jee

Should I put winter tires on the stock rims or put them on my R-28s (taken off my A4)?

The problem is that the R-28s are 17"x8.5. I'm a bit hesitant about putting winters on these wheels cause they seem to be too wide for winter use.

Here are my options:
1) Put 225/45/17 winters on the stock wheels.
2) Put 225/45/17 winters on the R-28s.
3) Sell the R-28s and get 16" wheels just for winter. Not happy about this cause I'd like to use them for a separate summer setup such as AutoX.
4) Just go out and buy another set of 16" wheels just strictly for winter use. Seems like I'm going overboard with collecting wheels/tires. $1000+ just for winter, also.


Of course, money is a factor but I'd rather do things the right way than regret things later. I do ski but not so frequently. Live in the NYC area where it can snow but not so often. Ice is also an issue considering temps do get below freezing during the night and any rain or sleet that melts during the day will freeze up at night. Last year was a mess. Got away with M&S Dunlop SP 4000s on the A4 but got caught unexpectedly with S-O2s on. That was frightening. Not in the mood to deal with Ultra-High Performance tires in the winter again.
Won't be selling the Avus wheels so that won't be much of an option.

Vijay

I put Dunlop Winter Sport M2 225/45/HR-17 on the stock wheels. Will get lighter aftermarket wheel next spring. Some people feel that you need a narrower tire and/or smaller wheel set-up for winter. That really depends on how much snow you actaully plan to encounter on the road. I live in western Massachusettes, and we do get a fair amount of snow, however, the roads are plowed reasonably well most of the time. I did not want to make a heavy sacrifice in dry road performance for five months out of the year, by putting smaller wheels/tires on my car for the few days I may be actually driving with a significant amount of snow on the ground. My wife drives an A6 Avant, and with Quattro, we did just fine last year using all-season tires, even with several ice storms. Knowing how well we can do with all- season tires, I'm sure I'll be just fine with designated snow tires, even if they are a little wider. And...on the majority of days, when the roads are clear, I can still let my car rip.