jimburke

I need winter wheels/tires for my 06 A3 Sport 6MT which currently has Pilot Primacy summer tires. I live in the NW Chicago burbs, so we only see deep snow a few times a year. Usually just cold, dry roads covered with salt.

I've read a lot of reviews and narrowed my choices down to two wheels and two tires, but I need some help deciding.

Tires: Dunlop M3 or Blizzak LM25. I was leaning toward the LM25s, but then I noticed they are H rated in the size I want (205/55-16) vs. V rated with the Dunlops. Will I give up a lot of dry performance with the H rated version vs. the V rated M3? How would the snow/slush/ice performance compare?

I was also considering Nokian WRs, but since this will be a dedicated winter set, they seemed like overkill. If I hear that they are better in snow and dry, I might reconsider and spend the extra money. Thoughts?

Wheels: ASA JH3 or Sport Edition F7. I don't know much about either, but the ASA is about $50 more. I'm fine with the F7 as long as it's durable. Just seemed slightly suspicious that the Sport Editions were all so much cheaper. Also, the ASA is 16x7.5 while the F7 is 16x7. Do I need to care about the difference?

Thanks for any input you can provide.

Jim

ex-quattro PETE

I think they'd do very well in your application. They're available with 'V' rating as well. The higher speed rating will slightly improve steering response (in the dry). Otherwise, no difference.

No experience with LM25 and M3, so I'm not going to comment.

As far as rim width, the rim lip on the 7.5" will be less protected by a 205/55 tire, so you'll have to be very careful around curbs and such.

jprice@CPS

WR is better in dry than M3 and LM25.

jimburke

My thinking was that I'm paying extra for the ability to run them in the summer, but I won't be taking advantage of it. If they are better than the LM25 or M3 when it comes to dry and snow, I'd reconsider.

Based on your wheel size comments, I'm leaning toward the Sport Edition F7. Know of any reason to be wary of that brand?

jimburke

How about in snow/slush/ice?

wallaby

Which would help dry handling a lot.

jprice@CPS

Remember the WR is considered an "all weather" tire. It can be run all year long!

wallaby

They handle decently in the dry, but to me are a little soft.
So you think the V-rated WR is better in the dry than the M3? What about snow performance between the two?
I'm currently looking for winter tyres for the S6 but can't find anything in a V-rated tyre (I'm using 15x7 winter wheels). So I guess I'll be comparing between H-rated tyres, and it's pretty much down to WR and M3. But hopefully the V-rated comparison will scale equally down to the H-rated.