Jason Teller

To snow tire or not to snow tire - that is the question!

https://www.audiworld.com/news/08/long-term-a5/

deak

I have a 2009 S5 and live near Toronto. I got caught in one brief snow storm before the winters went on and it wasn't pretty. In particular braking distance was at least one and a half times what I have with the winters (even though they aren't all out snows, Dunlop 19" D3's on stock rims). I think if you live in really cold conditions like Winnipeg or North Dakota, you need winters because it's not only the tread pattern but it's also the rubber pliability and grip. Personally I wouldn't drive my car after November without winters.

BonedaleA4

Let me get this straight - your car is a fully loaded A5 costing about $56,000 and you're suggesting that people who can afford this car and live in Colorado aren't going to pony up for snow tires because of tough economic times? That's absurd. Anyone doing any long-term driving in the mountains of CO with such an amazing car A) can well afford to invest in winter tires, and B) would never cut corners and risk damaging such a beautiful, valuable automobile. Makes no sense whatsoever.

Jason Teller

That wasn't exactly my message. I am not doing any driving in the mountains, and wouldn't, with this setup. I was saying that for around town in Denver it is possible that people would make this decision to stay on the stock setup - and probably have similar results to what I had.

Don't confuse the "affordability" of a car with people's good sense (or lack of good sense), or with them being able to certainly afford snow wheels / tires. Being able to afford a lease payment and being able to afford $1000 for a winter setup are two different things, although I generally agree with you.

Jamblastx

Thank you for this post...I am hoping to get out of my lease of my 2006 GTI a little early later this year to purchase an S-Line A5 and this has been a major concern of mine. Actually with the GTI, I ended up ordering the optional 18" wheel package that came with summer performance tires (I live in NY which does get some nasty winter weather) but I ended up also purchasing a set of snows mounted on some horrific looking steelies. Not only did I hate even looking at the car for three months, but it was a major pain in the rear to swap out the wheels twice a year.

This year, right before I put on the snows we did get hit with a minor snow storm which meant I had to drive the car with the summer tires in the snowy weather. While not preferable, it was not nearly as bad as I had feared. I am not sure that I would risk it on an annual basis, but I am glad to hear that you were able to do so.

Did you consider just immediately swapping out the tires with all-seasons? I am considering doing this for the A5 when I get it and whatever I can get for some slightly used tires, well...that's just gravy. I can live with some decline in performance for the convenience of not having to swap out tires twice a year. I just wish that Audi would give us the choice to get all-seasons on the S-Line.

G-Wass

I live in NYC and don't drive my car enough for a dedicated winter setup. I decided to go with all-seasons (Goodyear Eagle F1).

There is definitely a performance difference with the all-seasons. They don't feel as stable and the handling isn't as tight.

Keep in mind that when driving with your summer performance tires, the issue with winter isn't just snow. Like Deak said, It's the cold. Summer tires are softer than all-seasons or winter tires. When it gets cold, summer tires will get really hard and lose their grip. So, even if it's not snowing, they can be dangerous just when it's cold. And Denver gets really cold in the winter. So I'd strongly suggest that you either get all-seasons and deal with the performance hit, or get winter tires. Having felt the difference in handling with all-seasons, I'd go with winter tires if I drove my car every day.

mhblaw

My 2009 A-5 came with Pirelli all season P-6's. Here in central ND we have had just under 100 inches of snow this season. Tires work fine. Problem, if any, is the low ground clearence. You will get hung up before you lose traction from the tires.

Need4S5

I live in Denver and go to the mountains all the time. No snows No go I would never go up without snows in the winter. It's the folks who don't
that I drive past that get stuck. Winter driving here with 19inch summer tires=ditch.