Kaitlyn2004

Okay I've tried to do a bit more research for my snow chain options. Previously people have posted stuff like "snow socks" however I am not so sure about these - I will be on some backcountry mountainous roads which may have hard-packed snow or ice.. and the chains at least would dig into that. On that note, the chains are intended to be used for shorter periods of time at low speed.

My car manual says:
(I called, they were not helpful at all)

I have no idea if this is basically common, or an extreme situation needing something 0.53" thin

I don't really follow this...

I took pictures of my wheel/tires:
https://imgur.com/a/UAjkPPW

The number one thing I have heard is potentially not enough clearance in the wheel well - so it could either wreck the paneling or rip something like the brake line/shocks/something connected in there.

flylowlikerylo

I have wider tires on my 2014 Q5 TDI (255/50/19) and I bought these specific chains (zt735) for the rear tires


I bought them because I was going in to a known snowy situation in Colorado and Utah and wanted to have one pair (for the rears) just in case. I feel like the chains would have been a very tight fit (especially due to my wider +0 tires) but they showed up last minute and I never got a chance to test fit them. The reality is that even though I went through several un-plowed and hard pack snow/ice mountainous roads on my 4,000 mile trip, I never needed to break the chains out. The tires (Michelin Defender LTX) and the Quattro system just pulled through everything and I never felt like I needed more traction. I returned the unused chains when I got home.

The tires that I had on the Q5 before the Defenders were the Michelin Latitude Tour HP (235/55/19) and they drove well on snow packed roads as well, but I definitely have better traction with the new Michelins.

In all honesty if you are going to rarely drive on snowy roads, check out the chains I linked and test fit them on your rear wheels before you leave home. You will probably never need them, but it will be nice knowing you have them.

However, if you are going to be regularly driving on un-plowed roads, IMO a set of dedicated snow tires are going to be much more effective and less hassle than dealing with chains in the long run.

Kaitlyn2004

Thanks for your thoughts and I'd look into my options as well. I sort of "missed the boat" with winter tires, and am not even so sure winter tires are realistically available anymore this late in the winter season. Plus costs of tire storage (I live in a condo). I've mainly just been putting the tires off, I guess...

flylowlikerylo

Yeah snow tires are great if you have a place to store them, and a pain in the *** if you don't. A set of chains is definitely easier to store. The chains I linked seemed like good quality and came in a small storage box. They are definitely less than 0.5 inches thick so if any chains were going to work on a Q5 I'd think it would be those. The specific model for your tire size would be the ZT729. I don't actually think the clearance issue will be in the wheel well etc, but in the metal "knuckle" part of the suspension (not sure what it is actually called) that curves over the top of the tire. You should be able to tell pretty quick if it's going to clear the chains.

Bob Petruska

If you are going to drive only on snow covered roads and not dry ones. You may want to look at the Michelin Easy Grip as they are very easy to install and look to have very good clearance which is needed between the Q5 front tires and steering components.

Kaitlyn2004

Those seem virtualy impossible to buy in north america. I've come across AutoSock - similar idea, seems they're actually moreso designed for the heavier trucks/commercial trucks. Not exactly sure of the material but they don't seem to have any kind of stud or metal. Although those michelin look minimal, going downhill I'd take whatever I could get to dig in!

Kaitlyn2004

I guess those are the Super Z - it seems they also have the Super Z6 which are supposed to be better and even lower clearance?
https://www.peerlesschain.com/brands...6-tire-chains/

So many damn options from them alone! Oh my. It also seems there is "Peerless Chain" and "Security Chain Company" which seem identical - maybe a regional thing...

Bob Petruska

You just order from Amazon, shipped from UK.

You should tell us how deep the snow is where you are going to use the chains? Also how far would you drive on the chains?

flylowlikerylo

Yeah the ones I got were the Super Z (LT) which is for SUV and truck tires. It does appear the Super 6 and Super 8 are meant for lower clearance vehicles so that might be a good option. I don't remember if the clearance on the back tires is as tight as it is on the front tires (it's my wife's car and she is currently out driving it so I can't check).

And yes the chains from those two companies do appear to be identical...

Again for context although I agree with carrying chains, I think the road conditions and/or tire condition would have to be super bad to require use of the chains on the Q5. I am highly impressed by how effective this car is at propelling itself in the snow. For reference, we had snow tires on our previous car (VW Golf TDI) which was front wheel drive and I would honestly say the Q5 has better forward traction even with all season tires (albeit good ones). Breaking distance is probably worse than it was in the golf with snow tires, but if you're driving in such a way that breaking distance is a factor, I'd argue that you're doing it wrong. For me the ability to get the car moving forward (or backward) in snow and ice up a slope is what I care about. Once I'm moving I'll go as slow as I need to to maintain steering and braking.... I've yet to be in a situation in the Q5 that I couldn't easily get it moving / keep it moving - including conditions where feet of snow had fallen (e.g. Alta UT, Snowmass CO, Mammoth CA) and I would have had to dig the tires out with a shovel just to be able to chain up.

MurrayA4

I have little to add to the discussions of chains.I run winter tires and haven't run chains since I had a 68 Fury running Handy Andy tires, those were the days.
The most critical clearance issue in my mind is between the front upper control arms and the inside of the tire. Thick cardboard would fill that space.
Somehow I don't think I'd be comfortable with chains just on the rear wheels of an Audi. Quattro is a somewhat sophisticated system and extreme difference between front and rear grip can lead to some nasty surprises.
In your position I'd seek out a shop that can sell you some good winter tires and also offers storage.Many do.