Hoping some of you will sound off on winter i.e. snow tires for my 99.5 A4 2.8 Quattro, specifically the newer Blizzaks vs. Toyo Observes? Also, the headlights seem set too low on dim, anyone else having that problem? Fix?

according to A4.org members (although some may argue for the Nokians).

But it soumds to me like the Blizzaks have too much wear under dry conditions to make it last as long as I want it to.

Gordon Martin
98.5 2.8QMS (Santorin Blue)

For the last two year I have ice autocrossed with the Pike's Peak Sports car club, using Blizzaks on my 96 2wd A4. Since it ran in the non-studded tire class, it beat the other cars in the class by at least 6 seconds, and was only 1 second behind the Quattro Coupe in the 4wd class, also on Blizzaks. On ice and snow I would much rather have Blizzaks and 2wd than the stock tires and 4wd!

I bought 195/65/15 tires on steel wheels from tire rack already mounted and balanced. The narrower wheels get a better bite in the snow, and more weight per square inch on the footprint, which in theory works better on ice. The handling on dry pavement isn't as good as the stock wheel/tire setup, but I can always put the stock wheels back on for prolonged dry spells (or drive the Miata).

Wear hasn't been too big a problem, but I don't drive the Blizzaks on dry pavement that much.

I would say that Blizzaks without studs = Nokians with studs. And the blizzaks still handle better than tires with studs!

swears by them to keep his baby out of the ditch. However, he says dry road handling is so bad he has to drive his M3 like a Yugo for 3 months of the year. He's willing to make the trade for security, though.

BDW

I purchased Blizzaks last fall, also premounted on separate wheels (O.Z. Diamond's) and used them over the winter. I also went with the 195-15's, for the same reason mentioned above.

But I have to say that the first few times I drove the car I was SHOCKED at how BAD the handling was. It actually seemed dangerous when taking a corner, or even going straight at any speed over 55, and certainly took all the fun out of driving the car.

After a few days or so, when the new tread wore down a bit, I started to feel like I had a little more control, but the handling was still WAY WORSE than the stock Dunlop SP8000E's, which I missed terribly......until we got our first snowstorm. Then and only then are the Blizzak's bearable, and in fact they do really perform well when it snows or when the roads are frozen and icy. Equipped with Blizzak's + Quattro, accelerating away from the stoplight on an icy/snowy road is a blast.

But still, if I had to do it over again, I would definitely pass on the Blizzak's and try another brand - maybe go back to the Pirelli's (P210's or something similar) that I've used successfully on other cars. They may not offer quite the traction on ice that the Blizzak's do, but the sure-footedness they give you the other 90% of the time is well worth it, IMO.

I had Blizzaks on my Passat and I must say that they ARE incredible in snow and
ice, but aren't great in dry pavement. The sidewalls flex and they can be a little
squirmy at highway speeds. If you're driving on snow or ice a great percentage
of the time, these are great. I'm in the Boston area, so most of my winter
driving is dry pavement. I've got Pirelli 210A's mounted on my A4 during the
winter.They have a little less snow and ice grip, but with Quattro, I've never
had a problem. They're also H rated, so they're OK on dry and highway. Not
like summer tires, but way better than the Blizzaks.

Check out the Wheel forum, there's tons of discussion on winter tires.

DaveW
98.5 2.8 QM

Re snows: have heard that full-tread Blizzaks are excellent, but traction deteriorates rapidly as they wear. I had good luck with Nokia Haakapellita (sp) on old Coupe Quattro (185/70X15; pulled thru 13" of unplowed snow - uphill) so got them for A4 Avant. Traction in few snowstorms in hilly Pittsburgh last January was excellent. Got 195/65X15.
Re lights: look in manual, will tell you what screws adjust lights. Believe the fittings are Phillips (pre-try). Go out to empty parking lot in dark of night, shine lights onto wall about 50-100 ft away, adjust those puppies till you can see again. If you live in a state where they check headlight alignment (NJ does; prob. La-La land also), count the no.of turns you made on the vertical adjustment. Before inspection, screw them back to OE setting.

Thanks to all of you for your input. You are a treasure-trove of experience and info. I am in Central Oregon and we have genuine sno-pack here so want to optimize for most go. For some reason I understood that the headlight adjustment was something a bit more bizarre, but guess I will unscabbard my phillips and get to work. It's just about scary to drive after dark the way they are now. Thanks again!