Winter wheels

[Antjos1]

Hi planning to get a set of winter wheels and tyres seen some on website Rimstyle
Alutec wheels anyone recommend them.
https://www.rimstyle.com/products/wheels/alutec_ikenu_gbpo/xlarge/1.jpg

 

[ZipZap01]

Alutec are a decent aftermarket german brand. Quality is good for the price.

I'm currently looking at winter wheels, and am still deciding between alutec and AEZ. I was thinking of getting some AEZ Raise glossy - as these are winter compatible and the 18" versions are available in audi OEM fit, so just bolt on.

Things to check are whether the wheels just bolt on with the audi wheel bolts - or whether they use different wheel bolts, or need some sort of adaptor. Most aftermarket wheels use different bolts, and it's very important not to mix these up with the audi bolts. However, many german wheel manufacturers make wheels specifically designed for audi cars, which are designed to just fit directly with the audi bolts.

Also think about the wheel design. The wheel you linked is diamond cut. Diamond cut wheels are not recommended for winter use, because they are badly corroded by salt and are very easily damaged by snow chains. Some manufacturers will void the wheel warranty if used in winter. Alutec make a painted version of the wheel you linked (ikenu) which they recommend for winter use.

 

[Fatbloke]

I have 16" Audi alloys (previously used steels on Skoda and Astravan for several years) with 205x55x16 Continental Wintercontact tyres (currently TS860).

They have been awesome in all winter weather. Well worth putting them on and the initial outlay.

 

[makelja]

With diamond cut wheels there is a possibility of corrosion. If the clear coat gets damaged the road salt will make the wheel look awful.

 

[Phil-1]

I have a set of 16” alloys that I swap my 18” for at winter. Winter tyres cost a lot less in 16” than 18”.


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[msdmjb]

I bought a second set of OE 18inch wheels off here for my S3.
Cost I think about £700 plus tyres on top, tyres have done 4 winters and are superb. Takes 30mins max each time to swop the wheels. Wheels will still have a used value as fit all A3s excl. RS3 I think.

 

[Svenedin]

I bought a second set of OE 18inch wheels off here for my S3.
Cost I think about £700 plus tyres on top, tyres have done 4 winters and are superb. Takes 30mins max each time to swop the wheels. Wheels will still have a used value as fit all A3s excl. RS3 I think.

That is exactly what I did. My Winter wheels are not diamond cut, Summer set are. Suggest a torque wrench and either deep socket or short extension bar to ensure wheel bolts at correct torque and to keep wrench clear of bodywork. I keep the torque wrench next to the spare wheel.

 

[Phil-1]

I got a set of 16” A3 sport wheel cost me £40 from the scrap yard. Just change the 18” when it’s winter


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[Cooper82]

I am looking to fit winter tyres. I was looking at your replacing the tyres and keep the same wheels on. I can’t find a cheap set of wheels for my vehicle and I assume I need to fit in a tyre pressure sensor on the winter wheels which is an extra cost.

 

[Phil-1]

I am looking to fit winter tyres. I was looking at your replacing the tyres and keep the same wheels on. I can’t find a cheap set of wheels for my vehicle and I assume I need to fit in a tyre pressure sensor on the winter wheels which is an extra cost.

Regarding the tyre pressure monitor. Mine is not in the tyres it’s part of the ABS system.

I didn’t want to use my diamond cut wheels in winter. So got a set from the scrap yard, if they get curbed so me it

What car do you have?


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[Cooper82]

Regarding the tyre pressure monitor. Mine is not in the tyres it’s part of the ABS system.

I didn’t want to use my diamond cut wheels in winter. So got a set from the scrap yard, if they get curbed so me it

What car do you have?


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Hi Phil, thanks for the prompt reply. I got an A5 TDI 2.0, just noticed I have posted on the wrong subsection so apologies for that. Not sure what type of tyre pressure monitor I got.

 

[Carefree69]

I’m going to do what I’ve done for 25+ winters and just drive on the wheels/tyres I’ve used throughout the year.

My secret? Just drive according to the conditions......it is that simple.

I don’t knock anyone who goes to the inconvenience of swapping wheels every year, but for me it’s a complete waste of time.

 

[Svenedin]

I’m going to do what I’ve done for 25+ winters and just drive on the wheels/tyres I’ve used throughout the year.

My secret? Just drive according to the conditions......it is that simple.

I don’t knock anyone who goes to the inconvenience of swapping wheels every year, but for me it’s a complete waste of time.

You “don’t knock anyone” but you do say the same thing on any thread about Winter wheels/tyres. I don’t doubt that you are correct for your personal circumstances but there are people from both many regions of the U.K. and many countries in the world on this forum. Some live in countries where Winter tyres are mandatory, some do not want to destroy their diamond cut wheels with months of road salt, some live in hilly or mountainous regions where Summer tyres simply do not cut the mustard and others (myself included) have professions where failure in bad Winter weather is not an option.

 

[Carefree69]

I do say the same about winter tyres because for me they are just not necessary in the U.K. I have said however that for certain countries with REAL winters they are a necessity, go back and read my posts.

And as for professions I am a serving firefighter in the London Fire Brigade so NOT turning up for work means that my fire station is off the run.....far far more serious than someone who works in I.T. or works as a builder etc, no lives are at risk in most professions.

If you drive according to the conditions you’ll be ok, not a difficult concept to comprehend.

You think that winter tyres are essential and I don’t.......it’s as simple as that mate.

 

[Fatbloke]

I have used winter wheels and tyres for several years now. 16" steels initially but now alloys. Used them on my Astravan and the Skoda VRS. They were transformed. Never ever got stuck. Used the VRS every winter in the Scottish Highlands sometimes in very poor conditions. No problems whatsoever. Very sure footed. It also means the 18" alloys are stored safely over the winter.

It's a lot easier just changing a separate set of 16" wheels than having winter and summer tyres changed on the 18" alloys. As for "just drive to the conditions", I have many years experience doing that also and would use winter tyres every time for the added safety and to keep my summer alloys in good condition.

With the A3, 16" alloys and Continental Wintercontact tyres with quattro, it gives me much more confidence in all winter conditions, not just snow.

 

[Svenedin]

I do say the same about winter tyres because for me they are just not necessary in the U.K. I have said however that for certain countries with REAL winters they are a necessity, go back and read my posts.

And as for professions I am a serving firefighter in the London Fire Brigade so NOT turning up for work means that my fire station is off the run.....far far more serious than someone who works in I.T. or works as a builder etc, no lives are at risk in most professions.

If you drive according to the conditions you’ll be ok, not a difficult concept to comprehend.

You think that winter tyres are essential and I don’t.......it’s as simple as that mate.

Yes as for profession I am a military doctor. London, I would agree -it barely drizzles snow there in a bad year and doesn't snow at all in a mild Winter. I should know, I do come from South London/Surrey border. However, try Summer tyres in the Scottish Borders and you will not be so confident.

 

[Carefree69]

And if you read my previous posts you’ll see that I state that it depends where you live. In 25+ years the winters have never caused me to be late for work. If you drive like a d!ck in bad conditions then expect to get into trouble.

I’m ok with people using winter tyres, I’m just saying that for me they are a complete waste of time.....and I’ve driven through some pretty grim winters. I live in very rural Essex and Ive seen the worst that winter can bring.

 

[Svenedin]

And if you read my previous posts you’ll see that I state that it depends where you live. In 25+ years the winters have never caused me to be late for work. If you drive like a d!ck in bad conditions then expect to get into trouble.

I’m ok with people using winter tyres, I’m just saying that for me they are a complete waste of time.....and I’ve driven through some pretty grim winters. I live in very rural Essex and Ive seen the worst that winter can bring.

Well I have been driving now for 29 years. In Winter I am fortunate enough to have never had an accident but there is always a first (and last) time. I have however, had all manner of escapades with shovels, old carpet and anything else to try to gain traction. It is not fun. Snow is fairly manageable, ice is not.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Well I have been driving now for 29 years. In Winter I am fortunate enough to have never had an accident but there is always a first (and last) time. I have however, had all manner of escapades with shovels, old carpet and anything else to try to gain traction. It is not fun. Snow is fairly manageable, ice is not.

That comment " Snow is fairly manageable, ice is not" is a great statement. Winter tyres will get you through most that winter can throw at you. The point is summer tyres will not and that includes ice which is prevalent on most country roads in the UK. Summer tyres do not work well at temperatures below 5 degrees C, stopping distances and overall grip are compromised in both wet and dry conditions at that temperature threshold.
Case in point Pirelli do not warranty their P Zero as shown below from the Tire Rack website.
There is no doubt that for complete peace of mind, winter tyres are the way to go for those that have roads that experience winter temperatures and winter conditions. For those that use summer tyres when it snows etc and the roads have not been ploughed and salted/gritted do everyone a favour and park the car.

TIRE RACK PIRELLI P ZERO
Pirelli's warranty does not cover tires that develop compound cracking due to use in ambient temperatures below 45° Fahrenheit (7° Celsius), so the P Zero, like all summer tires, is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

 

[JonW]

Interesting thread this one, I live in the High Peak and the roads can get pretty nasty and quickly, you have temperature variations from 0 to -6 just on a 8 mile stretch of road, on a couple of bends there’s water run off from natural springs which spices things up a bit.

Last year was interesting, as it was my first proper winter in a Quattro I thought I’d go for a mooch one quiet morning just to see how the S3 coped, most of the road was compacted ice/snow and there’s a lot of tight bends going in to inclines and descents, I’d say I’m a very cautious driver in those conditions and just didn’t push it or test my luck, in new summer tyres I was pretty impressed and had no trouble.

That’s all very well and good, but I know that if I needed to take some kind of action to avoid some other muppet I’d have problems trying to avoid something, there would have been very little control under breaking and stopping distance would have dramatically increased, so I made the decision to get winter tyres this year, Mainly for the Mrs if she wanted to use the car. In those conditions I’d probably be sound if it was just me on the road, however, in reality you have to account for muppets in front and judging their reactions and other over confident muppets coming in the opposite direction, if someone is going to hit me I’d prefer to able to at least slow down a little before hand or try to avoid them entirely, normal tyres in those (rare) situations could be useless.

Winter tyres are worth it in my situation.

 

[Jonny B]

And if you read my previous posts you’ll see that I state that it depends where you live. In 25+ years the winters have never caused me to be late for work. If you drive like a d!ck in bad conditions then expect to get into trouble.

I’m ok with people using winter tyres, I’m just saying that for me they are a complete waste of time.....and I’ve driven through some pretty grim winters. I live in very rural Essex and Ive seen the worst that winter can bring.

“For me they are a complete waste of time “
Just like any other driver aid , be it ABS , traction control or the like hopefully your driving skills never call these into play , but for the one time that you misjudge the conditions and even the best of us do , winter tyres can dramatically reduce your stopping distance .
You may not be driving like a “d-ck” but plenty of people I encounter in bad conditions are . I will take any assistance to protect myself and my passengers . Had more than one car slither out of a junction unable to stop this winter in front of me . Could I have pulled up on summers ? Maybe , but sooner not take that chance . Can’t protect against everything as I’m sure in your job u know . But you can reduce the risk .
Just my view .



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[Carefree69]

Yep fair point that^^

Maybe I’ve just been lucky then, and maybe at some point I’ll try them, I’m just saying that so far I’ve never felt the need that’s all.

 

[Pook]

What it comes down to is level of convenience and cost vs risk factor. If convenience wasn’t a factor at all (ie we all had an F1 pit crew on standby 24/7), we’d swap our tyres on a daily basis to suit the conditions for that day. But that obviously isn’t practical in real life. So some compromise by saying well ok in winter I’m going to encounter rubbish conditions 25% of the time and so I’ll put winter tyres on for 4 months. Others say well I’m going to encounter rubbish conditions only 5% of the time, and so decide against it because the cost (of a second set of wheels) and convienience isn’t worth it weighed against frequency of occurrence and risk factor - the less you encounter these conditions the lower the risk factor. So in summary, it’s all a non-argument really, it’s just a personal opinion on what level of risk factor is acceptable to the individual. And for what it’s worth, I don’t change, I live in not so sunny newcastle and just drive to the conditions, i pay a lot of money to drive a car with top notch diamond cut alloys, I ain’t driving it for 6 months of the year on rubbish looking wheels for the sake of the odd snowy/icy day, those days I just stay on the sofa with the heating on - that is my risk mitigation

 

[AlS3BE]

Well here’s my take on it.
Been driving for over 2 decades. So here goes(ready for flaming)

For years never used winter tyres/wheels and then got them and thought why didn’t I do this years ago.

Winter tyres aren’t just for snow or ice it’s for when weather gets below 7 degrees.
I found with the winters, favourite so far Dunlop’s 3D, in the wet it just cut through standing water. Car never even flinched a bit in heavy rain and this was compared to the Michelin’s PS3 I had on the old car.
Compromise was that there was not as much side ways grip when cornering compared to Michelin’s but definitely made up for with the forward straight line grip.
In snow and icy conditions it was night and day. Braking distance and grip was excellent compared to the very good PS3.
Recently in the beast from the east I was the only one made it out my street even though there was a raft of suvs in my street including a few evoques and q5. Snow was past the bumper and it ploughed through like it wasn’t there even when I had to go save a mate from his discovery sport stuck in a snow drift. Even we laughed how my A6 had to go save him from his Land Rover. I wouldn’t call it a Land Rover if it doesn’t have the magic diff lock lever or button.
I live in Scotland and some parts gets it worse than others. Gritters only do main roads so a lot of side streets gets left behind.
Pain is getting it swapped. I bought my winter wheels from a dealer last time and they did the swap and storage for me so effortless on me.
I also got the nicer looking alloys so aesthetically it was nice but not as nice as the bigger summer wheels.
Would I do it again. Definitely yes. S3 being a light car should work well. Just trying to find the cheapest way to do it.

 

[Pook]

Well here’s my take on it.
Been driving for over 2 decades. So here goes(ready for flaming)

For years never used winter tyres/wheels and then got them and thought why didn’t I do this years ago.

Winter tyres aren’t just for snow or ice it’s for when weather gets below 7 degrees.
I found with the winters, favourite so far Dunlop’s 3D, in the wet it just cut through standing water. Car never even flinched a bit in heavy rain and this was compared to the Michelin’s PS3 I had on the old car.
Compromise was that there was not as much side ways grip when cornering compared to Michelin’s but definitely made up for with the forward straight line grip.
In snow and icy conditions it was night and day. Braking distance and grip was excellent compared to the very good PS3.
Recently in the beast from the east I was the only one made it out my street even though there was a raft of suvs in my street including a few evoques and q5. Snow was past the bumper and it ploughed through like it wasn’t there even when I had to go save a mate from his discovery sport stuck in a snow drift. Even we laughed how my A6 had to go save him from his Land Rover. I wouldn’t call it a Land Rover if it doesn’t have the magic diff lock lever or button.
I live in Scotland and some parts gets it worse than others. Gritters only do main roads so a lot of side streets gets left behind.
Pain is getting it swapped. I bought my winter wheels from a dealer last time and they did the swap and storage for me so effortless on me.
I also got the nicer looking alloys so aesthetically it was nice but not as nice as the bigger summer wheels.
Would I do it again. Definitely yes. S3 being a light car should work well. Just trying to find the cheapest way to do it.

When it gets below 7 degrees?! I’d have winters on for 10 months of the year!

 

[Flying Scotsman]

When it gets below 7 degrees?! I’d have winters on for 10 months of the year!

If that is the case, then you might want to look at "all season tyres"......Summer tyres, especially high performance ones, are just that summer tyres.

 

[AlS3BE]

When it gets below 7 degrees?! I’d have winters on for 10 months of the year!

At their best below 7. Google a video of winter tyres in summer and see how they deteriorate in the heat.
Normal summer rubber gets hard below 7 so not at their best for grip.
All compromises!
Now with all season getting popular I find they are just full of compromises. Not great in summer and not great in winter.

 

[AlS3BE]

If that is the case, then you might want to look at "all season tyres"......Summer tyres, especially high performance ones, are just that summer tyres.

Want/need high performance tyres for the s3
So looking at winter set.
All season is too compromised.

 

[Rideen]

I wouldn't get diamond cut wheels for winter honestly. As mine is an underpowered diesel, I just use 16" OEM wheels during the winter months and then swap to 18" for the summer.

 

[Phil-1]

I wouldn't get diamond cut wheels for winter honestly. As mine is an underpowered diesel, I just use 16" OEM wheels during the winter months and then swap to 18" for the summer.

That’s exactly what I have and do. We live at the top of a hill and and it’s exposed. It can get very icy and we normally have a good dump of snow. The wife uses the car during the day for work so the 18” come off and a set of 16” wheels with mid-range winter tyres go on. If we hit the curb etc it’s no big deal. Plus any thing that keeps the car on the road and out of the ditch is worth it.
Not that we drive like idiots, but it only takes a patch of black ice or another motorist for it all to go wrong very quickly.


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[Zache]

Here is mine with 16inch steal wheels
They will be going back on my car soon

 

[Zache]

 

[Svenedin]

Changed mine over today. Took me about an hour which includes a 10 minute drive and then re-check of the bolt torques. I’ll check again in about a week. The weather will probably turn mild now.....

 

[Peter123]

Changed mine over today. Took me about an hour which includes a 10 minute drive and then re-check of the bolt torques. I’ll check again in about a week. The weather will probably turn mild now.....

Apparently up to 14 degrees C on Friday.

 

[Zache]

I work nights so My car gets used when the temperatures at its coldest

 

[Phil-1]

I’m getting new winter tyres next week. Not sure what to put on the A3 did have Dunlop Winter Sport. But they are a bit of an over kill


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[Zache]

I've got Michelin alpin 4s this will be there 4th season ,
I had diamond cut alloys on my previous car and they where wrecked by the end ,

Overkill probably yes but to protect my diamond cuts for me it's worth it ,and there still tread on my 18 regular wheels

 

[Svenedin]

Apparently up to 14 degrees C on Friday.

Yes but there are two consideration for me. Firstly, I drive at 0530 in the morning when it is coldest and secondly, I don't fancy spending an hour outside changing the wheels when the weather really is horrible!

 

[Zache]

It can cost £10 to get some one to change your wheels once a year

 

[Svenedin]

It can cost £10 to get some one to change your wheels once a year

If I knew anyone who would change the wheels over that cheaply (and do a proper job) I wouldn't do it myself! My local VAG independent quoted £78 just to switch the wheels over (no mounting tyres, no balancing just switching the wheels). Absolute p*ss take. They are doing my haldex oil change and filter change next week (at a reasonable price) and I will ask them how exactly they arrived at such a silly price (especially when they will already have the car on the 4 point lift).