Hi Everyone -

I didn't realize there was a separate tire forum! Anyway, as I posted on the s4 forum, i'm looking for some winter tires to match the stock wheels. A few people posted that it might be better to get new wheel/tire combos, but with this being a lease (ok.. possible buy), I was just going to get new tires and use the stock wheels. Whats the cost difference between wheels and tire/wheel combos? Obviously, I would assume there are more (better?) choices when getting new wheels too... Just wondering what the different choices are. I'm pretty lost here...

thanks!

How many times will you be mounting/unmounting the tires, and how much do your local shops charge for that service? If you plan to use your car for more than a couple seasons, it might be less expensive to pay for the extra set of aftermarket rims up front, rather than paying for the other charges.

If you do go with other rims, than you can choose to stay with the standard size (225/45R17), do a minus-one (205/55R16), or split the difference (225/50R16--same amount of rubber on the road, but wider sidewalls--what I currently use for snows). Of the three sizes, the 225/45R17 is usually the most expensive. There are only a few 16" rims that will fit over the brakes, so make sure whatever you buy fits.

The above sizes are for a B5 S4. If you have a B6 S4, you'll have different sized rims and tires, but the general concepts are still applicable.

There are various snow tires available. Depending on where you are in Michigan (Detroit vs. Escanaba), you may want really aggressive snow tires, or ones that compromise snow traction for improved dry/wet traction. That's your call.

I'll leave the details of specific wheels and tires to others, except to say that I was happy with the Dunlop M2 snow tires.

HTH.