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All Season Options for TTS 20" wheels: Help Please!
Love my 2018 TTS with 20" Audi Sport® 5-V-spoke design wheels, matte titanium with 255/30 summer tires.
I'm trying to figure out my options for driving through the winter.
I can't find all-season tires to match with these wheels!?!?
I want to use my TTS as my daily driver, so I need to figure something out.
What is everyone doing?
Thanks
I think you'll find most of us in northern climes swap our 19/20" rims with Summer performance tires for 18" rims with dedicated Winter tires. We typically go aftermarket 18" rims as no sense spending big money when sand & salt will chew them up. Of course some home storage space is needed. Actually there are some dealerships that will seasonally store them for you.
Although there are now a few all-season tires that come close to Winter (fka snow) tires, they're still a compromise in the cold and equally not as good in the warm. And you didn't buy a TTS to have less than ideal Summer performance, especially in the south!
But I do recognize that in Virginia you're likely just fine with all-season in the Winter (I spent a fair amount of time in Quantico a long time ago ...). Again I would recommend a seasonal changeover of rims/tires.
Depends a bit on tire size/profile of course but in general yes ... but in a good way as on 18's in Winter (vs. Summer 19/20") you think you're going faster than you are.
See one of the many speedo calculators online.
Originally Posted by macaddict111
Wow I had no idea they were so hard to find on this size...
Dumb question, but does going from 20" to 18" in the winter screw with the speedometer?
Wow I had no idea they were so hard to find on this size...
Dumb question, but does going from 20" to 18" in the winter screw with the speedometer?
No. The outside of the tire will be the same diameter. The inside (rim side) will be a smaller diameter, with the difference made up in the height of the sidewall. The tire should also be NARROWER, so it can better plow through the snow.
Wow I had no idea they were so hard to find on this size...
Dumb question, but does going from 20" to 18" in the winter screw with the speedometer?
No, they select a sidewall that is larger with the 18" to closely match the overall diameter of the 20" wheel ... I think to within 1% tolerance (that part I'm not 100% sure on) ... but I know there is a tight tolerance.
Any decent tire/wheel company will look up your make/model and recommend a set of 18" wheels that will fit your car, including caliper clearance.
There are other benefits going to an 18" ... the tire is not as wide, which helps bite into the snow better, and the extra sidewall height provides a bit more protection from unseen potholes.
I have 18's for my winters ... swap in November, and then go back to summers in May. One of the benefits is, the treads will last you WAY longer obviously, because each set is seeing around 6 months per year. So in effect, at some stage you're going to have to replace the all seasons if you go that direction ... whereas if you go with dedicated winter tires, you will have made that purchase up front ... but then you are good for a long, long time.
You do realize you're responding to a ~2-1/2 year old question? And any deviation in tolerance, no matter how small, is still a deviation. But as you suggest if properly sized it would be negligible.
Interestingly since the original posting there have been significant advances in all season tires. I now run Michelin PS 3+ AS and have found them very capable. However I still wouldn't negotiate deep snow with same and still advise seasonally swapping to 18" rims with dedicated quality Winter tires if that's your more typical need.
In northern Virginia AS tires should be fine however. The rare times you get really significant snowfall everything shuts down anyway.
Originally Posted by mark_b_good
No, they select a sidewall that is larger with the 18" to closely match the overall diameter of the 20" wheel ... I think to within 1% tolerance (that part I'm not 100% sure on) ... but I know there is a tight tolerance.
Any decent tire/wheel company will look up your make/model and recommend a set of 18" wheels that will fit your car, including caliper clearance.
There are other benefits going to an 18" ... the tire is not as wide, which helps bite into the snow better, and the extra sidewall height provides a bit more protection from unseen potholes.
I have 18's for my winters ... swap in November, and then go back to summers in May. One of the benefits is, the treads will last you WAY longer obviously, because each set is seeing around 6 months per year. So in effect, at some stage you're going to have to replace the all seasons if you go that direction ... whereas if you go with dedicated winter tires, you will have made that purchase up front ... but then you are good for a long, long time.
04-19-2018, 03:02 PM
All Season Options for TTS 20" wheels: Help Please!
