snow tyres

[buzzard]

anyone fitted any mud n snows to an s4 and what rims have you used??
will any steel wheels fit?
last year in the snow it performed very well but wondered if anyone had upped the stakes

[SimonS4MTM]

I thought about getting some Proxes S950 this morning. Then thought that i should really get 4 of them, not just two. I decided in the end just to get 2 new eagle F1's.

Kept thinking about money etc, and the fact that i did not have any problems last year, and skiing holidays have not proved a problem. Keep a set of snow chains in the boot anyway.

If we ever get any more than a couple of days of snow a year then i may get them in the future

[grizz]

i've got a set of 17's for sale , won't fit over my brakes now .... grizz

[clubsport]

I thought about getting some Proxes S950 this morning. Then thought that i should really get 4 of them, not just two. I decided in the end just to get 2 new eagle F1's.

Simon, I am fitting Goodyear F1's to my car next week,,,looking forward to trying them,,,I have heard they under perform in the snow.....wouldn't normally worry me, except for the winter weather forecast....Do you have any experience of them in snow?

[Heksa]

I have Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi studless friction tyres in my avant. Size is 225/45-17 on original Avus alloys. I don't know if these are available in the UK, and at what price. Here in Finland those are about €800-900 for a set of 4. The grip is impressive with those, but there's still plenty of fun available when I turn the ESP off...

I think that it depends very much about the winter you have there, which tyres you choose. Those RSi's, that I have, have been optimized for long, cold and snowy Nordic winters. If you get snow only a few times in one winter, and it won't last for many days at once, I think you'll manage with some more conventional tires with M+S marking.

If you have original brakes, then there might be some 16" steelies available which could fit. However, I cannot point out which ones to use. All S4's had alloys for winter wheels from the factory, if winter tyres option was selected. The appearance can be seen here: http://www.audiclub.fi/tapahgal/pertunm ... g_1347.jpg Those might be available through Ebay.de.

[SimonS4MTM]

No problems with the F1's in snow, had them on my S4's for 4 years now. Though i cannot compare them with anything else in snow. Obvously nothing like snow tyres

[kwottro]

I put Yokohama AVS Winter tyres on mine a couple of weeks ago, luckily, and have had the opportunity to test them out the last few days with all the snow here (plenty of non-ESP sideways action).

They are 225/45/17s, and cost me CHF 990.00 for 4 fitted and balanced. (approx 440 GBP). Should be obtainable slightly cheaper in the UK I think. They seem to grip and perform pretty well.

(I intend to leave them on the 17" alloys for winters and put the 18s back on next spring with decent tyres.)

Have previously had Continental winter tyres (185 or 205/16 I think) on a V6 quattro A4, no problems with those either...

If for any reason winter tyres was not an option, I would go for the snow-socks alternative rather than chains. Something like these : https://www.proidee.co.uk/shop/SID_0123 ... _GB_120074

[springfield]

Buy a freelander or disco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My main mode of transport.

Jim

[ivorl]

I live around 1000m in the Swiss alps and change to winter wheels and tyres on my S4 Avant every November. The wheels are 16" and the tyres are Gislaved. Makes a big difference in the snow with the softer compound and deeper tread.

[Morpheous]

I have a set of five standard Avus wheels (thanks Dippy)fitted with snow tyres. They fitted over my 993TT Porsche Brakes better than my 18inch wheels.

I used Avon CR 85 225/45/17 V rated snow tyres on my S4 Avant.
In March this year, it snowed from the Channel Tunnel all the way to the family chalet in Les Gets nr Morzine, they were great.
I didn't need snow chains at all.(You still have to carry them. I used Weissenfels Klack & Go with 9mm links to allow suspension clearance).

The lane upto the chalet is about 1/4 mile long uphill, my friend in his 607 2WD car got stuck half way even with chains. I was able to tow him up with no problem.
I was very surprised, as was he.
I now have a brand new set of Goodyear Ultragrip GW3 fitted for this season, (only cos they were on order for three months and didn't turn up in time, the Avons were in stock locally).
One thing to watch though, the handling is shocking when the temp rises and the snow disappears.
On the way back from a trip the Flaine, I had a ding dong up the mountain pass with an S3, managed to get past it but going into the bends, I was almost opposite locking at fairly low speeds as the blocks were moving around, but as you are over in Switzerland, you wont need to worry too much until the end of the season.
All the locals have a set of snow tyres sitting in the garage waiting for the clag to drop.
I can see why commercial vehicles over there must be fitted with snow tyres when the weather turns.
A British coach crash in Germany was put down to unsuitable tyres for the conditions early this year.
Hope this helps.

[Turbo Joe]

You towed a bloke up a hill in snow with an S4? This car is more incredible than I thought. That's off the scale man, awesome!