Winter Tyre scheme :-/

[wolfie138]

Got myself a Dynamik in October, i asked about the winter tyre scheme at the time and they said to call for details etc etc. W/ the weather taking a turn, i called today and found the wheel/tyre option is sold out >:-( There's nothing on the website etc about it being limited, guy was saying they got an email saying the scheme had been sold out and they wouldn't be restocking.
Did anyone score for this?
My car's a quattro so i'm keen to find out what that goes like, but she's got 19" 255s on each corner so i'm guessing that might counteract any benefit i would have got in the snow :-D after the debacle last year tho, if there's more than 2" on the ground i think i'll be tempted to just call in sick for work, due to the amount of other numpties putting my car at risk from their total lack of winter driving skills. bad enough in my last car, but i don't want a brand new A4 dented, or worse!

 

[jdp1962]

What is a Dynamik?

 

[Zafi]

Buy a set off wheels off Ebay and a set of V rated Conti Winter tyres. Thats what I did

This time of year there are full sets of nearly new tyres on the bay for a fraction of new price.

 

[Rosie Quattro]

its the way you drive that makes all the difference, my wife's X5 had no issues last year running on 20" Toyo's, we had snow up to the sills and I would select drive, no throttle and DSP off, once you have momentum your laughing.
An A4 Quattro is perm mechanical diff, TT's etc are electronic diff and can suffer in the snow.....
don't wast your money on the winter Tyre rubbish on a quattro.

 

[Zafi]

Braking performance of Winter tyres is worth the money

 

[Inked]

its the way you drive that makes all the difference, my wife's X5 had no issues last year running on 20" Toyo's, we had snow up to the sills and I would select drive, no throttle and DSP off, once you have momentum your laughing.
An A4 Quattro is perm mechanical diff, TT's etc are electronic diff and can suffer in the snow.....
don't wast your money on the winter Tyre rubbish on a quattro.

And what about once you have lost traction? It won't matter whether you have quattro, FWD or RWD.

I have decided not to buy any myself, but I don't have to worry about work, and my wife can work from home. If I did have any great need to be able to use the car over winter, I would certainly invest in winter tyres - quattro or not.

 

[wolfie138]

not sure i'm going to bother this year, i was actually considering the "alloys off ebay" approach but i'm not sure i'd have the space to store an extra set of wheels.

here's a question tho ; assuming i was going to, what size wheels/tyres would be best to move to? i'm currently on 255/35 on a 19" rim ~ would i be limited as to what i could move to?
TIA

 

[Zafi]

Smaller wheels with taller sidewalls are more flexible so you get more grip
Assuming you have standard sized brake discs....
7.5J x 17; ET 45, make sure they are the 08 onwards wheels with 112mm PCD and 66.56mm bore (earlier wheels were same PCD but 57.1mm bore)
I went for Conti tyres
225/50 R17 98V CONTINENTAL WINTER CONTACT TS 830 P

 

[evil_scooby]

Zafi, do you mean standard S4 or standard a4?

I was wondering if I can drop my s4 down to 17s as they seem much easier to get for winter tyres.

 

[Zafi]

Zafi, do you mean standard S4 or standard a4?

I was wondering if I can drop my s4 down to 17s as they seem much easier to get for winter tyres.

I was talking A4, sorry. I guess you have to ask the dealer which size wheels the Winter tyres scheme recommended for the S4.

 

[Andy_S]

I've put a set of these MICHELIN Pilot Alpin PA3 | Tyres | MICHELIN on the S4. One of the few winter tyres I could find in 19". Not cheap at £299 each from Kwik Fit, but they do seem to do the job on the few bits of frozen road I've had the chance to play on!

 

[Scuffers]

Zafi, do you mean standard S4 or standard a4?

I was wondering if I can drop my s4 down to 17s as they seem much easier to get for winter tyres.

just done the same with my S4, 17" rimms and 225/50R17 Dunlop winter sport 3D 225/50R17 94H AO

 

[Keef]

Have been reading this thread and have been toying
with the idea of getting some smaller wheels
and winter tyres. But as our cars are quite low I don't want
to turn in to mr plough if we have a lot of snow!

Scuffers - where did you get the wheels from?
I assume the 17" clear the disc ok?
If they clear on an S4 they should be ok on mine!

Cheers
Keef

 

[Scuffers]

Scuffers - where did you get the wheels from?
I assume the 17" clear the disc ok?
If they clear on an S4 they should be ok on mine!

Cheers
Keef

they are Audi Sport wheels of an old A4 (Ebay!)

7.5J17 ET45

only thing is that I had to have the centre bore machined out as B8 hubs are bigger than the older cars.

on the front, they are close to the brake calliper but there is enough clearance.

I was going to buy the Audi 17" wheel/tyre package, but starting asking for them 8+ weeks ago and just gave up on them ever being in stock.

 

[ANDYTQ]

Just fitted vredestein wintrac extremes on my a4 quattro 18" tried it on really bad sheet ice last night which i struggled to stand on and they were amazing no sliding at all,winter tyres are much better i put some on the wifes golf last year and it was much more controlable in the snow than my a3 quattro on toyo t1rs.

 

[mojo555]

I read this with interest, the wife had to leave our car at work on Friday night as she couldn't get it up the quite steep drive to get out (the 2010 S3 we had last year did it with ease) Our car is a 136 Tdi avant front wheel drive...booo so wish i had got the quattro!!! I have been to audi today to look at swapping but the cost to change is just too much. so was wondering about winter tyres, what are peoples thoughts and experiences, do you think it would help the situatuion or do i still need the quattro plus winter tyres???

Thanks for any advice

 

[dmaudi]

Winter tyres make a huge difference,

Last winter I had a 330d which was as useless as you describe on its road roller 19" wheels and tyres,

Fitted some winter tyres to a set of 18" alloys and it was almost as capable as my other 4wd car, and stopped so much better I had to keep checking my mirrors in case someone was going to slide into the back of me

I also did a trip to the alps in it on the winter tyres and didn't even worry about the trip, all of it <0C there and back

Winter tyres last longer and grip better, why they are not legal as they are in central Europe in winter is beyond me.

You really don't need Quattro

 

[Zafi]

Have been reading this thread and have been toying
with the idea of getting some smaller wheels
and winter tyres. But as our cars are quite low I don't want
to turn in to mr plough if we have a lot of snow!
Cheers
Keef

Smaller wheels have taller tyres, so outside diameter is the same.
The car will sit at the same height.
Its the tall sidewalls with more flex that help give more grip in snow.....

 

[riggssuzuki]

I work in Norway a lot and its law to have winter tyres. I had a 335D M Sport BMW (Chipped to 360 BHP and 640 Nm) last year and with winter tyres I had not one single problem. I used it on a weekly commute at 0400hr in the NE of Scotland through the worst of the winter last year. The braking was the most impressive thing. I now have an A4 Dynamik Quattro and have still fitted a full set of winters. As someone stated above it also has a lot to do with the driving style but the difference with winters ona a cold snowy icy road is huge. No issues with the insurance company as some people seem concerned about.

 

[wolfie138]

what rims/tyres did you get, riggs? i've been thinking that it might be worth getting something just to be prepared ~ pretty sure i could pick up something cheaper than Audi would sell me, all i'd need to look into would be the stoarge space.

 

[riggssuzuki]

I got the ones from Audi. Whatever wheel it is they supply with the winter tyre package, it wasnt too far off the price of ebay alloys and getting tyres put on circa 1k. I hate the look with 17"s compared to the Dynamik's 19" Back ones. Cant wait til winter is over!!!!Although i will admit to slipping with the wheel nut wrench and chipping an alloy. B*****d!!!!1 muppet!!!!!!!!!!! Oh how i swore!!

 

[wolfie138]

cheers riggs, good to know they don't rip people's eyes out, like some dealers.

nightmare re the alloy. i almost did one way better tho : i parked up at work and somehow didn't put the handbrake on
fortunately the carpark's so flat so trickled back and when she bumped up over a kerb it was enough to slow her to a stop and didn't even ground. lucky as fk like, if that hadn't happened she woulda rolled back into a metal portacabin.

 

[riggssuzuki]

cheers riggs, good to know they don't rip people's eyes out, like some dealers.

nightmare re the alloy. i almost did one way better tho : i parked up at work and somehow didn't put the handbrake on
fortunately the carpark's so flat so trickled back and when she bumped up over a kerb it was enough to slow her to a stop and didn't even ground. lucky as fk like, if that hadn't happened she woulda rolled back into a metal portacabin.

I came back to my car 2 weekends ago to find some tw*t had hit the rear left. It just looks like a shadow but i know its there. I am gutted. my beautiful white dream has been desecrated! Thats my next job.....after the re map!!!