Also search snow tires and you will probably find 3-5 threads from the past year on here.

 

Let's face it - steel wheels are at best geeky. You can get a decent set of alloys from Tire Rack with Blizzaks, Dunlops or Michelins in a 225/45-17 and roll proud for a grand. And that's still less money than any kind of bodywork or the insurance bump you'll get if you spin off road or spank another car. Sport Edition SE-14 and Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 seem to be a combination of a good looking wheel and a great tire combo for about $1000. I'd go that way myself.

 

**** **** ****... sadness. I'm going to tahoe this weekend and just now hoping that road conditions arent that bad. I think I'll pick up chains because there's NO WAY ill be able to arrange getting all season or winter tires and rims put on by the end of this week.

So here's my current situation:

• I really like my rims already that came from Audi. I would be very sad to lose them, and to even pay money to lose them.
• I'm going to buy chains for my car for this weekend because I have no choice. Does anyone know what type of chains I need? I've got a 2009 A3 w/ Titanium package + Quattro (summer tires, 17" rims i think).
• I go snowboarding about 2-3 times a year... which is not very much.
• I already spent a ridiculous amount of change on the car itself... the idea of dropping another $1K is depressing.
• If I were to get different tires and rims, I've heard mixed responses from this forum... I think one guy said to get different tires on one axel and different on others? (confusing)... are all-season tires terrible in the snow? Do I really *need* winter tires?
• This is tahoe... not mammoth, not anything too epic. The roads are usually pretty forgiving.

Thanks for any help or please slam me if I keep asking the same thing

 

You might want to double check on chains. If you have 18s, forget about it. Try read the link that I supplied you, I posted it for a reason. If you have 17s with sport springs, you might want to reconsider. Buy a set of cheap steelies with winter tires, doesn't take that long.

 

"Quattro in the snow" will my car 'engine break' on four wheels in the snow or on slippery roads? my Calibra did so and found that very handy. It would slow down the car just by down shifting without the ABS kicking in.

 

Quattro is great for tracktion when the tire you have is set for the condition. As for msodrew I wouldnt even think about going to Mamouth with out an all-season tire and chains for safty. In the Northern Cali mountains the snow can be very wet and if you have a sunny day and snow starts melting it will freeze and leave black ice. With your summer tires you would slip and slide like bambi on the frozen lake, even with quattro. And chains with your summer tires at 32 and below your tires become extremly hard and the chains will just eat at the tread and shorten the life of the tire if not possibly puncturing one.

 

I'm not going to mammoth, I'm going to Tahoe which has very wide and relatively safe roads. I'll be driving to a hotel, not a residential (and more likely snowed in) area, and I won't be driving to Northstar (the ski resort), I'll be taking a shuttle there.

So in effect, all I have to do is make it to Tahoe from the CA Bay Area period... not anything too epic. Since I'm literally leaving in less than 2 days, and I have summer tires, I'll have to go buy chains tomorrow for the sake of safety just for this weekend, then look into getting some all-season tires that fit my current rims (the option of having 2 sets of tires is out of the question... I live in an APT and just dont have that kind of storage space).

 

hannes, Quattro, engine braking has nothing to do with emergency stopping. When you lose traction, it doesn't matter how many wheel drives you have. It's in these situation when you really need winter tires.

As for msodrew, it's your car that you are taking a chance on. Don't say I didn't warn you about the chains. Told you to read the link about damaging your car with 18s + chain.

 

why can't I drive with chains on 18" rims? The chains are correctly listed as fitting that exact tire specification. Does it have something to do with the fact that the A3 sits lower (perhaps with the S-line or titanium package?)... could I get some more info on this because the forum link you linked me is a VW forum and i searched for the term "18" and only came up with one dude saying "yeah you can't do it" with no explanation. I'm probably going to call up the dealership tomorrow.

 

In the same thread, someone mentioned that on a R32, snow chains will not have enough clearance if you have 18 wheels. Even with 17s, it might cause some problem. The chains will fit the tires, that's not the problem. However, the chain might damage you car if it doesn't have enough clearance in the wheel well. If you have the sport package, your springs are already lower (perhaps a tad higher than stock R32), so you run the risk of damaging your car when you run over bumps and stuff. Basically similar to people who have rubbing problem when they lowered their car or put too thick of tires on. But instead of rubber rubbing the liner, it will be metal. If you get it from the dealer and they confirm that it will be fine, then I suppose they will cover it if something goes wrong. But the possibility is there.