liquidforce138

Do I need winter tires? my car is only 3 months old and I have an s5 sport package with 19" rims.

jonpiro

Below 50 degrees, I would say at least get Hi or Ultra Hi performance all seasons or winter tires.

heisnuts

I am in Oregon and decided to go with the winter tires already mounted and balanced on rims from Tire Rack (https://www.tirerack.com/cart/HoldingArea.jsp?ask=no). I decided to go that route because I ordered the 19" wheels with the Summer only tires, which are great in the back country twisting roads when it is dry and above 45F. However, once the temps get into the 30's or below like we are getting now, the traction is severely compromised and to me it was not worth risking it. Especially since the Michelin X-Ice tires are snow rated so if we do get a few days of snow like we did last year, it doesn't make the car undriveable. I have had them on now for over 1,000 miles and have been really pleased with the handling on both dry and wet conditions even when hitting the back country twisting roads... Here is what they look like on the car

liquidforce138

Thanks. I saw that deal for around $1100 bucks so I was thinking of getting them, too. Are those the 17" wheels? Did they send them to you or an installation shop?

heisnuts

I went with the 18" and Tire Rack mounted and balanced them for me before they shipped them to my home. I have a floor jack and torque wrench with 17mm deep socket at home which makes it really easy to swap out the rims/tires in the comfort of my garage. Once we get into Spring and are at 50F and above I will swap them out for the 19" Cavos with the Continental Summer only tires that came from the factory.

Rob O

I'm in Portland and decided to run all-seasons on factory 19s for the winter; generally speaking they'll be better when temps drop below 40 and/or when the roads are wet. BUT ... I also have the luxury of having an F150 4x4 with BFG AT KO2s and an SQ5 with dedicated winter/snow tires and a Crosstrek with M/S rated tires, so I can leave the S5 SB parked if it's really ****ty out.

I think snow accumulation last winter has people nervous heading into this winter. From what I understand -- I'm new to the area -- the season is more likely to be gray, damp/wet and cold than it is to be icy or have regular snow accumulation. In that case, you'd be fine to run all seasons year round. If you have to come over the hill (Skyline via Burnside, for example) or will do any driving in the Cascades ... then you'll want dedicated snows.

trombs

I'm in Portland with a S5 cab as a daily driver, and the 19 summers weren't going to cut it when the weather dropped below 45F. So I also went the Tire Rack route with 18" Pirelli SottoZero 3s and Sport Edition wheels. Mentally, I've decided to treat this as an insurance policy, less for the questionable snow in PDX, more for the inevitable ice. I'm very pleased with the combo here in late fall thus far, although winter has yet to truly arrive.