Winter wheels and tyres
- Thread starter Filumo
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I have Goodyear Ultragrip 8s. Really good below 7C. Not so good when temperatures get into the teens. Wife thought the same about hers. Don't think they are available above 16 inch.
We are going tomorrow to look for Conti TS850s for the A3. I think I read that they can be used all year round. So hopefully they are better as the temperature rises.
We are going tomorrow to look for Conti TS850s for the A3. I think I read that they can be used all year round. So hopefully they are better as the temperature rises.
Has anyone yet been able to establish whether 16" wheels will fit the 8V and whether the brake calipers differ between any trim levels/engines other than the S3?
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I'm interested in the answer to this as well. Need to know if I have to sell my 16" winter tyres and get 18" instead
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I had 16" alloys with conti winter contact ts850's on last year, on both a saloon and hatchback. Both were 2.0 tdi 150's.
The alloys were from a Audi a3 8P offset was et50 so no different to the 18" they replaced.
The same alloys will be going on again in a few weeks time, winter is already looking close here in Aberdeen.
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Just ordered 4x 205/55/R16 91H TS850s for our A3 today. Are they as good as the reviews suggest?
I had a previous 1.6tdi mk6 golf which was fitted with 15" steels on Dunlop winter grips for 2 sessions due to our weather on occasions. Went down to minus 20 for weeks and no way was I getting to glenshee without them and then had to sell up and get 16"s for the 8p as the steels were to small. The 5 arm audi winter wheels for the a3 fit the tdi's but sorry not sure on bigger Bhp version. Now Dunlop have 4's but going to swap 2 worn 3's for the same tyre to ensure same tread pattern. Highly recommended as don't get wreaked or make your car handle like a boat when the temp. fluctuates.
I usually just swap the tyres over. I always opt for Nokian tyres from Finland, with the WR A3 being my current preferred choice. If anyone knows a thing or two about winter driving, it's the Finns. Unbelievable traction in the snow.
snakehips
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If we have heavy snow I try not to drive at all. I still put winter tyres on, just not with snow in mind.
Well I've pressed the button on an Audi OEM set of winter wheels. I was tempted by some cheaper [after market wheel sets but the specs were 7.5" wide with tyres 225/45 R17 (I admit I wanted 17" rather than 16" wheels purely for looks). I wanted narrower wheels (better for cutting through snow) and the Audi set is 6.5" width with 205/50 R17 tyres so 9% narrower than my 18" standard wheels and 14% taller in sidewall height. As my car is a keeper I can justify the extra cost. The wheels are shown below and are 5-spoke Helica design - nice and easy to keep clean in the winter. They come with Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D AO tyres which seem to be reviewed pretty well.
So now I think I have ensured that this winter (and all subsequent ones) will be the warmest on record with not a single flake of snow!
So now I think I have ensured that this winter (and all subsequent ones) will be the warmest on record with not a single flake of snow!
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lucas-suisse
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snakehips
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I already ensured this last year. I was all set with my Quattro and winter tyres and never saw a flake of snow all season. Worked well in the cold and wet though.
BTW, is it a solid theory that narrower tyres are better as they cut through the snow? I'd heard this too for summer tyres in snow but that winter tyres work better with a larger footprint that allows the special sipes to do their thing better. At the end of the day I guess there's not much discernible difference. Any thoughts out there?
I can't reply definitively but a few quotes from the Internet:
- Narrow tyres are better in snow as they distribute the car's weight over a smaller surface area. Thus the force exerted on the ground will be greater at any given point on the contact patch of the tyre. It is the opposite of this that explains why people wear tennis rackets on their feet to stop them sinking into the snow. A car with skinny tyres tends to slice through the snow, whereas the garden-rollers on a porsche will tend to slide along the suface, like an eskino with tennis rackets!
- Manufacturers specify narrow tyres/small wheels for use in the snow, not just to cut thro' the snow but to allow the fitting of snow chains without destroying the wheel arches.
- Unfortunately wide, low profile tires have to "plough" a wide path through deep snow, where narrower tires have an easier time. So if you're likely to drive through deep snow this year, you'll want winter / snow tires and wheels in sizes that help put the laws of physics on your side.
- It depends mostly on the type of snow you generally have in your area. If it is very cold and you have mostly powder snow, then narrower tires would be your best bet because it will push the snow out of the way much easier. Powder snow on the highway is most often associated with the appearance of dust in your rear view mirror. BTW, if the temperature is very cold and you have powder snow, it is very hard and sometimes impossible to make a snowball...it just falls apart when you let go of it.
- If on the other hand, you get mostly wet snow (makes a snowball easily and tightly) a wider tire would be your best bet since it has more channels in the surface with which to grip the snow. Since it is wider, it will also tend to ride up away from the ice formed on the roadway itself from the compacted snow of other drivers.
snakehips
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I can't reply definitively but a few quotes from the Internet:
So, totally confused, I went with the "skinnier is better" theory but I'm sure there are people out there who have a better understanding of slip coefficients, static versus sliding friction, aquaplaning formula, tractive force, propulsive force, wheel slip angles and a million other things that I can't spell let alone understand.
- Narrow tyres are better in snow as they distribute the car's weight over a smaller surface area. Thus the force exerted on the ground will be greater at any given point on the contact patch of the tyre. It is the opposite of this that explains why people wear tennis rackets on their feet to stop them sinking into the snow. A car with skinny tyres tends to slice through the snow, whereas the garden-rollers on a porsche will tend to slide along the suface, like an eskino with tennis rackets!
- Manufacturers specify narrow tyres/small wheels for use in the snow, not just to cut thro' the snow but to allow the fitting of snow chains without destroying the wheel arches.
- Unfortunately wide, low profile tires have to "plough" a wide path through deep snow, where narrower tires have an easier time. So if you're likely to drive through deep snow this year, you'll want winter / snow tires and wheels in sizes that help put the laws of physics on your side.
- It depends mostly on the type of snow you generally have in your area. If it is very cold and you have mostly powder snow, then narrower tires would be your best bet because it will push the snow out of the way much easier. Powder snow on the highway is most often associated with the appearance of dust in your rear view mirror. BTW, if the temperature is very cold and you have powder snow, it is very hard and sometimes impossible to make a snowball...it just falls apart when you let go of it.
- If on the other hand, you get mostly wet snow (makes a snowball easily and tightly) a wider tire would be your best bet since it has more channels in the surface with which to grip the snow. Since it is wider, it will also tend to ride up away from the ice formed on the roadway itself from the compacted snow of other drivers.
It looks like fat or thin are optimal depending on the type of snow but both still way better than summer tyres. My understanding had always been based on the last bullet point, where winter tyres are actually designed to collect snow on them and bind to the surface snow, not to cut through the road surface which is likely ice anyway. But I really don't think in normal UK winter driving there is much difference at all. Maybe Nordic rally drivers have to think more carefully about all this. What matters is that your wheels look good and will work great.
... who knows. Though the tyres discussed here could be better named 'cold weather tyres'. And I am expecting some cold weather this winter
The last few winters were relatively snow free. However, there were a fair few frosty mornings.My parents Mercedes didn't leave the drive for 3 weeks last winter.
Better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.
One of the problems with snow tyres is that they give me the confidence to drive in all conditions. The problem is other cars, without winter tyres, sliding all over the road in bad conditions. Have had a few near misses and wished I had stayed at home.
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snakehips
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Yup, I always work on the assumption that everyone else on the road is an idiot and I have a very real fear of stopping normally at a junction and having someone slide into the back of me. I've seen that too many times.
My A3 has Pirelli Cintuarato 225/45/17 91Y tyres on it. Struggling to find any 91Y winter tyres. Am I right in thinking that by rights you shouldn't go below the speed rating recommended by the manufacturer?
For 16" wheels Audi recommend H speed rating for winter tyres.
I imagine it will be similar for 17" wheels.
I imagine it will be similar for 17" wheels.
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I haven't decided what to do about winter tyres yet.
Last year I had a full set of old scabby alloys with mid range 16" tyres on my 8P. Now I have an 8V and don't really want to put the scabby 16" alloys on. With it being front wheel drive only could I just get a pair of 18" and leave the rears with the original tyres on?
Recommendations greatly appreciated
Phil
Last year I had a full set of old scabby alloys with mid range 16" tyres on my 8P. Now I have an 8V and don't really want to put the scabby 16" alloys on. With it being front wheel drive only could I just get a pair of 18" and leave the rears with the original tyres on?
Recommendations greatly appreciated
Phil
I'm no expert but I would imagine that this combination would be incredibly unstable. It is never sensible to mix tyres. You are obliged to inform your insurance company when fitting winter tyres - like any other change. I'm with LV and they are quite happy with what I told them and there is no change to the premium. I'd have been miffed if there had been when I'm fitting a safety feature.
Fronts with loads of grip, rears with no grip....what could possibly go wrong?
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I think you have miss understood what I was trying to say
I have a full set of 16" wheels on some old scabby wheels. These were on my old 8P
Now I have an 8V that as standard has 18" wheels. I don't know if the old scabby 16" wheels and tyres will fit, plus I don't really want to put these scabby wheels on my new car.
So do I just change the 18" tyres on the front with 18" winter tyres or do I change them all for winter tyres?
Thanks
Phil
No Phil I did understand - but summer tyres on the rear and winters on the front would be a disaster waiting to happen. All the grip would be on the fronts so you'd get massive oversteer (or did I mean under steer?) anyway your rear wheels would be trying to catch your fronts! .
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Thanks I misunderstood
Ok in that case I will get some 16" SE rims and reuse my tyres.
snakehips
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Thanks I misunderstood
Ok in that case I will get some 16" SE rims and reuse my tyres.
Would you really be happy putting some scabby 16's on your beautiful new car? And with the torquey 184 engine I'd urge you to get the best possible quality tyres that you can afford.
Seems strange the car comes with 91Y tyres as standard but you can go to H rating for winter tyres on a car with a top speed of 145mph. Granted you're not likely to ever go near that but H tyres are rated up to 130mph. That said no one actually makes Y rated winter tyres. Highest I've seen are W. Which coincidentally, if I put my reg number in to Audi's tyre quotation tool, it offers me solely W rated tyres.... No Y rated ones, albeit they're all summer tyres in the results.
These look smart, I'm sure you'll be pleased with how they look and perform over the winter.
I have a colleague who may also be interested in aquring a set of these, do you know the Audi Part No.? (and RRP).
Thanks
... exactly. I think the correct term is snap oversteer. It scares me that many of the women at my wife's work, think it is ok to fit only 2 winter tyres. I hope I am never passing a junction they are trying to stop for in the snow!
I'm in a similar situation. I bought some old 16" alloys for winter tyres. Not only do the alloys look rubbish on the car, they are also wearing the tyres unevenly.
Option A - keep the alloys and replace the 2 tyres. Cost approx £200 (car still looks poo)
Option B - buy new 16" alloys or look for a set of good second hand ones. Expected cost £300-£600 + £200 for tyres. Car looks a little better.
Option C - buy 4 new 17" tyres and mount them on the current alloys. Cost approx £500. Car looks good = me happy.
I am seriously considering option C and just getting the tyres remounted each year. Advantages - much less hassle, because of the tyre storage bags. Car looks the same all year round. New and better (?) tyres. Disadvantages - initial cost and risk to my good alloys from tyre fitters and winter potholes in the dark.
I bought Monopole's 18" alloy wheels from his S3 8V SB when he upgraded to 19's over the weekend and will put on my S3 8V SB with winter tyres at end of month. I have a set of four Continental 225 40 R18 Winter Tyres that I bought from Hitchen Audi on Ebay for £350 that were on my S3 8P for only one winter that will be put on the new alloys and my existing 5 spoke alloys and summer tyres will be stored over winter. Prefer it this way as can store the alloy wheels on my wheel rack on garage wall.
I will be selling the summer tyres taken from Monopole's alloys if anyone has any interest, two months old and done just under 2,000 miles - my own summer tyres have done less miles so won't be selling those.
I will be selling the summer tyres taken from Monopole's alloys if anyone has any interest, two months old and done just under 2,000 miles - my own summer tyres have done less miles so won't be selling those.
