As winter approaches here in North America, I'm going to need to ditch the pirellis soon. Over on audizine, the consensus was going 245/35 square is probably the best all season option for RS3. Just wanted to check in here and see if that's generally the thought. I do see that I can get DTS Conti in OEM sizes but that appears to be the only all season option available in OEM sizes. I'm open to it but they are really expensive. Appreciate the thoughts. BTW, where I live we don't get much snow and even if we do, on those days, I'll just work from home. Cold temps is the bigger issue. Am I crazy to try to get away with the P Zero's in winter? Most of my drive is a mundane commute but temps frequently drop below 20F.
All Season Tire Options?
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Thanks. Am i correct that the front rims are wider than the rear? Being told 245/35 is the best compromise given the different widths.
Yes correct fronts 9J wide rears 8J
I’d be trying to stick to 265 if it was something I was going to do.
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Yeah, I understand that in theory but there is exactly 1 All Season tire in the market in the OEM size.
Can you explain why sticking to the staggered set up is needed? Purely to address steering? Probably won't matter to me in my daily drive. If there is some other reason, that would interest me.
Thanks, yes, they are available in a square setup. I've heard good things but they are indeed very expensive.
My main worry is that you wouldn’t be able to get a bang on rolling radii with the square setup and you will have the car constantly thinking the fronts are slipping and engaging the rear when it’s not needed.
That’s just my concern though, whether it’s a justified worry is another story.
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What does your door jamb sticker say for winter tyres size ?
235 all round it says here
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When I picked up my new RS3 in an Ottawa Canada Winter the dealer asked me to sign a waiver which said I was using Summer tires in the Winter. I drove for about 45 minutes in -6C (21F) with a light snow on the ground. It was awful. The reason drivers can get away with Summer tires in the UK is because all the traffic slows to a crawl. Where I live drivers are doing 90+kms/hr in the snow.
All Season tires (M+S) start to lose performance at 7C (45F). That leaves Winters and All Weather tires which have the snowflake mountain symbol making them suitable for Winter. The big thing that I learned is to be aware of what drivers around you are using for tires. For me everyone is using Winters and a 235/35 R19 will be the worst tire on the road. Everyone else is using high profile wheels and tires like maybe 195/55 R15 with maybe 32 psi. In a panic stop those cars are going to stop way sooner than a 235/35 R19 42psi. Soft and skinny is what works best in snowy conditions.
All Season tires (M+S) start to lose performance at 7C (45F). That leaves Winters and All Weather tires which have the snowflake mountain symbol making them suitable for Winter. The big thing that I learned is to be aware of what drivers around you are using for tires. For me everyone is using Winters and a 235/35 R19 will be the worst tire on the road. Everyone else is using high profile wheels and tires like maybe 195/55 R15 with maybe 32 psi. In a panic stop those cars are going to stop way sooner than a 235/35 R19 42psi. Soft and skinny is what works best in snowy conditions.
Been using 235 tyres since 2015 through some very bad Uk conditions actually.
RS3’s I’ve used em on performed 100% in conditions most other cars around me were struggling / stranded with.
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Thanks. I"m struggling to assess what - if any - detraction in day to day driving I might feel going square. Audi is really touting the staggered set up for the 8y. Square options are more plentiful and a couple hundred cheaper but maybe it's not worth messing with. I suspect I wouldn't notice a different other than that feeling in the back of mind that it could be better (whatever that means).
We had Michelin Cross climates on our M140i and while they were great in Winter, not so good in Summer. Too soft.
I'd just go with a set of dedicated Winters.
I'd just go with a set of dedicated Winters.
Appreciate the response. However, dedicated winters are overkill for me in this climate. Really focused on all seasons and choosing the correct size.
Knock yourself out but they are no-where near as good as summer tires so you'd be ruining the handling/confidence/grip for no reason.
If you read my post, you would realize you are answering a question I didn't ask. I'm well aware of the negatives with all seasons. I drive my car as a daily and almost never push it to the limits. I've been running high performance all seasons on Porsche, BMW, Audi and Tesla for 25 years and am perfectly happy with them. To the extent performance is compromised, it makes absolutely no difference to me. Winter tires are a worse compromise in my particular situation. My dilemma is due to the unique staggered set up on the 8y what the best compromise is - sticking with OEM sizing or going with a square setup and, if so, what is the best sizing. Was hoping someone might have some real world feedback.
So you're well aware of the negatives, happy with them on a Porsche but don't care if performance is compromised.
Sounds like you keep buying the wrong cars.
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Think the OP is waiting for someone to confirm what he thinks is right!
TX.
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TX.
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What a friendly place this forum is. Appreciate your feedback but feel free to go post elsewhere.
Huh? What is there to be right or wrong about? I am buying all seasons period. I wasn't asking anyone to bless that decision (even though others decided to offer it unsolicited). The question was whether to go square or staggered and how it might affect handling.
What difference does it make how it might affect handling when you've already said you you've already said "To the extent performance is compromised, it makes absolutely no difference to me".
You're on a public forum in whcih there are many knowledgeable members with lots of experience.
The difference between stagered or square compared to Cross-Climate and Summer - in the summer will be tiny. Same can be said for Winters in winter where there is often snow on the road.
Right, the difference between high performance all seasons and summer tires makes no difference to me. But that isn't what I asked. I asked for feedback on anyone running their 8Y RS3 square versus staggered because there are very limited options (in fact only 1) in the Ultra High Performance All Season category. If your point is well since I don't run summers, it shouldn't matter to me, then I disagree. I'm willing to accept the trade offs that Ultra High Performance All Seasons offer but I may or may not be willing to accept the trade offs from a staggered to square set up and was looking for some feedback on that. Instead of being helpful, you decided to take a shot at me for "buying the wrong cars" which was really unnecessary. I don't mind spirited debate online but I had established up front that I don't want winter tires.
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Another thing I’d ask is if the stock 9j front wheels are ok running a tyre almost an inch narrower? Don’t know if there’s limits for a given tread width versus wheel width? Without going ‘stretched’, which would defeat the point of all season tyres.
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