Whats a good winter tire?
 

Hi,
What do u guys recommend as a good winter tire. It ll be for a 2006 A4.


Thank you

this one looks ok to me:
Canadian Tire

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I run Blizzaks in the winter on two daily drivers.

Check out the super soft rubber compounds for ultimate in traction, running those on the S4. Time your tire changes appropriately as the soft compounds wear fast on dry spring and fall roads.

Consider Tiretrends as I saved hundreds compared to buying locally.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

you get what you pay for, I run Pirelli's on both my cars. No problems, highly recommended. It really depends what you are looking for. I would suggest with your car you get one size down in rim and aspect ratio. Tire speed is also something to consider. I went with an H rated tire on my TT and GTI.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Hi, when you say one size down on rim do you mean go from a 17 inch to a 16 inch ?

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Yes I would down size as well for the winter tires. You have a lot more cushion and a lot more bump room if you were to run over lets say a speed bump or an ice made bump. I run mine on 17" right now and it isnt all that bad but I can see my car ratteling like **** later on so I will be downgrading to a 16" for next winter.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I have Nokian hakkapeliitta 5 and I highly recommend them .

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I'm running the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D and love it.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

From my experience "you get what you pay for" is nonsense when it comes to tires. I've driven on may different winter as well as hi-po summer tires and a few less expensive ones were great tires. I picked up a set of Hankook Ice Bears for my mom's car and they're quite good on everything but the deep stuff and VERY affordable. I helped a friend buy wheels and tires from tiretrends.com ($650) that are great looking and excellent snow traction. For her, handling performance on dry pavement wasn't important. If you're looking for very good all 'round performance, my all time fav for winter is the Dunlop wintersports... That said, what's best for me isn't necessarily best for you. Are you in an area with lots of snow ? Driving many highway miles ? Are you generally an aggressive driver ?

Just remember that a narrower contact patch will provide an improvement in traction and if you're on 17" summer rims, consider getting 16's (tires and wheels) as you'll have much better traction. In other words the diameter of the tire is the same but the wheel is smaller so the tire is taller and narrower. The savings in smaller tires and not having to mount and balance tires at the change of each season will help pay for the add'l set of wheels.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

i have dunlop m2, they are still holding up well after 5 years. lots of grip in packed snow, ice, freezing rain. but i'm may get hakka's next winter (if i can afford it).

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Hey there,

I'm running Hankook winter Ipikes and so far so good. Good traction and pretty quiet. The wife's car is running Conti Contact 3s and she's loving them especially in todays winter snow storm in the GTA. We both picked them up at Lets Roll Tire in the Weston/Finch area if you live in the GTA for a solid price. Also, you should check out tirerack.com . Its a US site but the prices are awesome and they break down the total cost including duties, brokerage and taxes. With the dollar still strong, its a great choice.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

i second that...

they come in handy when you're passing snowplows...

but I think the brand is spelled Nokia

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

uhmmm .... Nokia makes phones and Nokian is in the "tyre" bidness ...

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I second the Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds. Nothing like tearing down the highway at 130 in a snow fall when everyone else is doing 70. These ride smoother than my Michelin A/S OEMs.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Hey Guys, I heard that Tires from Costco are under lifetime warranty with a free installation summer to winter tires if both sets are bought from Costco. And you dont need a Costco membership for the tire purchases.

An installation charge of $11.00 per tire is included in the quoted price. This includes:

Mounting
Lifetime balancing
Lifetime rotation
Lifetime flat repair
Lifetime air pressure checks
New rubber valve stem
Nitrogen inflation
Costco Wholesale's road hazard warranty

more info : Costco Michelin® Primacy™ Alpin® PA3™ 215/55R16

Costco tire search results


also this is a good web site to check tires; The Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels but its in U.S, prices are lower than canadian but I am not sure about the duty+taxes.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Dunlop Winter Sport M3 gets my vote.
Using them on a 2005 S4.
They do a great job of trying to make 340HP stick to sloppy conditions.
And they're quiet on the highway with good dry handling characteristics.

I also like Pirelli's winter tires (Wintersport 210/240) which I used for 4 years on 2003 A4 1.8TQ.

Tried Kumho in the past on another vehicle and didn't rate them particularly highly. Tread blocks seem too close together.

Hope that helps.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

My Dunlops we amazing on the drive home in all this snow;)

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I decided to get the Blizzak LM25 V rated. So far so good, haven't left the house yet with all that snow...

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Driving on LM25's now (235/45/17) and they're good in snow and awesome on dry. Not sure if my Dunlops were better due to design or the fact that they had a narrower contact patch (215/55/16).

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Well I just thought I'd throw in my two bits and say that Toyo Garrit HT's are an impressive tire. They have performed amazingly (H speed rating for a snow tire is nice) and don't seem to wear much as long as you take them off when things warm up. (205/55/R16)

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I put on Dunlop Wintersport M3's, a performance winter tire. Excellent tire! The wintersport 3D's are newer but im not sure if they are a performance tire. You could debate on the "best" tire till the spring comes, but you need to decide on your needs and driving conditions. I prefer a tire that suits my spirited driving, in any condition. Every "major" storm we had in southern ontario this season resulted in dry roads by noon the following day. So if you prefer the absolute best ice and snow tire, then be prepared to do without the fun your Audi provides the other 27 days of the month. Nothing worse than a squirmy tire on dry roads. Mind you, those tires are as good on ice as they are on dry pavement. Maybe better on ice.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Oh yeah, tirerack ships to canada, and they take care of all duties and taxes up front. Customer service is outstanding, especially if your shipment goes awol. They will ship out another set the same day you call them if your package is lost. If all goes well, you'll get your tires in 3 days.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Another great day for winters!!

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

Bump for tirerack.com they sell some pretty nice brembo slotted rotors that I am going to get.

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

hmmm didn't know they sold brakes as well... they never advertise those in magazines...

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I put Nokian WRs and so far here in Toronto they have been a great winter tire.
I also put them on my wife's Subaru .

Re: Whats a good winter tire?
 

I have had 2 sets of Nokian WR's on my '95 Benz E320 (rear wheel drive and no traction control) and they were awesome in the winter and in the rain. The beauty is you don't have to change them spring and fall. I got 60,000 Kms out of the first set. I live in Saskatchewan - enough said!