rebel50mm

I am planning to order my first Q5 next month (3.0T). One option I am considering is the 20" wheels because they're a great look.

I see they come with summer tires and understand they wear relatively quickly. I also would like to go up to the Tahoe area in the winter.

Given that, does anyone know if the dealer can order or swap all-weather tires on 20" wheels? And, is that even necessary for my use case?

Thanks!

spijun

Audi does not have in its program 20" all-weather tires

AudiQ5sleeper

summer tires dont wear out as quick as you think they do. its more like winter tires. but yeah i dont think audi offers 20s

rebel50mm

Thanks for the info. Can summer tires be used in the snow (basically plowed roads)?

HOiYA

I think you are better off getting a set of dedicated wheel/tires (rates M&S) for a winter setup. I too live in NorCal, and there are times where the hwy up to Tahoe requires chains (level 1). If you have a AWD with snow tires, you are then exempt from chains. In no case, would I recommend driving up there in summer tires, even with chains.

CA Chain Requirement Levels and Traffic Control Definitions

Vilhelm_SQ5

I would also suggest running a dedicated winter setup if you plan on driving in snow or freezing temperatures. I run a set of Blizzaks on 20" Hartmann (RS5 replicas) on my SQ5 which are pretty good. One other consideration beyond whether there is snow on the ground is the temperature you are driving in. Summer tires start to freeze at about 7C (not sure about F), which means that you will start to lose traction in lower temperatures even if there is no snow on the ground. I've been caught in light snow with my summer tires (by accident) and they were less than useless.

ND40oz

You also do not want to use winter tires in temperatures consistently over 45F (7C). That's the temp where they start to get really soft which is detrimental to handling, stopping and will accelerate their wear.

Xylar5

When we had a couple of days of cold,icy roads, my wife had difficulty getting around with the summer tires. Definitely need to get a set of all weathers if you are not spending too much time in the cold otherwise get winter tires and wheels as others suggested.

Phantom14

Do you have a picture of your winter setup you can post? I was thinking about going the same route for my winter setup as yours.

Thanks!

Vilhelm_SQ5

Phantom14 - I don't have a pic right now with the Hartmann's on the car, but I'll post one once my SQ5 goes into winter mode around Oct.