ManWIthAPlan

Guys, I bought a CPO'd 2011 TDI Q7 in April, and it came with the standard 20inch factory rims and Pirelli Scorpion all-season tires. I'm considering just riding on these through the winter, the car only has 27K miles on it, and I suspect these were the original tires, plenty of tread left.

Can somebody tell me if I'm crazy to think I can ride through the winter with these?? We live in MA and travel to ski resorts in VT and NH, maybe 5-10 times throughout the winter. There will be snow in other words, how much is anybody's guess. Just hoping I don't necessarily need snow tires, but of course safety is first priority. Thanks for the help.

PARealtor

Ive used them for 2 years here in PA with no issues

ManWIthAPlan

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I think I'm gonna roll the dice, but any other thoughts on the subject are appreciated. Thanks!

AvantMore

I am definitely going to purchase a winter setup for my new 2013. I figure it really costs just the price of a cheap set of 18" rims. The Q7 chews through tires pretty fast, so I think its really a wash in total tire cost because I'll be spreading the wear over two sets instead of one. I think a good snow tire really makes a difference and doesn't interfere too much with the granny-like way we drive the Q7 anyway.
2 cents.

Q7pgh1

I've always had winter tires on 18" rims (from Tire Rack) on my Q7s (first set was Blizzaks and the current set is Goodyear UltraGrip WRTs). The first two Q7s came equipped with Goodyear LS2's which had tread patterns that never impressed me. My current TDi has the 20" Pirelli Scorpions (like yours) which appear to be a more aggressive tread that may actually be OK for the winter. My 2 cents.

PARealtor

just after I typed that response we had a 2" snow storm. I too have pirelli scorpions. fronts are newer after a curb incident a few months back and rears are original with just over 30K miles on them.

well as luck would have it I was cruising along at around 40mph in the middle of the storm when the back end starting sliding out without warning. Luckily I was able to straighten things out and I owe a great deal of that to the stability control. no warning and luckily no one on the road or I would have screwed.

Needless to say I just ordered two new tires for the rear.

ManWIthAPlan

Interesting, good to know, thanks for the heads-up. What tires did you order though? 2 more Pirelli Scorpions for the rear or did you change it up to something different? Thanks again!

s5blitzer

I have a 2010 Q7 TDI and have used my OE Goodyear LS-2 all season for the last 3 winters and I am seriously thinking for using Winter tires. Any reason not to get the 18" Conti from Audi?

AvantMore

I have 20" rims now and was thinking of going to 18" or 19" for winter set. 18" has vastly more selection and is significantly cheaper than 19" but I might hate how small they look. Hmmmm. It's getting cold out, time to pull the trigger! Someone please convince me to save the money and go with the 18"s during the winter! Please!

Symko

We have 295x35x21 Pirelli Scorpion's on our '11 TFSI and just installed 20" Hartmann's with Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow for the winter, 275x45 series. Just had a storm drop 6" yesterday and didn't slow me down at all. Definitely recommend them. Purchased at TireRack, roughly $310 a tire for 275's.