BurnsWRC

Ok, I'm preparing myself a little early.

I'm never driving my 19's in Quebec winters again. The roads are just too brutal over here. The city of Montreal seems to be set on making roads unsuitable for rims wider than 17's.

So for next winter, I'll be taking my stock 19's off and putting a set of 17's with winters on. Looking around the city I caught a few S5's running 17's, something similar to these (but ive also seen other models):



The weird part is, last time I went to Audi, there was an S5 parked outside with these same rims installed, yet when I look at that model in the parts catalog, there is a clear note that these dont fit the S5.

Here it is, a brand new set of these with tires at Audi will cost me upwards of $2,500. Not really worth it if there are other options available.

What do you guys run in winter? Do you have a good package (rim and tire) you are willing to recommend?

Thanks for the help !

Neova

I run audi replica 5-spoke "twist" on 18x8 ET38 with 225/45R18 Michelin Alpin Pilot PA3 winters. 17" with 225/50R17 looks very small on the B8 platform and 245/40 is too low profile for potholes so 225/45 is the ideal balance between cushioning and handling. It cost around $2100 installed w/ taxes in. The replicas are 150ea and tires 325ea. So the cost is mostly dependent on tire choice. The habkook Ice Bear will probably do the same job at half the price but it was sold out so I got the Michelin

Btw I have an A4 S-Line so the offset above is too high fir you. You'll need around ET29-32

BurnsWRC

So apart from the look you mean 17's are no good? I dont really care about look in winter. All that matters is not having to replace my tires every winter because of tire bumps.

My 19's lasted 1 winter, and i dont recall hitting any potholes at all. Seems like if theres a little bump on the road, the tires take a massive beating.

I'm just looking for whatever is durable.

Neova

it's not just looks. The 17" wheel and tire combo needs to be the same overall diameter as your 19" combo, which means to your 17" combo will have 1 extra inch of sidewall. This extra sidewall is great for absorbing potholes but will make handling in the dry worst.

Personally, i found the 225/45R18 on 18" combo a good compromise - enough sidewall to absorb potholes on the road, narrow tire to cut thru snow, and 18" looks decent on the B8 platform

but if you want very durable then 225/50R17 on 17x7.5 wheel with ET32 offset will work with your S5, also a lot cheaper. 17" snow wheel/tire combo starts at around $1200, while 18" are about $1700 and up.

BurnsWRC

Ok, thanks for the comments. Make sense. Any recommendations? Is Tire Rack the best place to go to ? Specifically for Canada

Neova

I used to buy lots from tiretrack, and now they also have a duty/brokerage calculator so you'll know how much on top to pay. Expect about $200 shipping/brokerage charges for a $2000 tire package.

you can try 1010tires.com and tiretrends.com, both are located in B.C. so you save on the brokerage/duty but still need to pay about $100 shipping.

I would suggest buying local in montreal - i'm sure there are lots of tires ships that carry Audi Replicas