ELEVENS

Them's smart people. I don't think it's a good idea to burn off the last 60% of tread by running them in the summer. Unless you don't mind tire noise and vague, squirmy handling anyway.

acadianbob

Agreed. I've had 3 sets of Nokians and they are unbelievable.

MP4.2+6.0

Having burned them off here in sunny CA on various sets and Audi quattro's, their performance was in the same general ballpark as mid market Conti or Pirelli A/S's that would come OE. In one OE case of burning OE Pirellis and winter performance Dunlops off sequentially, it was the Pirellis that turned into the howlers, and barely past mid life. On the other hand, on a lower end Bridgestone winter set I used on an AWD minivan at one point, I couldn't wait to get them off noise wise the nanosecond I was done w/ the last likely snow trip.

Sequel

I currently have Blizzacks. I had Dunlops previously on a different car. Blizzacks is the way to go.

Jasonindenver

That is going to be something to think about when I get my Q5 in a few weeks...

I never had an issue doing it on my Pathfinder or Outback, but they were not as performance oriented as the Q5 and I already had tons of road noise from roof racks and poor sound insulation, etc...

Avant4Adam

I also have the DM-V1's on my Q5 and they rock. Have heard really good things about the Nokians, might try them sometime. Just remember that you winters are just that...for winter driving. Go -1 on size and take them off as soon as you can before Spring as the Blizzaks (and possibly others) have special compounds in the top layers. You should be able to get a few seasons out of them.

bob m

Well said. I'm probably going to place an order tomorrow. The "issue" with where I'm living NE NJ - 20 miles out of NYC is that the roads are pretty clear soon after a storm; after last weeks 11" snow, most of the parkways were down to blacktop, NYC streets took another day to get the slush/snow off the streets.
After thinking about it, snow/ice is on the streets around these parts about 1-3 weeks from December to March, so my situation (type of snow tires) is different from those living in snow country or who get just so many storms. BUT, safety first as there will be times when I have to drive in snow, ice, rain and slush and those All Seasons were not cutting it at all.

Bob

Redd

Bob, snow tires only hurt once, when you buy them. If you have them on from Thanksgiving to Easter, which covers early and late blizzard seasons, you wind up putting some 40-50% less wear on your "summer" tires, so they'll last almost twice as long, and you're spending less replacing those in the long run. That should ease the pain, if you think about it for the long run. (Of course the extra 4 wheels...that's something else.)

Personally I've been on Michelin and Goodyear for a very long time now, and they've both been outstanding in every way. I'm no longer interesting in shopping brands, just getting the best deal on whichever tire they make that meets the spec I need.

AFAIK Goodyear owns Dunlop, so Dunlop is their "B" line now, but every tire company makes tires for different prices, and purposes. Including Goodyear, some of their "OEM spec" tires have only half the life of their "You don't get these on a new car" models. Funny how that works isn't it?

bob m

Thanks Redd,

Points well taken. I guess I'm trying to figure out which snow tires to get - given that I don't get much snow and when it's here, the roads are soon cleared anyhow. But for those times when you need them, you need them.
Driving into work last week, NYC, about 7am, going crosstown through Central Park, there was an unexpected delay - Central Park has 2 way traffic, and the delay was caused by one westbound car smashing into the eastbound car - no snow, just black ice.

Bob

Redd

Driving. Midtown. Rush Hour. UUUGGGGHHHHH.

"You're a braver man than I, Gunga Din."

I understand that if you buy the Audi Prestige Premium Roadside Assistance Package, there's concierge service that will deliver food and sedatives for time like that. And even an escort, to help keep your mind off the carnage.

No, really, just ask the sales manager. <VBG>