jim

I am looking for new winter tires for my 98 1.8TQMS. I live in Montreal where snow and ice are in abundant during the winter. I am thinking about the Blizzards or Pirelli Winter Ice. Anyone have any suggestions or experiences on these tires? In addition, I am thinking about downgrading my wheel size from 16" to 15" (195/65). Is this a good move?

qt4lddht

You can get a wealth of information on this from the archives, but in short: yes, the "minus one" size is a good move for "serious" winter tires (ice compound or studded), and the newer-design Pirelli Winter Ice is generally better liked than the Bridgestones. That's my setup for Colorado.

Gilles

I also live in Montreal, and just bought winter tires (Pirelli Winter 210 Asymetric 195-65-15) and Passat take off steel wheels (They have the same offset has A4). Just for your info I found the tires at $102 a piece, and the wheels at $38 each.<p>Gilles 1.8TQm 97

Thomas Miller

Downsizing to the 15" rim is a good idea for winter tires. I am using the 15" 8-spoke Audi rims and Yokohama Guardex 600 tires. I like the Yokohama better than the Bridgestone because you don't get the Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde transformation halfway through the tire life. The Guardex is soft compound all the way through.<p>The Guardex is not as good on the dry road as the Winer Ice but is a lot better on ice/snow. Life is full of compromises.