Silver Q

The snow is about to fly in the mid-west and I am leaning to the Alpins but not quite sure yet. Your comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

Blue DevilS4

What size are you looking at? - I'm leaning toward the pilot alpins too (tirerack.com suggests getting 205/50, but that seems a little narrow). any thoughts?

MarkFank

I have the 225/45 Pilot Alpins on stock wheels. I picked up my car in January '00. I have been really happy with them through the first winter. They are great in snow and are one of the best in retaining the dry/performance characteristics and are not really noisy for a snow tire. Most of my driving is around town where the roads get cleared fairly quick so I wanted to keep the performance side and have the ability to plow through slush and snow when it calls for it. I am sure there are better snow/ice tires but then you loose some of the performance side.

I live in Utah and they were fantastic going up to the ski resorts and I had them in snow as deep as 8" with no problem. I also had them up to 120 mph with no problems on a road trip to Southern Utah. I usually head to Southern Utah 2-3 times per winter. This means I leave SLC in snow, go through the mid part of the state and be in 60 degree weather and then hit the higher snow covered passes to end up in 70 degree weather and then make a run to Vegas. For me and my driving conditions, these are the perfect winter tire.

S4tuart

Love the sig!

MarkFank

Thanks! Your's cracks me up. Can I quote you?

DMoore

"A little narrow" ... depends on your use. For driving in snow, the narrower the better. Pro rally cars run snow tires as narrow as 135 mm. Granted, a 205 width tire will sacrifice some dry road handling ability. So it all comes down to your priorities.

I ran 205/55-16 Pirelli 210As on my S4 all last winter. Although they gave up a bit in the dry, they still handled decently and allowed me to commute at 85+ on dry freeways. In snow, they worked very well, though not as well as a more aggressive tread would.

So it just depends on what you need your tires to do. 205's are NOT too narrow for S4 usage -- the factory recommended winter package (in Europe) includes 205/55-16 tires.

DMoore
'00 S4

S4tuart

Plagiarize away to your heart's content. I did. Don't know the original source.

Mike S

Tirerack and every big supplier does not have them, nor will they according to Michelin US and France. They are the best snows I've eer had, so I don't understand this at all.

By the pirelli snowsports. They're next best!

good luck!

Mike