Winter wheels and Tyres Again

[hotbilly]

Hi,
I own an A4 2009 Tdie SE and I am thinking about a spare set of alloys with winter tyres as last year the car was useless in the snow. At present I have 225/50 R17 although the base model has 205/60 R16 . I have been quoted a price from TYREMEN for a set of 16" 205/60 alloys fitted with Vredestein Snowtrack 3 for £675 which seems like a good deal. Would these be O.K. to fit instead of the 17" wheels which are much more expensive.
Any advice welcome!!

Thanks

[Geordie Amanda]

Hi,
I own an A4 2009 Tdie SE and I am thinking about a spare set of alloys with winter tyres as last year the car was useless in the snow. At present I have 225/50 R17 although the base model has 205/60 R16 . I have been quoted a price from TYREMEN for a set of 16" 205/60 alloys fitted with Vredestein Snowtrack 3 for £675 which seems like a good deal. Would these be O.K. to fit instead of the 17" wheels which are much more expensive.
Any advice welcome!!

Thanks

I had Snowtrac 2s on my Sedici and they are superb. But are the Snowtrac 3s rated at high enough speed for your A4. I looked into Winter tyres for my A4 and my insurance company didn’t want me to change my wheel size and insisted that I had appropriate speed rated tyres. So in the end I ordered some Vredestein Wintrac Extremes (W rated I think)

[robtt09]

My wife has "all year" tyres on front wheels of her car .Never got stuck once last winter in rural North Yorkshire.Suggest you get some on the front wheels they should be sufficient for your purposes. The "winter" tyres are a step up again but wear issues and the hassle of changing them winter to summer put us off

[vwawudi]

You guys have got me worried now. I never thought about winter tyres when I had my Mark IV Golf!

I hope this dream A4 doesn't require them as I'm loathe to spend so much moolah!

[Geordie Amanda]

I wouldn’t worry about them too much if you haven’t had a problem before. I drive fairly high miles every year and often through the night in the middle of nowhere (Scotland and Wales in fairly desolate places for instance) and it was only a couple of years ago that I discovered winter tyres. They are really good in adverse weather, being much safer in slush, heavy cold rain, obviously snow and even on ice (well much better than standard on ice ). The way I look at it is I don’t want to be stuck in my car at 3 in the morning having slid off the road as I was perhaps a little tired and not fully aware of the road conditions (If I was aware I was tired I would obviously stop, but in the real world we often drive in a less than perfect state). Perhaps being female means I feel a little more vulnerable?

But as I will use the tyres for 3 winters they will be worn out at the end of this period, which I means I would have had to buy a set of tyres to cover that period anyway, it’s just I am buying a set in advance (if you see what I mean). So the only real cost is, I am buying a set of winter wheels and the depreciation on these wheels is probably the only ‘real world cost’ over the 3 year period. Also it means that if I can persuade the nice muscley chap over the road to help me get the wheel nuts undone, I can change over the wheels myself, further saving money (well hopefully I can bribe the guy to do the whole thing for me but I can change a wheel if I need to……assuming tight wheels nuts not being a problem ).

Just remember winter tyres aren't just for snow

[c parnell]

just got 4 Marangoni winter tyres in size 225/50/17 from kwik-fit for £404 they could have done Continentals for £800 { let me think}. I also bought a set of A5 wheels for £300. So a lot less than Audi and no compromise in the looks department.
Clive

[RickT]

You should not mix and match winter and summer tyres, ie on the fronts (even all seasons) as it upsets the balance of the car under braking etc.

[hotbilly]

Hi,

Thanks for the info about winter tyres from kwik Fit The tyres you mensioned are now £350 for a set of 4 fully fitted and for an extra £45 they will store your summer tyres till next year. Not sure if this includes fitting them back though.

Bill

[paultheo]

Did they show you where they would store your wheels.... Not sure I trust anyone enough to store my wheels. Or am I getting paranoid in my old age!

[certacito]

I have a 2010 Special Edition with the 19" wheels and 255/35 tyres which I know will be terrible when the snow arrives.

Looking at the thread about the Audi winter wheel & tyre 'offer' it looks like I can change to 17" wheels with 225/50 tyres which will give me an acceptable rolling radius. It also seems that this offer is no longer available.

I've already checked with Audi Insurance who confirmed with the underwritters that this 17" wheel tyre would be acceptable.

My question for you good people is where should I be looking for a set of compatible 17" alloys?

I can see lots of sites selling alloys and a few selling winter tyre/wheel combos but I'd rather buy a set of wheels and then find a better set of tyres. My big concern is making sure any 17" wheels I buy will be OK for the A4 (ET, stud diameter etc).

Any suggestions other than tyremen listed above?

Thanks.