Snow - a little dissapointed
 

I have a new Q5 2.0 and had to do some local driving - all low speed, non highway and was a bit under-impressed with the Q's performance in the snow. The temps are way low - single digits, windy a few inches of snow. Everyone driving 10 - 20 mph and still felt the car not did not have a firm a grip as I thought I would have with Audi's Quattro and driving in 1st and 2nd gear.
Maybe snow tires are in my future, because I sure would not feel safe driving on the parkway doing 25-35.

Bob

It's all about the tires . . . . .

Couldn't agree more.

I just took delivery of my Q5 TDI on Friday. It came with summer tires, so I was not expecting to be impressed when it snowed this weekend. I was able to get around, but not with the level of control that I want in the winter. I had snow tires installed yesterday, and the difference in traction, control, and even braking has been huge.

To the OP: If you have all-season tires on your Q5, then you already have a head start compared to my OEM summer tires, but even all-seasons can't compare to true snow tires.

Dumb question; do most get the snow tires with their own rims or does anyone ever just have the snows remounted/swapped with the All Seasons?
Am I looking at about 2k for tires and rims?

Bob

What tires are you running??? I could see that if you have summer only tires.

Expecting any vehicle (not just the Q) to perform well in the snow without snow tires is like buying a $50,000 HiFi sound system with CD player, preamp and amplifier and hooking them up to the speakers in your iPhone.

Buy dedicated wheels (smaller the better) and mount the best winter tires you can find on TireRack. I've had excellent luck with Dunlop WinterSports (M3, 3D and now 4D) and at least a half dozen sets of Blizzaks. Currently running Blizzak DM-V1 on 19" Hartmann replicas and the Q5 is unstoppable. I don't even see the ESP light when I floor the 3.2L on snow-covered roads. It's a street-legal snow mobile.

Disclaimer: You'll be frustrated and infuriated with all the other vehicles crawling along like they senior citizens on walkers while you are wondering, "What the big deal?". These cars are made for foul weather. Winter is the most enjoyable season to own an Audi. If you don't think so, you don't have the correct tools for the job!

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires..._dmv1_1000.jpg

Absolutely true. People always seem to think AWD is all you need for winter driving, but tires are so much more important. Tires are where the traction begins and ends. AWD simply lets you take advantage of good traction... so why not get the most out of your AWD and put a good set of snow tires on the Q5. The benefits include safety (and peace of mind), better efficiency, and less wear and tear on the drivetrain and brakes.

It is more cost effective and less wearing on your stock wheels to get a dedicated winter wheel/tire set. If you do the swap from summer (or all seasons) to winter tires in the fall and again in the spring, that's at least $100 each time so $200/yr. You'll have to decide what is worth it to you but to me, I prefer having a separate set and the ability to sell them and recoup some of my money if I don't need them anymore. $2k is a pretty fair estimate for a set.

It depends on what your stock wheels are, how much snow you expect, and how aggressively you drive but here are some options:

Agressive, some snow = 19x8.5" with 255 width performance winter tires (Dunlop Wintersport, Pirelli Scorpion Winter, etc)
Daily driver tire with expected moderate to high snow use = 18x8 with 235 width studless winter tires (Blizzak DMV1)

The main problem you'll find though is that it's late season for buying winter tires and selection is minimal now, but both the Pirelli Scorpion Winter and Blizzak DMV1 have availability on Tire Rack still.

I concur. It takes me just a little over an hour (perhaps 90 minutes) to do the swap twice a year. It is less hassle than scheduling an appointment and waiting for the tire shop to change out tires and less chance of damage to the wheels. In the past, the tire shop has damaged my OEM rims... and good luck getting them to admit to it.

Ok, I hear you about the dedicated winter tires with rims, but don't they have to be "balanced" at a shop?

Has anyone ever bought the winter tires from Audi?

Bob