yoshokun

I live in Maryland, so I don't deal with the length of freezing temps like farther north. I've considered replacing the OE Goodyear LS-2 All Seasons with Summer+Winter tires when they wear out.

Thoughts on Q5 All Season vs Summer/Winter? I'd prefer comfortable/soft and quiet tires that perform well in rain than cornering or sport performance.

Thanks!

Reggie

Well elevens and I like the contis dws for summer use and the occasional days mother natures throws at you in Spring and fall.

Nothing beats a snow tire if you have to go out in bad weather and it is necessary to get through or you drive dangerous roads like in the mountains.

ELEVENS

Absolutely. Being in the North, it just makes more sense (to me) to run all-season in the summer and dedicated snows in the winter.

For me, I don't see much benefit in running dedicated summer tires unless you track your car. Ride comfort, rain performance, and the occasional freezing temps in the spring and fall make all-season tires the better choice for me in the summer. I run dedicated winter tires and wheels on all four my family cars and also my four company vehicles.

Discount Tire prices are normally slightly higher than TireRack but I gladly pay it since Discount Tire swaps winter/summers on/off for free as well as fixing flats for free. Three of my wheel sets were purchased from TireRack and I swap those myself. I've had excellent service from both companies.

cheewy

I have had the Yoko Spec X on my Q5 for about 8000 miles. Driven in winter, and 2 road trips this summer. So far I love the tire for its comfort, noise and traction.

idale

Here in Central Texas, I was using Toyo T1-S (max performance summer) on my Passat Wagon for years and they were perfectly comfortable and stuck to the road like glue even in the rain. I used them year-round and it does get sub-40 (and occasionally icy though not consistently), and they seemed to perform great even then, which is a little surprising for a summer tire. I was sad when they were discontinued since those were the best tires I've ever had on any vehicle.

But as is always the case, different models within a brand or category will perform differently, as well as different sizes of the same tire or the same tire on different vehicles, so unfortunately there's no real across-the-board single answer.

Luckily, for performance on the Q5, we can all share our experiences of what worked and what didn't work, so hopefully there can be some reasonable consensus on which tires really work well with this vehicle. (Sounds like for 20", the DWS is awesome. I've seen recommendations for the Yoko Spec-X and Pirelli Scorp Verde in 19" sizes, not sure if there's firm consensus on that yet.)

ELEVENS

Indeed climate and road condition are key factors.

Gibbs

Up in Alberta, Canada, have been running Nokian WRG2s on our MDX year-round for about 4 years now. Still about 30-40% tread left. Excellent performance in winter, about as close to a true winter tire you can get, but still able to run in summer. Sure beats swapping out twice a year.

thecrave

FWIW I ended up going with the Pirelli Scorpion's after a $70 rebate. What an amazing difference over the Goodyear Eagle LS2 that came with the Q.

They're quiet, handle extremely well (had lots of fun driving Highway 1 here in CA) and mileage is up slightly. Made driving fun again.

It's not a cheap tire, but like they say - you get what you pay for.

bob m

Are the Pirelli's all season tires?

Bob

Pauly001

I have the 20" GoodYear Excellence Summer Perf Tires that came with the optional off Road design wheels - they are a bit stiff when hitting bups but handle very well and in the cold they really harden up. I don't know how they will be in the snow but last April when we got the car we had a cold snap and they were noticibly very hard in the cold and the light snow that fell they were not grippy at all. Can you tell me a bit more about the DWS's? You stated they are quiet (which is definitely what I want) but how do they handle and are they real stiff hitting bumps?

BTW - I have the Pro-Contacts on my A4 and like them - based on your thoughts I will probably go with the DWS for that car when needed...
Thanks