fonseca_Q5

Those are more expensive then the OEM ones.

Do you have any pictures of them installed?

Tweakophyte

... a little off topic ...
Anybody know the pros/cons of flush versus through versions?

Toecutter

I don't know how much the OEM version costs, but these are pretty nice. In addition to being very quiet while driving at highway speed, they have a gentle upward curvature that follows the contour of the roof and it's aesthetically pleasing.

Here are a couple of photos:

Toecutter

The flush version looks more clean in my opinion, but there is less room for rooftop attachments.

The through version can use wider bars, therefore you can have more rooftop attachments such as bike racks, ski racks, roof boxes, etc. I don't think it looks as clean though.

If you plan on carrying a lot of stuff up top, you might want the through version. If you only have a few things to carry out top, the flush version looks better.

seablues4

I picked them up from ECS Tuning in the summer while on sale:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B8_S4-...ack/ES2550688/

They are currently $380

They are the same as you can buy from an Audi dealer, but $100 cheaper from ECS:

http://www.audi-collection.com/Vehic...ier-bars-A4-09

Note the comments re the Whisper bars though. I didn't expect these to be so noisy and, if I were to buy again, would pay extra for quieter bars. I also noticed the highway fuel economy dropped from 25 to 21 mpg when I installed them, and even lower when skis were carried.

I've actually taken mine off again and will use the pass through for day trips and save the rack for longer trips when I need all the truck space.

Cheers!

Toecutter

FYI

Whispbars are $350.10 on sale from multiple online merchants:

https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...ed=0CFYQ8wIwAA

NOTE: you would also need a fit kit for $60 (on sale $54).

If you use the Yakima fit guide enter in 2012 Audi S4 instead of 2013. Same roof but they must not have tested yet on a 2013.

http://yakima.com/fit/Information

Pilfer

I just received winter wheels and tires through the mail. I ordered these items ahead of the January delivery of the car. I think seeing the wheels is going to make the wait feel longer.

Toecutter

Update: after having used them for a couple of thousand miles, I have discovered that I am not totally in love with these LM60 performance-winter tires. They seemed to work "okay" but I have experienced the superior traction of a dedicated studless ice/snow tire and these can't compare. For a comparison I have used a WS70 traction tire, which has the same tread pattern, but it was a smaller size on a different car so take that into consideration.

I have read the statement, "a performance winter tire will give you 90% of the traction of a studless ice/snow tire on ice and snow, but will also give you the handling of an all season on dry pavement." Personally, I wouldn't put it at 90%. I think the traction is quite a bit less than that.

I'm thinking I should have gone with the studless ice/snow tire even though the greatest quantity of my winter driving is on simply cold and dry streets. When I end up driving in severe conditions, which so far this winter has included at least 30 days, I have decided that contrary to conventional wisdom I would prefer to use a tire to to meet the worst of the worst conditions rather than one that meets my most common winter conditions. I would prefer the extra security of the traction tire in severe conditions at the expense of dry road handling.

Pilfer

When is the proper time to switch back to summer tires? At the rate it's going, I won't have my car till mid February but it can stay cold here well into April.

moose_head

Most of what I've read says to switch when the temps are regularly above 7 degrees celsius (which is about 45 in American units.) It's based on the rubber.