AndreNY

About to pick up a '06 A8 and have some 20" wheels laying around with 275/35/20 Conti DWS (My favorite Tire) which are Performance All season BTW. I was just wondering if any of you guys in snowy areas drive with a tire this wide (I know S8's come stock with 275's) or do you have a "Winter" setup with a smaller/narrower tire or have no issues running a wide All Season or Winter Tire

Thanks

cre8value

Wisconsin here, always run dedicated snows on thinner winter wheels. As long as you're not trying to be a hero in a blizzard you should be fine in NY.

03_AR_CO

I drive the 20's year round here in Colorado on my 06, I drive a little more carefully with them on but I can get around. I think an 18" set up would be better, my 04 has 18's year round and it drives much better than my 06 with the 20's on the snow.

MP4.2+6.0

I run a one off fitment with an official Porsche Panamera tire and size--255/40-20 in Pirelli Sottozero's. The 255 in that tire is actually almost as wide as the 265 (S8)/275 (A8/W12) normal fitments, and definitely wider than an typical 255. A hidden total B.S. thing about the 275 dedicated Sottozero snows (basically the only choice out there, with only one other run flat only choice) is the fitment happens to cross over to the Bentley Continental. Thus, the snow tires are distinctly priced to gouge you as if you are a Bentley owner. Not a fan of that rip me off pricing by either Pirelli or Tire Rack. If you can jump over to another neighboring size, even for the same performance in the same poundage of rubber for even the same model, you can get them for materially fewer $. A clear sign to me they are gouging when you find the side by side same tire model at a widely varying price with slight sizing variances from the same vendor. That's how I got to the 255/40-20s. Slight rolling circumference increase, but works well for me.

FWIW, width wise I tend to prefer it actually and thus swim upstream to the norm. I do not believe in the banzai "closed course" "professional driver" TV ad make believe of high speed driving through road slush and crap, certainly not here in the CA Sierras. Way too many inexperienced drivers (aka clowns) from the Bay Area who routinely drive their shiny new AWD SUV wonders into the ditch, literally flip them, etc, leading to very slow average road speeds and tons of congestion in real snow (above 30-40 is rare). A wider tire will feel floaty at speed on slush type surfaces. Then yes, a much narrower tire--like a 225/235 might help, but by 255/275 it floats some. Had 255's on my A6 so know the similar result on another low 4,000 pound Audi V8 set up. BUT, what I do value is shortest stopping on hard pack snow and especially ice, like on back roads and local streets, such as stopping at a three way intersection down hill...or...sliding right into it on A/S's or sub par tires. There I actually like the width and the greater sipes to grab. I easily trade that real world and dangerous scenario for the illusion of blasting along at 60 on some mythical traffic free highway in the slush. If you live in a setting where there are elevated traffic speeds commonly with cut up snow crap on the roads many days a year, you may come out differently. CA Sierras tend to be one of plowed/dry, actively snowing and often a lot, and hard pack and ice while snowing for hours on the interstates (if they don't close them) or for days on the local roads pre sun or plowing. Cut up snow junk on the roads for extended periods is not that common here.

Always ran 40 series sidewalls on my A6 snows as well, and never had an issue in 15 years of dedicated snows on Audis up into the high snow Sierras many times each season. CA winter roads are probably above the averages of the typical snow belt states though.

bmwm750

I have always run dedicated snows in the winter months whenever living in a winter climate.

jakematic

Possibly... unless you get 400+ inches of snow each season.
See why I left ?