jdeg

With my previous car I had very low profile summer tires on 19" rims. It was rwd and a daily driver, so I absolutely needed snow tires. I honestly don't want another car with large rims and expensive summer only tires.

Any first hand knowledge of how the s-line with 20" summer tires is in the snow?

statusquo

I wouldn't even attempt it. I'm ordering the 20" rims and will put all seasons on it. Not as good as dedicated snow tires but like you, I'm tired of swapping rims and buy multiple sets of tires. *shrug* Also, all seasons won't have the same grip as dedicated summer tires.

HotRodW

I wouldn't let the summer tires hold you back. I'll bet you wouldn't have any trouble finding another forum member happy to swap his/her 18's for your S Line 19's, and probably make a few bucks in the process. Or if you have the funds, purchase a nice 18" aftermarket set up, and hold onto the S Lines to put back on the when you trade. Before you do anything, however, you might want to talk to your dealership to see if they can do anything for you.

PJQ5S

I sincerely wish Audi gave you the damn option between summers or all-seasons on ANY wheel package. Those that live in places where we get snow (like me) shouldn't be penalized for wanting the look of + size set ups and having to settle for summer only tires! Sorry...had to vent. That said, I have had a set of Yoko Parada all seasons on my 20" s-line wheels for the last 20k miles (after i ate through the summers that came OEM). and love 'em. Never even really notice a performance difference and I don't have to worry about inclement weather when it comes around

tgt

Few options (that I've personally done on Audi's in the past):

-Purchase a good all season to throw on the 20's.
-Purchase a set of 20" snow tires and swap them on the OEM S-Line wheels for the winters. This is more economical than most people think, Discount Tire will usually do it for around $50 (I actually have a set of LM-60 Blizzaks in 255/45/20" that I'm selling, drop me a line if you're interested).
-Purchase a 2nd set of wheels to swap on/off.

Having done all 3 in the past (currently I have a 2nd set of S-Line wheels that I have my winters on), I don't think any of them are bad options, though I prefer good snow/winter tires to all seasons.

Hope that helps,
tgt

idale

Sometimes you can work out a deal with the dealer to have the wheels/tires changed out with different ones and work that into the cost (if you went down in size, then you'd expect to pay a little less, go up in size and pay more). Not sure whether Audi dealers would usually do that, but it's always worth asking about if you really don't want the 20s. (The other option as has been mentioned is to try and do a swap afterwards with someone.)

ThunderDent

My 20's are getting Conti Extreme Contact DWS tires. They are a ultra high performance all-season with a high speed rating as well.

They have indicators for Dry, Wet, and Snow on them.

It's a good compromise on 20s.

rfmassa

I too had to deal with the same issue. My 2010 20" rims looks so nice, I couldn't swap them out, so I just bout another set of Audi 18' rims and Winter performance tires. My Audi dealer swaps them for about $45.

When I wear out the summer 20's, I'm going to replace them with all-seasons and sell the winter rims and tires. So, a bit of inconvenience but I get the look I like from April thru November - Southern Michigan.

NHman

I don't own a Q5 but have owned several vehicles with 19-20" rims and summer only tires. Any summer only tire will be useless at temperatures at or below 43F. It is not just the ability to handle snow and/or ice. The compound does not remain pliable. However the trade-off is a better performing tire with respect to braking and handling in the warm to hot temperatures.

An all-season tire is a "jack of all trades but master of none". Yes there is a financial advantage with using all-season's but performance will be better with a dedicated winter/summer setup.

I used a dedicated winter setup on my wife's previous Q7 which had the 20" rim and all-season tires. It did make a difference. I will also use it on her future Q5 3.0T.

Jusforfun

Bet your dealer would love the opportunity to swap out S-Line rims. That said I would bite the bullet and get a second set. You might even pick em up cheap in the classifieds here.
Tirerack are a sponsor of AW and quite a few of the Q5 and Q7 (cos that is the extent of my experience) have been very happy with the deals they have got or gotten(for US) over the years.

Do it and report back