AvantMore

My car should be arriving in port today! Told I can pick up Wednesday or Thursday.

I'm going to be ordering a winter setup for the first time ever - who knew wheels were so complicated!

Tirerack has a set of 245/40 18" Blizzak LM 60 for $800; I've heard they are recommended, along the lines of "can't go wrong" with those.

But I'm having trouble choosing wheels! They range from $59 each to $1,200 each!!!

I've figured I would have to spend from $120 to max $200/wheel for a decent set, but there are still so many to choose from.

So my question is, are there any brands/styles to stay AWAY from? A few in that range would look good, but I'm concerned about quality and other factors that I wouldn't know to consider, other than style. Any suggestions or advise to avoid certain brands?

(also, should I go all the way down to 17" for snow, any benefit to the smaller, more narrow wheel?)

Thanks in advance.

BMWBig6

I've always had a soft spot for these Ronal's...

VMRWheels

Quite a few people have run our 18x8.5 V708 RS4 rep. as a winter setup to much success. Our V710 18x8.5 is now also officially available in the proper center bore for your B8.

Come take a look and let me know if you have any questions. I'd be glad to help!

AvantMore

[QUOTE=BMWBig6;23910077]I've always had a soft spot for these Ronal's...

/QUOTE]

I can definitely see why. My 3 and 5 year old think those are perfect - I hope I can get a good deal on them.

I have a wheel/tire headache. I am tempted to just go oem and see if my dealership guy will give me any kind of a decent price.

Barrels41

I just had the snow tires put on the OEM wheels. Mavis Tire has a good deal for changing them. Balance is fine and no shimmy. 18" sports package. Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW3. Seem fine so far. Not too much snow here in NYC suburbs. Will try a VT ski weekend soon.

I was afraid of cheap wheels and heard centering rings to make the splines fit contribute to shimmy. 3-year lease anyway. When it is over I will be old enough for a Fleetwood and a condo in Boca.

Wheels shimmy is a huge A4 problem. Maybe the 17" cheap OEM all season tires on the standard suspension setup are the problem.

Anyone know? Or was it bad control arms?

bradaudi

This is my first winter with the A4, and I put a set of winter Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3's on the OEM 17" wheels. My plan is to upgrade to 18" wheels and tires in the summer so I'll have a dedicated winter/summer set.

We're having a bad winter with lots of snow and ice, and the Michelin PA3's are doing fine.

My other vehicle is an MDX running Michelin XIce, and the Audi performs equally well on the ice. The A4 is lower, so doesn't have the same clearance (duh) but I haven't been stuck in any of the deep snow I've been plowing through this winter.

I have noticed that the wheel wells fill with snow pretty quick (maybe that's normal). About once a week, I've had to clear the snow out with a broom handle otherwise I can hear the tires rubbing on the snow in the wheel wells. Not a big deal, although I was wondering whether the problem would be worse with 18" tires - which would leave less room for all of that snow. Gotta love Canadian winters!

ColoradoQuattro

I went with 17" wheels so that I could get Michelin X-Ice tires. The wheels are made in Germany and seem to be of decent quality. I've had no vibration or shimmy issues with these wheels and they don't look bad for 17s. The tires are amazing on snow and ice. I ordered my set from Tire Rack.

MrStuff

I'm running these but on the 19" RS4 wheels (they come with the SLine) They are great thus far. I like the fact that they run REALLY well on highway. Mine are a little wide (my own fault), but i'm still very happy with them. I've run in 30cm of snow + drifts with zero problems.

They don't hum, they look great, I find they stick better and handle better in dry weather then the PZERO Russo's they gave me with the rims. And I noticed when I got them they have a stiff sidewall. Even with my 19" I still have 3~4 inches of rubber.

We've had snow on the ground for over a month with a couple snow storms. I like these tires in the crappy weather, but I love them even more for the 95% of the time they are NOT running in snow... just cold weather.