Originally Posted by
ragejed
Anyone running snow tires on 20in wheels?
Wont be taking it out off roading or anything, will be more of in case of emergency and it snows while I'm out. I already have 20in black optic wheels with summer tires so I need something for the winter
Debating on getting 19 or 20s for my snow set.
Yes. I live in the Chicago area and we have our share of winter weather and potholes. I wrestled with the same questions over the years and did something different this time. Previously I followed conventional wisdom and purchased higher profile winter tires on smaller wheels; this time I purchased winter tires and wheels that were the exact same size as my summer ones. I use 20" Michelin PS4S in the summer and PA4 in the winter. It was the right decision for me, but my priorities may be different than yours so it depends on what is most important to you. The tradeoff is essentially performance vs resistance to potholes, and cost, but there are caveats either way.
I have been buying dedicated winter wheels and tires since 1986. They were always higher profile tires on a smaller wheel. Most recently, I took this approach on my two previous S4s where I purchased Audi's winter tire and wheel package and drove those cars through 8 winters. My summer setup had 19" wheels and winter had 18". I never damaged a wheel, but the car was just a car for the six months that it wore winter tires, and I could not wait to get back to the summer setup. In addition to poor handling, I found slight differences in tire diameter (with Audi's winter package) which negatively affected the behavior of the DSG transmission -- shifting was different and clunkier. One thing that became clear during all of this is that winter roads are typically clear, not snow covered, so I spent six months per year with tires that were focused on the relatively few snow days and sacrificed all of the driving characteristics that I enjoyed when the roads were dry. Still, I was hesitant to deviate from convention wisdom because I did not want to get stuck in the snow and did not want to damage wheels, so I took that approach for many years with many different cars.
This time, however, I went with the same size tires and wheels for both summer and winter and could not be happier. The PA4s behave very well on cold dry pavement. I even used them on the track this spring when the temperatures were still too cold for summer tires, and they did very well. The car is more fun to drive in the winter than any car I have had with high profile tires, which includes Porsches, Mercedes and Audis. And, as a bonus, they are also exceptional in the snow. Despite the wide tread and low profile, my RS5 is much better in the snow than my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee, and as good or better than any of my other cars in deep snow. I drove from Detroit to Chicago once during a constant snow storm and was able to move faster than other traffic yet the car felt totally stable and in control. I have not damaged a wheel in four years of winter driving in the Midwest, and I have had no trouble getting through any snow storm that we have had. And, when the winter roads are dry the car is playful and handles well - not quite at the level of the summer tires, but much better than any other tire/wheel combination I have had.
While all of this sounds good, you have to pay attention to the quality of the wheels you purchase. Oem wheels are likely to be one of the better options from a durability point of view, but aftermarket wheels are everywhere. However, all wheels are not created equal. Some are Cast, more expensive ones are Flow-Formed (aka Flow-Forged), and the most expensive are Forged. Cast are most brittle, followed by Flow-Formed/Flow-Forged, followed by Forged. Don't buy Cast wheels if you are concerned with potholes. They seem to self-destruct just by driving near a pothole. In my case, the stock 20" wheels that came with my car are Forged and the second set I got from the dealer are also Forged. So, while I have not had any wheel damage in four winters, I have also used the strongest and least brittle type of wheel. I can't speak directly to Flow-Formed wheels, but I expect they would be between Cast and Forged in both durability and cost.
So, if you want to enjoy the car's handling year-round and have the budget to get the right equipment, get the same size summer and winter tires and wheels. If you are more concerned with damage and ride quality (softness), follow conventional wisdom and get smaller wheels with higher profile and more narrow narrow tires.
Snow tires on 20s?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks