Randy_31

Like others, I am about to buy new 18" rims and tires for my 09 B8 P+ 6MT sport. I live just north of Philadelphia so the winters are not that bad, relatively speaking. I am trying to figure out whether I really need winter tires or if all-seasons would be better. My thoughts are that the AWD combination with all-seasons should suffice. Part of my concern is I have read some reviews that state the winter tires wear quickly when it gets warmer around 50F, which can happen in the winter in PA.

Anyone have expeience with the A4 or other AWD with all seasons vs winters?

Randy

Toecutter

A/S should "suffice" but dedicated winter tires are much better. If you have a few days above 50F the winter tires don't melt away or anything like that. Another option would be winter-performance tires.

dirtysoil

I had my doubts about snow tires, then I got some for my last car (GTI) and will never own another car without snow tires. The performance snow tires are the way to go, I did not notice any excessive wear when it was above 50F.
I just purchased 17" Hartman Oldstyle RS6 reps and covered them with Dunlop WinterSport 3D's for the Audi.

Bob58

Can you get by with just A/S tires? Yes, for a while.

Good A/S tires will get you by when they are new-ish but your traction will disappear exponentially as they start to wear.

New A/S tires may privide adequate winter traction when coupled with all wheel drive during acceleration but are at a huge disadvantage when you are trying to stop.

Decent winter tires will pay for themselves 5 times over if they help you avoid rear ending someone or keep you out of the ditch, even once.

A4Driver

I have used both -- had Dunlop SP Winter Sports, and when those wore out, I got tired of switching rims every season, so I went with Continenal ContiExtreme all seasons.

Yes, the Dunlops were pretty incredible. Got me through any kind of snow Mother Nature could throw at me. But I never got stuck anywhere with the Continentals either. In combination with all-wheel-drive, they got me wherever I needed to go.

Next month I plan to buy some all-season tires to replace my summer tires. I plan to go with the Continentals again. They served me well, and I won't have to switch tires in the spring.

It depends what you need. If you do a lot of treacherous driving on icy, deep-snow conditions, and don't mind swapping tires and/or rims every season, go with snow tires. But if you live in an area where they do a good job plowing the roads (like in New England where I live), then get some good all-seasons. They will do the job.
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Reggie

Winter tires are fine for the days it hits 50s (like here in CO) remember that it is more than just snow that they are good. They are designed to work well in severe weather as well as sub zero and if you must travel in your car when it is bad you want snow tires.

av_audi

Having AWD shouldn't be a factor in your decision in my book. AWD won't help you brake.

Randy_31

Thanks for the replies. I've decided to go with the winters. The next question is whether to drop down to a 17 vs 18. My thoughts are to go with the 17 due to more options and lower costs and also probably go with the 225 vs 245. I assume the narrower tire will give better traction as well. Any one have any problems dropping to the 17? Will this look stupid?

~pino~

17 inchers are what the factory recommends and uses for their winter wheel package. Will it look stupid? I guess that depends on what you prefer.
We use 18" winter rims (RS4 replicas) on the our Avant, and coming over from the stock 19's, they look small.
For this reason, I ordered up a set of 19" RS4 reps for my S5 as winter use.

But there are advantages to using a smaller diameter winter wheel, as you already mentioned, plus the extra sidewall could prove handy on winter's pot-holed roads.

Toecutter

I have 245/17 winter perf. tires. They work great but I think they look totally stupid. What the hey, they're winter wheels and are sooty black most of the season anyway.