Originally Posted by Barrels41

My wife has 17" DWS on the 2007 A4 3.2 and they are very close to a snow tire. That is due to its aggressive tread which is 50% a snow tire. She doesn't care about handling and rarely exceeds 60 mph. 90% metro NYC commuting.

I had P7 summer tires and winter tires on the 2009 A4 and it was a much better combination. I have 19" summer Contis on my 2012 A4 S-line and will buy inexpensive wheels and Dunlop 3D winter tires. I go skiing a bit and like the grip of soft winter tread compound. I may go to 17" for winter tires because the potholes in the 2010 winter here messed up my 18" wheels and bubbled one snow tire. I would consider the DWS as a winter substitute if I wanted to save money and have longer wear. I am sure they would be fine if not optimum.

Let's face the fact an all-season tire used 12 months will lose its snow grip as time goes by. Plus if it wears well the tire compound is hard and will not grip on ice.