Winter Tires
 

Any recommendations on winter tires. After much debate, and considering the poor roads near me I went with the stock 19s. Once I burn through those I am going to put 20s on and use the 19s purely for winter.

Other question is if anyone uses the audi winter tire service, my dealership will store the tires at no charge. Wondering is if the convenience price is better than ordering the tires online and storing in my garage.

Thanks.

[Copied from another thread]

The best winter tire, hands-down, is the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. Pricey, but you do get what you pay for.

I went with the studded version, the Hakka 7 (which has been superceded by the 8), which is a giant killer in icy conditions and is surprisingly quiet compared to most studded tires. I picked up a set of OEM 19" wheels (not the set that Audi sells, which I think look cheap) and switching over takes less than an hour.

Thanks. I'm in NJ where the roads are not always covered with snow, rather more often slush. If the roads are primarily cold pavement/slush are studded tires still ok? Or doesnt it make a difference either way.

If you don't encounter glare ice too often, then the standard (R2) model is preferable, as a non-studded winter tire will actually have more grip on wet/slushy roads.

Thank you... very helpful.

Just Arrived!
 

NOKIAN HAKKAPELIITTA R2 TIRES just arrived today. Since the R2's offer a size that fits our OEM 20" wheels, wanted to make sure they were not backordered in a few months when winter arrives.

These are one of the best winter tires made for Snow/Ice on the planet.

Can not wait to test these tires out this winter.

Cheers


http://i43.tinypic.com/o7kljp.jpg

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Are these available online, or is it best to buy through a shop?

Appreciate the responses... I see a 4 different 19inch options.


245/45 R 19 102 R XL
245/40 R 19 98 R XL
255/40 R 19 100 R XL
255/35 R 19 96 R XL

Is one better than the other? If either of you were buying, which/why would you select?

I went with 245/40R19 for mine since, all else being equal, a narrower tire is better in deep snow. This size is close enough to stock, in terms of rolling diameter. If you truly don't see much snow accumulation, just go with the stock size (255/40R19).

How are these on dry winter roads? Do you give up a lot of handling and steering feel?

I'm in the NYC area and we usually get 2-3 major snow storms each winter and the roads are cleared pretty quickly. I was looking at something like the Michelin Pilot Alpin which is a performance oriented snow tire.