I live in LA, but have been thinking about getting up in the mountains this winter for some cross country skiing. I have 17" rims, with Dunlop performance tires on now. Anyone have good recommendations for winter wheels and tires for CA mountain driving?

From what I gather, I should be aiming for 16" rims. tirerack.com came up with only 2 styles in 16" that would fit my car, neither of which I especially cared for. Actually, I wouldn't mind the utilitarian steel wheel look, but that was "unavailable" at tirerack.com. Any suggestions where I might find more options to look at? Or, is just the case that there won't be much choice at 16"?

Also, does anyone have experience with "spike spider" traction devices (see e.g., www.spike-spider.com). They look pretty neat. My owner's manual says to put chains only on front wheels, but I have read other places that having chains on all 4 wheels is best for AWD vehicles.

dude, chains? no, come on. why do we have quattro then? if youre worried about raction get blizzaks on the factory wheels and forget about the rest

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dont kill me

You will have no traction problems with your A6 on compact snow and ice. You will drive around 4x4's chained vehicles etc. All ya really need is what your looking for, a set of snow tires on 16" rims. If you really want to drive in some s*** (ice/deep snow) then I recommend leaving the car at home and don't use cables or the plastic wanna be chains. These two wear out and break and will whip around an screw up your fenders/quarterpanels. Use high quality chains (real links) and custom fit them to your tires that you buy. You only need them on the front for steering. But seriuosly, you'll never need anything but snow tires.

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2001 Audi A6 4.2 Sport - Silver
2004 Lexus IS 300 SD - Black

The chains are a legal requirement. Hopefully, I will never put them on. But a lot of the highways through the mountains in CA have checkpoints where they won't let you pass unless you have chains in the vehicle. They may also make you put them on, but at that point I might think about finding some place to wait out the storm.

Really, folks out here can barely drive in the rain. Can you imagine what it would be like trying to plow out a mountain pass jammed with dimwits from LA?

Ha..I hear ya..They make you have them in your car here too, but the WSP let you pass if you have 4x4 or all wheel drive capability. You should see Seattle..With all the rain we get you would think people are experts but I'm telling you man, it's like amatuer hour..go figure...Buy 'em, put 'em in your trunk and forget about 'em.

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2001 Audi A6 4.2 Sport - Silver
2004 Lexus IS 300 SD - Black

Suggest you search the classifieds here and at www.audiworld.com for 16" wheels. Plenty of people who have upgraded their stock wheels are looking to sell them. Should be able to get a decent set for the winter on the cheap. FWIW, I'm running Dunlop Wintersport M3s as my winter tires and love 'em.

Good luck.

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