Turbo Freak

Hi,

My A4 came with 225/50 R17 94H on 17" x 7.5" wheels.

I would be tempted to replace them with 245/45 R17 95H, but 7.5" wheel is not ideal for this tire width.

Should I worry about this ?

Is there an advantage to go to the 245/45 R17 95H or should I stick with the original size ?

Thanks

equ

This would be something I'd ask the tirerack guys. Say, Gary. They deal with it all the time. Did you find the 225's lacking in grip? A quality 225 tire may be better than a ho-hum 245.

Turbo Freak

I was thinking about getting the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. They come in both dimensions and the price is not an issue between the two.

The A4 now comes with the the 245/45 R17 95H, but the rim is 8" wide I believe.

Barrels41

I doubt it matters that much. If you can buy 18" wheels for summer tires and use the 17" wheels for winter tires. If you plan to keep the car it is a good choice. All season tires are worthless in snow after 20,000 miles.

Turbo Freak

I already have Nokians RSi on another set of mags for Winter...

I do not want to buy summer only tires, because they cost more and do not last...

Several people here are raving about the Continental DWS and they seem to have a good life expectancy.

equ

Ask the tirerack guys about section (rim) width matching to tire width.

the1obster

I have the same question too. I have the original 6 spoke wheels.

Turbo Freak

The three different tire salespersons I talk to told me to stick with the original size...

equ

Well, there you go then, thanks for reporting back.

With a quality tire your grip is not going to change much. Hell, my pilot alpin pa3 in 225/50-17 is not that different from the summer performance (!) pirelli p7 in 245/40-18. Go figure. I usually don't push the winter tire to preserve tread, but on the occasional ramp it has done so well I never thought "Oh man, if only they were 245's."

Turbo Freak

If I did not already had bought 17" mags for my winter tires, I would have considered buying 18" wheels for summer, but the roads are so bad around here might as well stick with the original 17" wheels.

The Conti DWS will probably be a huge improvement over the Goodyear LS2 !