I will soon be the proud new owner of a year 2000 A4 Avant 1.8T QM without the sport package which means I will have all season radials on 15 inch wheels. I live in New England and anticipate snowy and icy driving conditions. I don't know what brand/model tires will come on the vehicle. Could someone offer advice on whether I should purchase winter/snow tires for this car? Should I do it right away or do you think the new all seasons on it will do the job for the first winter? Any recommendations for what brand/model snow/winter tires to buy? Thank you very much in advance.
-Vivian

My 99.5 Avant w/o sport package came with Eagle LS 205/60/R15 tires (M+S). Whether or not you need snow tires depends on where you live.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/frames/tiretest_results_f.html">http://www.tirerack.com/tires/frames/tiretest_results_f.html</a</li></ul>

You can probably get by without snows. Most folks do, even without the advantage of quattro (the sport tires are a different story).

That said, if you can afford approx. $575, why not get some 195/65/15 Pirelli 210As? (Dunlop M2s are popular as well). I just ordered these from www.tirerack.com. They come prebalanced on steel wheels (pick your cover) and for a bit of noise you will have near the same performance on dry and a superior tool for the yucky stuff, as well as prolonging the life of your stock set.

Gary@Ronal had a nice discussion on this topic a month or so ago in the tire forum (where technically you should have posted this message).
Good luck!

barold - 2000 Avant on order