Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

Hi all,

Just bought a 2002 denim blue B6 quattro, and new to this forums. This is my first Audi and so far I have nothing but good things to say.

It came with almost new Hankook Ventus V4es 17's, all season "ultra high performance" tires. In all honesty, horrible experience in the slightest bit of snow/sleet even with the traction and quattro etc...

I have an almost new set of 15" Nokian Hakkapeliita Qs that I would like to run with steelies for winter, anyone have any input on running 15's on the B6 (probably like to run 17" p-zeros for summer)?

Cheers,

Br

Re: Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

I think a few members have run 15" winter tires on a B6 model. I know for a fact that it isn't possible to run them on a B7 though. I agree with your opinion about wanting to run dedicated winter tires and summer tires. A little bit of free advice......don't bother getting pirelli's as they wear out very quickly and cost a lot. Car looks good though. We need more pics of the 911.

Re: Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

please.

Re: Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

I thought this was an Audi forum?! but yes, I will post some pictures when I get a chance.

Experienced a skating rink effect today in the midst of our freaky May winter storm here in Calgary, will be definitely using the Nokians exclusively next winter season. Two thumbs down for "ultra high performance" all seasons.

Question though: When I was driving today, I noticed the traction light lit up consistently throughout the trip...can it be turned off? i tried the button, but doesnt seem to turn off...

And, anyone else have problems with excessive snow build-up in the wheel wells? It slows me down considerably if i dont "clean/clear" them out with my snow brush :S unless it could be something else...

thx!

Re: Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

Congrats ! No problem running 15's on a B6 1.8 and the smaller wheel will provide a narrower contact patch thereby providing better traction. The B6 3.slow and all B7's have bigger front brakes so a minimum of 16's are required for that.

2nd on the summers comment - there's a ton of great alternatives that are considerably less expensive and much better tires. One of the more popular summers is the Falken 452's due to great performance and wear (they are very reasonably priced). If you need to spend top dollar for summers then just get Michelin PS2's and call it a day.

Re: Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

I concur that running summer tires in the winter, especially where you are, is a bad idea. Looks like you've got the 1.8T from the picture, so you can most likely use the 15" Hakka, provided they're the right size so as not to throw off your speedo, of course.

The rear wheel well is known for snow buildup thanks for the felt-like material. Another thing known is that the e-brake is likely to freeze solid onto the rotor if they're engaged in colder temperatures.

I'll be getting Sumitomo HTR Z III in a week or so. Tire Rack thinks it's no worse than the ContiSportContact 3. At USD$118 a 235/40-18 tire, if that's true, it'd be quite a good bargain.

Re: Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

I just installed General Exclaim UHP's on my B7 Avant and am very happy with them. I ordered the tires and replica 18" RS4 rims from Carmodifier.com who are located in Ottawa. Quick service also. Ordered them on Monday, received them Friday the same week balanced and ready to mount. 235/40/18's were $160/tire Canadian and Tirerack rates them very highly.

Re: Just bought our first A4...tire question
 

Thanks, "makes sense" answer I was looking for. Noticed that the e brake doesnt like to cooperate with extreme cold....