carfan1111

i dont mind spending the extra money initially to buy the rims also, if I go this route, since mine is a 2012, would I have to get seperate tpms sensors? Im thinking its going to be expensive to program each time

ex-quattro PETE

According to TireRack for your car:

So no, you do not need separate TPMS hardware. And the "reset" they're talking about can be easily performed by the driver, AFAIK.

metta

This may be a stupid question, but I'm not above asking it . . . why would one need separate snow tires on the Q5 that already comes with all-seasons and AWD? I understand why for the SQ5 that comes with the summer tires, but not sure why this would be needed for the Q5, unless it's about not wanting to gunk up your rims with all the winter salt, sand, and sludge?

I live in CA, so don't have that issue currently, but in the past when I've lived in other states with heavy winters and was driving an SUV (4WD) with all-season tires, I never had a separate set of winter/snow tires.

I'm hoping to learn something here and am just curious . . . thanks.

ex-quattro PETE

If you ever get to drive a car that's equipped with proper winter tires, you'll realize how much better they handle the white stuff and icy roads compared to regular all-season (no-season) tires.

As far as AWD, well, it helps you get going, but it does nothing to help you stop or steer. Winter tires offer more grip in winter conditions, which translates to more confident steering and braking. TireRack has some comparative video on their web site to illustrate that.

My RWD bmw with proper winter tires handles winters a lot better than my wife's C300 4matic with all-season tires.

Bottom line is, you can get by with all-seasons and AWD if you take it slow, but you'll feel a lot more confident if you have winter tires. If you have to deal with snow and ice for many months out of the year, having dedicated winter tires makes sense. Sometimes their cost is no bigger than your insurance deductible if you were to crash.

ex-quattro PETE

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7l2cMlNRX_A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NPu6F0lGixk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=109

Bob Petruska

as you stated the Q5 is sensitive to proper balancing and it will cost a lot more to road force balance (most shops charge their hourly rate for road force balancing). Maybe the OP isn't that picky about having slightly shimmying and bouncing tires, not to say the scraped wheels from the mount/dismount.

timlocke

All season tires are really 3 season tires.
All season tires lose most of their grip in the cold. From about 7 deg Celsius on down they become more like hockey pucks than tires. The inverse is true but in a different way. Real winter tires will wear fast in high temps and can overheat because of the soft rubber and tread patterns that are not optimized for running hot.
The AWD will get you going for sure but losing your braking performance on a 2 ton Q5 could be very expensive. Pure summer tires as fitted to an SQ5 just make it worse as they lose their grip at higher temperatures.

Living in Canada I'll be out shopping for winters in late September...I'll expect them to last 4 winters and to prolong the life of the OE tires by one summer.

carfan1111

i want snow tires b/c the lake effect snow from erie to buffalo can be tricky....easily can get many inches of snow in a hurry

ex-quattro PETE

Yup. Same thing in western Michigan with lake effect snow coming from Lake Michigan. Last winter snow started falling early November, and pretty much stayed on the ground until early May. Ugh...

metta

Thanks ex-quattro PETE (great videos!) and timlocke. I have learned something here that I never knew when living in Midwest winters in the past. If I ever move back to a snow state, I'll be better educated, thanks!

Sorry for the slight hijack, OP.