Winter Wheels and Tyres

[kennyh]

Hi all

I was thinking of buying a cheap set of wheels and winter tyres at some point before next winter.

The car (A7 Quattro) is sitting on 19" wheels currently and I was thinking of fitting either 18" or 17" for winter.

What do you think will work best?

[jbanfie]

I don't think it matters on size, you may find that there is only one size available for the A7 anyway, and I would just go for the cheapest combination, which probably means the smaller wheel??

I'm very keen to here the results of your investigations though as I may well do the same

Regards

Jon

[neilos100]

Size does matter......:eek:
Narrower winter tyres work best as they cut down into the snow and are less likely to skate over the surface.
Not sure what the smallest size that fits the A7 would be...I imagine maybe a 17 or 18.....but check with Audi first.

Sent from my HTC One X using Xparent Red Tapatalk 2

[kennyh]

I suppose it a balance between grip in dry and wet conditions vs grip in snowy conditions; diameter (sidewall) vs width.

Personally, for winter tyres/wheels I'm happy for a low to medium cost option rather than going for bling wheels.

So I think I'll go for cheap'ish 18" or 17" with a decent brand winter tyre.

On eBay you can get 4 18" black alloy wheels for around £350. Then I expect the tyres will probably be £200 or so per corner.

I'll let you know how I get on over the next few months.

Cheers
Kenny

[shabazmo]

yes, size does matter, just ask the other half. Basically you need narrow tyres because you get a footprint which is long and narrow. This is good for traction, i.e. accelarating and getting off the mark. Wide tyres give a short and wide footprint and is good for cornering. The 255 tyres in either 18 or 19 is probably not much good in snow. It would be better going to 235/50/18, or something equivolent in 17's. Unfortunately audi recommends 255/40/19 for A7 in the snow which is silly. Having a 2 wheel drive. I can easily loose traction in the wet from a standing start on my 255/45/18, so I don't think 255s are the right size in the wet for a 2wd Audi A7. The A6s are more sensible with their tyre sizes 225/55 R17 or 245/45 R18.
Best of luck in sourcing

[BiTDI]

I had 17 inch wheels and 225 x50 winter tyres on my C6 Audi A6 Quattro - this was the Audi package. The results were superb in all weathers and the ride considerably better than with my bigger summer tyres with no appreciable loss of handling. Surprise surprise, they don't fit my new C7 A6...