jnr

Folks --

I have a set of 17 inch OZ Ultraleggera wheels that I plan to use as winter wheels for a 2010 Premium Plus S4. I like the smaller size wheels for winter use, and the OZ are very light so it does the trick for me.

I also have a set of Dunlop Wintersport M3 tires that my wife has been using during cold months on her BMW 335i. Since she is about to hand her car back at the end of her lease, we will have an extra set of winter tires which have a lot of tread left.

Tire rack recommends using 225/50 R17 tires for the 2010 S4 when using 17 inch wheels. The tires that I already have are 225/45 R17s, which means that height of the tires will be a little lower than the 225/50s recommended by tire rack, and of course the speedometer will run a little faster.

Does anyone know whether the 225/45s will work ok on the S4? I hate to spend over 800 bucks on new winter tires if the ones we have will work fine.

VMRWheels

Going down to a 225/45 when the recommend is 225/50 is a bit too much of an overall rolling diameter difference. You're looking at difference of over 3%, which can lead to a lot problems--one of which being brake failure.

Gary@Tirerack.com

The load capacity of the 225/45R17 is too far below what is required for the car for safety. The 225/45R17 tires could fail under normal use.

jnr

Thanks for the help!