ya they do look pretty good for winters! im using my OEM for winters as i bought new summer rims. but with your summers the truck still looks sexy! congrats, looks great!

 

Here is a pic of mine, went from 21's to 19's (not the greatest pic as apparently the BB torch doesn't like my work garage but you get the idea)

 

18" Pirelli Scorpian Ice and Snow on R8 replica rims. Fantastic on dry. Now to wait for snow.

 

Newbie here south of you guys a bit wanting some insight on winter tires. I really would like to know the differences of performance on ice/snow with 18/19 versus the factory 20". I just got the Q5 3.2 S-Line with 20s and really unhappy with light snow traction with the Scorpion Verde tires that came with it. I know they are all-season are do not function in snow, but was hoping for a little more grip. I order the same tires as keroppi (Scorpion Ice&Snow) in 20" and wanted to see if anyone has experience with 20" in snow (versus 18")?

Thanks!

 

In Canada the 20 inch sline rims come with summer tires. I'm surprised in the US it's all season. For winter rims an tires the rims size commonly used for q5 for winter is 18. It's really the tire that makes a huge difference. I have falcon tires on the same rims as above and have driven im 5 inches of snow for about 5 once with no problems at all.

 

Just wanted to send you guys an update. I kept my 20" on my 3.2 S-Line and went with Pirelli Ice and Snow. I went skiing today and tried out the 20" in some deep snow. The tires performed outstanding in snow, very happy I decided to keep the 20s and go with the Ice and Snow.

 

I put 19's with Bridgestone Blizzaks on my s-line. I am sure the 20's with winter tires would have been fine too. All this hype about 18's for winter is overkill. The 19's have more than enough sidewall and don't take too much away from the S-line look. 19's hold up fine for your run of the mill pot-holes too. Congrats on going against the grain and keeping your 20's on (eventhough you will have a little more wear and tear on your mags when you factor the rougher use and bi-annual changing of tires.)

 

I have Pirelli Scorpions on my Touareg (18's). The inside shoulders on the fronts cupped and wore down to the wear bars at 33,000K. They're also basically useless in the winter, having almost zero traction-don't steer very well either. I hope you have better luck than I did.

 

While I have only had them on for two months and we only received our first snow last night (~2 inches), I'm very pleased with the Michelin Latitude Alpins. Highway ride and handling is excellent (dry pavement) and no noticeable traction issues on snow/slippery side roads this morning. Auto123.com rated them #1 in the Performance Winter tire category for SUVs/CUVs.