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My son just got a 2021 Audi A4 (B9.5) 4.0 TFSI Premium to take up to college in upstate New York where he will, naturally, encounter snow covered roads come winter time.
The current tires are Bridgestone Turanza EL 400 225/50R17.
Can he run these tires year round — eg are they “all season” enough — or should we expect he will need to have “winter” tires installed? Hoping with the quattro four-wheel drive these might do but we want him to be safe.
One reason for asking is that he is considering new rims and so the question is whether to wait and install new rims when he installs winter tires or just install them now. Any advice appreciated!
Tire Rack classifies these as Standard Touring All-Season tires
Focused on longer tread life, while also delivering a smooth ride and sufficient all-season traction.
From Tire Rack's user feedback, they are unfortunately #34 of 34 tires in the category and the Winter rating is 3.1 - Poor, 2nd worst of the bunch. And, honestly, this isn't the category of tire that should be on a car like this. Having lived in upstate NY, I don't think I'd send my kid off to college with these. Either a much better All-season tire or, ideally, a set of winter tires for probably 5 of the 8+ months of a college year
For what it's worth, I'll soon by buying a set of all-seasons for mine, and need light snow capability. I'll be getting the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus that has served me well on my other car (I have a '17 and an '18). These are good for getting around after a light snow, or after roads have been plowed. But it he wants to get around in a real snowfall, dedicated winters are required.
Tire Rack classifies these as Standard Touring All-Season tires
From Tire Rack's user feedback, they are unfortunately #34 of 34 tires in the category and the Winter rating is 3.1 - Poor, 2nd worst of the bunch. And, honestly, this isn't the category of tire that should be on a car like this. Having lived in upstate NY, I don't think I'd send my kid off to college with these. Either a much better All-season tire or, ideally, a set of winter tires for probably 5 of the 8+ months of a college year
For what it's worth, I'll soon by buying a set of all-seasons for mine, and need light snow capability. I'll be getting the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus that has served me well on my other car (I have a '17 and an '18). These are good for getting around after a light snow, or after roads have been plowed. But it he wants to get around in a real snowfall, dedicated winters are required.
Strongly recommend snows for the winter. I owned an A6 and had the Continental DWS tires as well as a set of snows. The DWS are ok for flurries or very light snow but the traction improvement with dedicated snows is significant. For a young driver who does not have a lot of experience, snows are the way to go. And stick with the 225/50/R17 size. They will be better in the snow than tires with a wider footprint.
Yeah, those tires don't appear to be reviewed with much praise. I wouldn't expect much of them if you get real snow up there. The value of all-seasons where I live is there's rarely more than a week at a time where the temps stay below 40. If I did get the occasional snow along with that random hi/lo temp pattern, I could get some 3-peaks all-weather type tires (all-season compound, winter tread pattern). Even when I lived in Denver, I never had anything but all-seasons, and they got the job done. But the real value of true winters is traction in the cold. If your winters up there get cold and stay cold consistently, you should just have a straight winter set to put on at the appropriate time. If he's getting some new wheels, put some summers on them and go ahead and get them. Then when the winter nears, throw some winters on those 17s and put them on.
There's no substitute for winter tires, of course. But I've been sort of intrigued by the Bridgestone Weatherpeak. They're all seasons that seem to get decent reviews for snow. They might do the trick in winter if your son doesn't go skiing every weekend.
Even if those Bridgestones have lots of tread and are in great shape, considering getting a set of Michelin CrossClimate II. They are one of the few all-season tires out there that's also winter rated with the three peak mountain snowflake icon. No need to switch out tires every season, no need to store an extra set of wheels or tires. Plus they are quite supple, so ride will be significantly better for around-town driving and easier on the suspension. A set of 17"s at the warehouse retailer whose name starts with the letter 'C' should set you back around 700-750 tops with free installation, rotation and warranty.
Even if those Bridgestones have lots of tread and are in great shape, considering getting a set of Michelin CrossClimate II. They are one of the few all-season tires out there that's also winter rated with the three peak mountain snowflake icon. No need to switch out tires every season, no need to store an extra set of wheels or tires. Plus they are quite supple, so ride will be significantly better for around-town driving and easier on the suspension. A set of 17"s at the warehouse retailer whose name starts with the letter 'C' should set you back around 700-750 tops with free installation, rotation and warranty.
I got them at the beginning of this last winter and I've been happy with them, would definitely recommend for snowy winters (located in SE Michigan). The handling definitely suffered but this is not a track car and the engine/suspension tuning with the 17"s is sporty enough for a daily driver family hauler.
04-24-2024, 11:17 AM
All Season Tires?
