "lake effect" snow belt 30 mi E of Syracuse, NY. Have always used snows, Nokians almost exclusively since discovering them 25 yrs. ago. Have '06 A6 Avant w/225/55x16 Hakka R2's for wife's snowmobile. Bought '07 A6 Avant & put 245/45x17 WR G3's on it as I figured we could drive R2 shod car when circumstances required. The R2's are fabulous on hard pack & ice but the WR G3's are pretty amazing as well. The give up a little on ice but pretty close in most conditions. If your car doesn't have big brakes (4.2 or Sport Suspension) you could fit 16" AUDI optional winter wheel. There was a junkyard in Niagara Falls area that had a set for $50 ea. when I checked a few months ago for a friend. The 16 tires are a lot cheaper. If you wanted to go with 18"s I've got a set w/TPMS that came w/'08 that I'd sell reasonably. There is a guy here in Morrisville, NY that has Nokian prices as cheap as any I've ever seen but he won't ship. Does alignments as well. The R2 is so good I wouldn't worry about trying to go narrower.

nyc_bob

Yep, 18 inch wheels with Blizzaks have made going through snow quite confidence inspiring. They go on in December and come off late March or early April and have gone three years so far and still look good after 15-20,000 miles.

Just remember that depending on conditions stopping distances are going to be way longer and most people (1) don't have snow tires on and (2) have no idea how to drive in the snow.

KekePerkele

Thanks everyone for very valuable feedback and ideas.
I have always had good experiences with Michelins, and this one seems to be ranking very well in European tire tests "Michelin X-Ice XI3"
Anyone have experience on these ?
I was thinking about going with 18 inchers ....
Uberwgn, my uphill is quite a lot like yours seems like the same degree ...
Stuffinder, thanks for the offer but I like the idea of getting me brand new ones, but will definitely check on this deal in Morrisville, NY