kac

I'm in need of tires for my 2000 A6 2.7T with stock 16" rims. I enjoy a "spirited" drive, but I do want something that's quiet on the highway. I'll probably get a set of winter tires, but since snow is possible for about 9 months of the year, my "summer" tires should be able to perform tolerably in snow for those early fall, late spring storms.

I may end up with a separate set of wheels for winter. If I do, should I go with a different size, and if so should i put the summer tires on the new wheels or wait and do the winter ones on them. And if I do get new wheels, what are the key things to look for?

Thanks,

Ken

jprice@CPS

Based on the fact that you hve snow up to 9 months of the year, and enjoy spirited driving in the summer, I highly recommend two sets of wheels/tires.

I would put snow tires on the 16" wheels, and get 17" or 18" wheels for summer.

For snow tires, I recommend <a href="http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tires_popup.cfm?id=6">Nokian WR</a> in V rating. They do well on snow and ice, without giving up as much in the dry as many other options. If you live in a remote area with little to no plowing, and/or lots of glare ice, take a look at the <a href="http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tires_popup.cfm?id=1&w=1">Nokian Hakka 2</a> (with or without studs) or the <a href="http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tires_popup.cfm?id=53&w=1">Nokian RSi</a>.

For summer tire, you mentioned quiet. That brings three tires to my mind.

The first is the <a href="http://www.edgeracing.com/tire/675/">Falken St115</a> which is only $92 per tire for 235/45/17 and $121 for 235/40/18 from edgeracing.com

The second is the <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR4&url=%2Ftires%2Ftires.jsp%3FtireMake%3D Goodyear%26tireModel%3DEagle%2BF1%2BGS-D3">Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3</a>. $159 each for 235/45/17 and $191 for 235/40/18 from Tirerack.

The third option that comes to mind is the <A href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR4&url=%2Ftires%2Ftires.jsp%3FtireMake%3D Dunlop%26tireModel%3DSP%2BSport%2B9000">Dunlop SP9000</a>. $158 each for 235/45/17 and $171 each for 235/40/18 from Tire Rack.

I run separate winter and summer tires here in MN, and would have it no other way. Tires are always a compromise, and with all seasons, you can't really get the best of anything. It's a jack of all trades, and master of none. You can get all seasons that have great summer performance, but those will have not so good winter performance (but will still be better than a summer tire in the winter) Those would be the Pilot SPort A/S, Continental ContiExtreme contact, Pirelli Pzero Nero M&amp;S tires and the like.

I would just watch the weather forecasts, and swap your winter wheels on when either snow is predicted, or daily high no longer goes above 45 degrees. I switch my own in my garage.. which is nice since it's free (well, I bought a jack), and if we get a surprise snow storm, I can just change them before I go to work. I usually just change when the weather gets cold, and drive a few weeks before we even get a snow. With the NOkian WRs, it's not too big of a deal since they don't have scary dry road performance like many other winter tires. :-)

Good luck!

kac

Thanks for the detailed suggestions.

The winters here are highly variable, and 90% of the time we're driving on dry roads, so the Nokian WR sounds good. (It typically melts within 2 days of a snowstorm). From September to November I can probably expect about 3 storms, but some years they come every week. So I'm kind of thinking of running real winter tires from about November to end of March, with reasonably capable (non-scary) all seasons for April - October.

I also suspect I'm too lazy to switch much more than a couple of times a year.

jprice@CPS

basically, the same time frame, early november they go on, and come off in April.

I'd still say go with dedicated summer rubber for the non-snow season. :-)

Sounds like you have an interesting winter! If all the snow melts (even off the grass) withing a couple of days, and daily highs are above freezing typically all winter (warm winters with occaisionaly cold snap?), I'd run something like the Continental ContiExtreme Contact during the winter and a dedicated summer tire. It's tough to decide with unpredictable winters!

DOC

I'm on board with that advice. I live in Colorado as well, in the foothills, where the possibility of snow exists from 9/1 to 5/30. For that reason, I bought Nokian WRs, which I run from about mid-September through mid-May. I'm happy with them in the snow (including 10-15 trips to Summit County or Vail each winter) and for dry performance. For the summer, I have Falken ST-115s, which are among the better bang for the buck summer performance tires.