Winter Tyres

k9387

Just bought some winter wheels today, as the car is for UK and Germany it isn't an option. Dropped down to 17 myself - cheaper rims/tyres and better performance - was so very tempted to get 18s though.

Bought these:

<<< not allowed to enter links - look at tyremen.co.uk and select q5 winter wheels - should come up with Alutec Grip Silver 17" >>>

Good make (Alutec - made in Germany for the winter) with a good tyre (Vredestein Wintrac 4 Xtreme) at a price nearly £100 lower than most others.

Tyres: I wouldn't go with what Audi recommends - that only really means Audi have got it going on with that manufacturer as their supplier for OE tyres. Have a look at the reviews. There are differences between SUV/car tyres and rims and also proper winter tyres (snowflake symbol) and those with just m+s. (235/55/R19, 235/60/R18 and 235/65/R17 are what you should be looking for).

Rims: +/-5mm is usually ok for variation on ET without spacers - though if you are really bothered then use them (and longer bolts for spacers greater than 3mm) - always check clearance though, just to be safe. Pattern should be 5x112.

Luckily most decent wheel companies with check you order very carefully and correct any mistakes.

missile

Alutec Grip Silver 17" >>>Good make (Alutec - made in Germany for the winter) with a good tyre (Vredestein Wintrac 4 Xtreme) at a price nearly £100 lower than most others.

Quite a good deal @ £885 plus delivery

k9387

missile wrote: »

Quite a good deal @ £885 plus delivery

Yeah, if they arrive...

I think the cheapest 18s I found were about £1200ish. But to be honest I didn't search around too much at this size.

Lum

missile wrote: »

Quite a good deal @ £885 plus delivery

:eek: Crikey, I'm glad both our cars can run 16" wheels for the winter.

4x Nokian WR-G2 205/55/16 - £387 from MyTyres
4x 16" 4x114.3 Nissan Primera "sport" alloys - £22.03 from eBay, found thanks to a very helpful person on this very forum.
Fitting tyres to wheels - £30 cash at local tyre shop.
Swapping over the wheels - £10 at same tyre shop.

Leaves us with a bit of loose change from £450 all in.

missile

I drive a Q5 = not very MSE

missile

k9387 wrote: »

Yeah, if they arrive....

What delivery did they promise?

k9387

'Standard' which I just checked and is next day! Don't know how long they take to mount, balance etc though, or if eveything is even in stock.

Will post again when I receive them.

k9387

UPDATE: Received the wheels yesterday, very impressed by tyremen.co.uk and can wholeheartedly recommend them!

All set, just need some winter now...

SHIPSHAPE

Don't bother, we don't get the severe weather to justify them.

Better off with a tyre that is good in the rain.

mikey72

Non standard wheels and tyres are one of those things insurers want to know about, so they can load you for being safer.
Mine are standard tyres on a second set of standard rims, so hopefully no problem when I don't tell them.