audisession

Bought myself the lightest and strongest wheels I could find that fit - they're the forged rs7 wheels in 20" and took this forums advice and installed 275 40 20 tires - that opened up options and I went with Vredestein Wintrac tires

Wow - car is just over two years old and the caliper logo is already done - wth!! Should I repaint and install decals ?















One other noticeable difference is that the car is much smoother and feels lighter on its feet - I love the look of the 21" but I think it's too heavy for this car and the ride difference is huge

Lifting both tire+wheel sets I guessed that I took about 10lbs of weight off each corner -

Ngerstman

What brand rims are they and how much did they cost? How does the ride compare as far as comfort and handling, any tradeoffs? I live in NJ and am considering a cpo 2015 s8. The ever growing trend to larger rims is completely stupid for cars in four season areas. Why didn't you just get all season tires? Thanks. Regards. Ned.

MP4.2+6.0

For OP, nice work. Question: how close are the front calipers to wheel spokes? In picture they look extremely close, but I would think with the offset for those wheels there would actually be a fair amount of clearance. On mine (just posted) clearance is maybe ½"/12mm, so plenty.

For other reply, reason for winters comes down to traction on frozen surfaces. I will actually start with some DWS06's (A/S's with a more aggressive pattern) for winter since I live in mild SF Bay Area, but I do head to Tahoe snow a lot. Like you in NJ, you and I may get by okay if a winter biased A/S like the DWS. But if OP is on ice or hard pack and either stops fast in response to something, he will stop faster than most any car in front of him not on winters, and in turn you or I will rear end him if you are on A/S's and he stops at limit. Similarly he may complete a corner with you directly behind on his winters and you or I plow off to side if at same speed (and even same vehicle) and closer to winter limits---like maybe a decent sized ice area or hard pack mid corner or decreasing radius or something. Have experienced both with AWD, comparing mediocre A/S's to performance winters (meaning not super aggressive tread, let alone the more serious ones), winters are meaningfully better. Knowing how to drive in real winter conditions obviously makes a huge difference regardless.

Hopefully per the many reviews the DWS I will first start with on D4 comes out better than the prior mediocre A/S's I have sometimes had with AWD vehicles--before they get swapped out in my world if they don't cut it or leave me uncomfortable. When you stop from only 25 miles an hour on a downhill slope into a T intersection and only you have the stop sign--and you push and pray as ABS cycles for 100 feet plus over a hard crust of ice over entire roadway--you get some winter tire religion. That is right down the street from the place I go in Tahoe at 6800 feet, so slopes and curves are an everyday occurrence. As are Bay Area "flatlanders" with their newest AWD ride (and maybe even summers on a clueless "performance" SUV) bouncing and spinning off lots of stuff on a predictable basis with any real storm or its multiday aftermath. Or, the telephone pole on the outside of the corner right before it where I have watched slow motion slides up to 200 feet, or the apparently flipped vehicle windshield glass I found upslope from there in my neighbor's driveway a dozen feet or so below the adjoining roadway. On other hand, if mostly what you deal with is an occasional snow fall on straight and flat known roads and some follow on road crud, likely not a big deal with cautious driving. But once you get to hard frozen surface, real ice scenarios over extended periods of driving, and especially slopes and curves and more traffic and driver issues, there are definite differences.

audisession

I live in New England. I drive to NY and NJ sometimes in the winter. I would NEVER go without winter tires. All Season tires were insufficient for me even with AWD. I used to be the AWD + All Season = good enough, but not anymore...

Under ice and slush and freezing conditions, there is no substitute to proper winter tires.

As far as DWS tires are concerned, you will notice from online searches that they tend to suffer from a lot of sidewall blow outs when hitting potholes. I tried them on a BMW 535xi and after the 3rd blow out on Boston potholes, I was done with them.

The reason for that is because the DWS tends to have softer sidewall to deal with cold temperatures and multiple temperature ranges...- which makes them more susceptible to blow outs.

But if you have good luck with them, then by all means give them a shot.

audisession

The rims are Audi OEM rims for the RS7. They are forged (vs Cast) making them very strong and very light. Rims were $3,000 for the set from eBay (they were almost new - previous owner was switching to 21" for looks) - which I consider a good deal because they are almost $4,500 new.

But seriously, ANY Original Equipment (not aftermarket) 20" wheel meant for the A6 or A8 will work for you - they go for around $1,500 normally on eBay. I learned this from MP4.2+60 the master tech guru on this board!

Ngerstman

The rims are gorgeous, would love to get a set. I was told by the service manager at a local dealership that Audi usually offers special wheel and tire deals during the winter so maybe I can get a deal. So your objective was just better performance as opposed to adding some added tire diameter for more rubber between you and the road? Thanks. Regards. Ned.

Ngerstman

For really bad weather I have an SUV, don't need to take out my sedans. I have always used all weather tires. My daily ride is a 2011 e550 4matic with all season tires and if it's bad out it stays at home, but the all weathers are fine once the roads are mostly cleared. I would do the same for the s8 but don't care to deal with changing or storing tires. On another note, how do you like the suspension on your s8, do you find it has enough control over the weight of the vehicle? Or is there still no fooling Mother Nature. I've test driven the car but not enough yet to know if I can deal with the difference in ride compared to the class size down, like my e550 or the like. Love the interior, the look, the engine, the fit and finish, the quiet, the stereo, not yet sure about the handling. Thanks. Regards. Ned.

audisession

In that case, I would go with All Seasons. My favorite when I had them on a Merc was Michelin Pilot A/S. But people seem to rave about the DWS - just my experience in pot hole filled streets of Boston were bad.

Now, with respect to the S8 - I say this coming from a Porsche 911 as a daily driver for the last 10 yrs: The car is phenomenal.

I test drove the following:
E63 AMG
S63 AMG
BMW Alpina B7
Porsche Panamera Turbo

The best balance of handling, performance and luxury is the S8. It is that good.



probably one of the most accurate reviews I've seen of the S8:

audisession

I would not bother with the dealer. Get a like new set from eBay for under $2K and tires for $1.5K and you're done....Here are two:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20-Audi-S6-Rotor-OEM-factory-wheels-rims-A6-S4-A4-S7-A7-S8-A8/112185870753?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D39836%26meid%3D2effb57d5ae34fa18a653d3d959ec195%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D192012614072
2015 20" forged Audi S7 S8 OEM factory lightweight wheels A7 A8 A6 S6 | eBay

I went with 275 40 20 on the winter tire setup. It's so good that I'm tempted to change my summer tire setup to 20" from the 21" by buying another set of forged 20" wheels and buying Michelin Pilot summer tires in 275 40 20 size. The 40 series vs 35 series provides just a little extra cushion.

MP4.2+6.0

FWIW, on Conti side they brought out the DWS 06 to counter some of the old too soft sidewall, not that sharp of handling critique of the older DWS. I'll know shortly when I swap out from the DW's on now and still close to new.

Meanwhile Michelin rev'ed their prior AS3s to get better snow/ice traction--sort of the opposite issue. Having had a set of the AS+'s (one before AS3) on my D3 W12 for one set of tire life, they really needed to. Borderline dangerous with virtually any real snow on ground. Strong performance close to a summer, but not good for much more than rain. With further design tweaking, TireRack rates their new AS3+'s favorably with the DWS 06's. But for the D4 sizes, it nets to only the Conti as the available choice.

Conti DWS06 test: Tire Test Results : Testing the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Ultra High Performance All-Season Tire
Michelin AS3+ test (including against DWS06): Tire Test Results : Does the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ Have What It Takes to Be a Top Performer?