Ulilbastrd

Hey All,

I just placed the order for my S4 yesterday, It is due sometime in December, just curious if any of you have ran your summer tires in the snow? Or do I need to go out and buy winter tires? The car is a lease so I really don't wanna invest any more money than I have to.

Thanks

sor

You'll want winter tires if you live in a snowy climate. All-seasons would probably be fine, but summer tires are a nightmare in snow, even with quattro. Don't worry about the cash investment, you'll likely need to put tires on it before turning it in anyway, putting winters on will just prolong the life of your stock tires.

Goony

Unless you want to wreck your leased vehicle (or another motorist).......DO NOT USE SUMMER TIRES IN COLD WEATHER/SNOW!!!!!!! Summer tire compounds have little to no grip in temperatures below 40F. Therefore, it is not just snow that you need to be worried about. If you wanted to be cheap, perhaps you should have bought a Camry.

Ulilbastrd

Sor- thank you for your quick response....


Goony--- Thanks for your advise too, btw... nothings "look at me" more than a yellow car...

***

JasonR-NYC

Unless you're being chased by zombies, do not drive in snow, ice, or freezing rain with summer tires. I had the pleasure of test driving a Carrera 4S 996 about 10 years ago during the first light snow of the year. The dealer was bragging about the all wheel drive saying how a dusting of snow would be nothing at all. Boy did he know nothing about tires. I nearly put that poor car in the woods a few times and spent most of the time struggling to keep the car out of the ditch, oncoming traffic, etc.

With a set of winter tires, the car is a monster in the snow. Many say you can get away with all seasons, but once you've had proper winter tires, it's hard to ever go back. Consider it a safety feature - describing it that way generally has a high wife approval factor.

StevehamS4

If the stock tires are anything like the ones that came on my '01 325i (Bridgestone Turanza's) then you will need another set of tires for any snow!

I know because I went to a training center for an all day event. I came out at lunch to drive down to a local Deli and noticed it had started to flurry and about 1/2-1" of snow had fallen. I was parked in a "level" parking lot and when I went to back out my car slid literally sideways!

The roads were black but the lot was covered with a little blanket. I was able to carefully drive out to the road and get a bite. But that was the last time the car saw the snow.

Granted this car has Quattro but what good is more than one wheel turning if it they have no grip. Worst part is you can stop or turn when your tires are smooth as a baby's butt?

I have made the decision to get a winter tire/wheel package from tire rack for about $1,500-1,650. That way if I clip a curb I still have the OEM package for the summer.

Thought about going all seasons but the forum here has convinced me that I am making the smart move.

Good luck with the car.

Hopefully my car is on it's way down I95 for delivery next week.

rktskicar

if you are going to drive in the snow, need minimum of A/S tires IMO. Winter tires are better if you have more than one set of wheels. do not drive the OEM S4 summer tires on snow.

Bruce

mad villain

as everyone has said you will definitely need at least All-Season tires.... summer tires are more then useless in cold weather...and when they hit snow...it's like driving on an ice rink.
last winter i had to drive to my tire shop in our AWD 335 with summer tires and a very little bit of snow on the ground and it was tricky. i would definitely recommend getting all-seasons or winters!

Toronto S5

This is one of the best articles to refer to when people ask this question:

http://www.insideline.com/features/t...vs-summer.html

It's not even close! Look at what summer tires do in the snow.

I have not yet bought winter tires for my S5 but I certainly will in the next couple of months.

Goony

Sorry to burst your bubble but I didn't get yellow for everyone else..........I bought it because that's what I wanted (or sprint blue). You may care what others think about what car you drive but I really don't give a $hit. I'm the only one who has to be happy with it.

And for the record, I will be putting on a set of Blizzak LM25's for winter.