vglobalhuman

B9 A4 Sports package: The tires it came with is 245 35 R19 93Y
Wheel: 8.5J x 19

Can i use winter tire 255 35 19? will there be any difference in Handling?

munsabin

If you're changing your tires in the winter it means you are doing so because you live in an area with snow, right? (You should put your location in your mini profile on the left hand side via your settings)

If that's the case, then in the winter you are supposed to be using your tires/wheels to be narrower - what you're proposing is going for wider tires. Why?

And more tire height for more absorption through the tire to put up with more potholes. I'm riding on 235/45 R18s for the winter. A lot of people here use R17s with even more tire height.

Hope that helps.

There are a few good threads that talk about tire selection / fit etc. on here - do a little bit of research & reading to learn more.

Glisse

No, there will be no difference. That Audi use 245 width on A4 models vs 255 on A5 when both are on 8.5" wide wheels is fairly arbitrary.

Whilst I understand the point Munsabin is making, and it is certainly good advice, whether you need to go down to a smaller wheel and a narrower tyre depends a lot on your winter road conditions. If you are in a place where the road falls apart during winter, the smaller wheel allows a taller sidewall which can cope better with pot holes. A narrower wheel can give you more bite on snow or ice. Of course, when the roads are clear, you'll get better performance from the wider tyre.

The type of tyre you get is arguably even more important than the size - where you want to sit on the balance between performance in clear conditions, vs security in the worst conditions. But the extreme winter tyres that perform best on snow and ice do not handle well nor stop well in dry winter conditions vs winter performance tyres. You have to make a compromise somewhere. I use 255 35 R19 tyres on both my B9 cars, Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 on one, Pirelli SottoZero II (as in 2) on the other. Previously, I used to run a size and a width down on my previous Audis, but for me the more extreme weather days where that may have made any significant difference were fairly rare, whilst the rest of the time the lower grip levels of the narrower tyres was noticeable. I now keep the same wheel all year round, and just change the tyres.

As Munsabin said, adding your location in your profile helps when making suggestions.

mkwan

I just picked up my vehicle with 245/35R19 with ContiWinter Contact TS830P. I've yet to try it on deep snow. Thinking back on my decisions I probably should have gotten the 18" wheels with winter tires and sold the stock wheels. It's about $500 more for the set of 19" winter vs the 18" winter tires. The 18" winter tires will probably give better traction on deep snow due to the larger side wall giving more flexibility. But on dry performance they will probably be the same based on the same tire spec.

irenesbob

It may not be much, but there is a difference. As best as I can tell, there's a difference in diameter 0.25 to 0.35 inch. As I said, not much but 255 is bigger than 245 and the aspect ratio is the same.

vglobalhuman

Thank you, and I joined this forum as i recently got my first Audi. I updated my location GTA, Toronto.
I got some idea based on your recomendation . And I did some calls to check the price and for R18- I got a suggestion for 245 40 18 with good deal.
245- same width as original
40- assuming it should give me more tire height compare to my original 40 to clear during our snow
18- I am not sure how it will differentiate the handling or performance from 19- some idea would help

Thank you for this very useful information.

vglobalhuman

I think Canadian winter is milder than your's (not sure) ...?

Glisse

Yes, there is a difference in width, 255mm is 10mm wider than 245mm

Or just under 2/5th of an inch or thereabouts in the old lingo (0.39 inch in hybrid). Where I grew up, the place changed from imperial to metric halfway through my school years. I still get confused.

There will also be a difference in sidewall height, which will be 35% of 10mm, or an additional 3.5mm taller than a 245mm wide tyre. Good reason right here why the universal tyre measurement for width is metric, not imperial

What I have noticed with tyres is that the actual measured width is pretty notional, and seems to vary a lot amongst brands, and even different models within brands. Some have hard shoulder profiles, some have rounded shoulder profiles

But I think the question was not whether there is a difference in width, but whether there will be any meaningful difference in handling by using a 255mm wide tyre rather than a 245mm.

VM

If you look around this forum, there's a 'Winter tires for Canadians' thread that I had started in fall 2016.

My personal view would be to run P225/50R17s in the winter. I believe that's the size that the dealer tire packages with the overpriced genuine winter Audi rims use. That's also the size many people, myself included, run on aftermarket 17"s (the Replika... R134?... is particularly popular).

vglobalhuman