yeamac

So I purchased my first Audi yesterday - first ever "luxury" car - a 2017 Q5 Premium Plus with 8,600 miles loaded with options. Came with a "summer of audi" package that has 20-inch summer wheels/tires. The wheels look very nice with the Daytona Gray color of the Q5. Also has the S-Line trim.

Anyway, I've always run A/S tires on my other (non-luxury) cars and replaced them when the tread gets worn ... never had a "summer specific" tire before ...

What happens if I drive my "summer" tires during the winter months? Winter tire police come and get me and throw me in jail? Premature wear? Not as good of handling? How bad will the handling be?

I'm not in a position to change tires myself ... don't care to spend oodles of money on 4 more rims and "winter" tires, and no where really to store them either.

I'm thinking I'll just keep these summer tires on and drive them until they wear out (what, 30K miles?, which would be after 2 winters since I drive about 8K/year) then replace them with A/S tires. Thoughts?

I live in central/southern IL so don't see a lot of ice and snow usually, but can have a couple weeks of snow/icy weather to drive in over the winter. Temps vary. Last winter was extremely mild, but previous winter I think we saw zero degrees F quite a few times.

Appreciate the feedback from folks more knowledgeable than myself about this topic.

DennisMitchell

When temperatures drop below 45 degrees F the summer tire rubber compound becomes hard and loses its grip. You will be a fool to drive with summer tires in the winter. Despite your lack of snow and ice, winter tires are still recommended because the tire compound is more soft than summer or all season tires, due to your low winter temperatures.

JasonJ

Well, I guess one of the first questions would be to ask what tires you are running at the moment...Are they really a summer tire, or, an all-season tire?
If you are running a true summer tire, then my advice would be to get yourself a set of winter tires...Go to Tirerack and buy a set of steel rims, with winter tires for under $1,000 and be confident that you'll be able to get around (and around other people!) this coming winter.

If you have a set of all-season tires on your car, then it's a bit more difficult to say clearly what you should do.

But, remember...as you said yourself..."first ever luxury car"...How do you want to protect you and your car?
Your grip on the road is completely determined by 4 patches,on each corner, that are about the size of your hand!

Think about that, and make the best decision you feel most comfortable with.

Jason
New York

Audphile

I live in Maryland and we get some snow but not a lot but it does get cold. My previous Audi's, Q3, A6, A5 Cab, all had A/S tires and worked fine during the winter months.
I plan on getting A/S tires for my current Audi's during the winter months. I think where you and I live don't require a full on winter tire. My 2 cents.

riceboy22

As @DennisMitchell mentioned, if you live somewhere where temperatures fall below 40 then you absolutely should not be running summer tires. It sounds like you're somewhere that gets way colder than that. And if you encounter any snow at all with summer tires, you'll be a legitimate danger to yourself and others on the road.

yeamac

Kinda funny, this Q5 was manufactured in Dec 2016, sold in the Midwest in Feb 2017, with summer tires on it. I doubt the leasee changed the tires out.

Since making my post I found a few articles on the topic. Pretty much even condemn A/S tires during winter driving as well. Of course, these articles are written by tire companies and tire enthusiasts. Nike would probably convince me I couldn't play basketball without wearing hightop shoes or else I would be putting my ankles in imminent danger.

Sorry to turn my first thread so skeptical. But you gotta realize I just dealt with several used car salesmen and their managers yesterday so I'm not taking everything I hear at face value.

Do winter tires perform better than summer or even all-season tires during cold weather? Sure sounds like it. Will my car go careening off the first bridge I cross, into the icy water below, just because I'm driving in cold weather with summer tires on it? Hmmm...

Here's a great video about changing summer to winter tires yourself:
Someone pass the kool-aid, I want a drink. Then I'm gonna go price winter tires and rims. Funny, my dealership never mentioned any of this when I bought the car. Although they did try to get me to extend the "gold" 6yr/100K mile warranty that came with my purchase to the platinum level for more $$$. Cuz they "just changed a digital display yesterday (which is not covered under my paltry gold extended warranty) and it cost $4,000."

A6forMoi

The winter tire police operate only in Germany - that's the good news.

The bad news - if these aren't all seasons, you should get winter tires or replace with all seasons. Or just don't drive the car when it's cold and wet, and when it's cold and dry recognize that tire performance could be well below what you expect. To be honest, however, I've driven my BMW (cabrio) with summer tires well into Fall in the DC area, including around freezing, and when dry I haven't experienced any real problems with handling/grip. But I wouldn't want to go all winter that way around here.

DennisMitchell

Listen, you should make your own decision. Sounds like you understand the theory based on what you have written.

Take a read of this thread of a fellow member and his experience. https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...pened-2876102/

Sugadaddy

What brand/model tires are they?

Winters = best rubber for cold temps, tread made for snow
All Seasons = good rubber for cold temps, tread crap for snow
Summers = rubber gets hard as a rock in cold temps, no tread

From your description of where you live, you'd at least need All Seasons. Personally, I'd get winter tires and switch them with the summers. People think it costs twice as much to have 2 sets, but they last twice as long so it evens out in the end.

DennisMitchell

Also, if you decide to get winters and a new set of wheels, you can buy inexpensive alloy wheels. No need to get steel wheels.

This is what I purchased for my S3. The wheels were $400 for the set of 4 at the time (Alzors from ECSTuning). My winter tires are Michelin X-Ice 3's.