I recently bought my car Audi A4 2.8 Q 2001 with brand new Toyo Proxes of size 225/45 ZR 17 which I got from the dealer. I am very scared to drive my car as it skids a lot even for a small snow. I thought I was lucky to get the 17' wheel from the dealer but now I started thinking, is that the reason for my car to skid? or the tires what I got are not at all good or any problem with my car?. My car does not have EPS. Hope you guys can help on this.

thanks,
rcil

 

from what i've read, they are not the best snow tires. 17" has nothing to do with it.

 

If you want good snow tires get the Studless Michelin X-Ice. They work great. Even on freezing rain they did a great job.

 

If you look for all season, i just got 4 new goodyear assurance comfort tread at tiresavings.com for $80 ea. BEST tires i have ever had!!!!
I needed 205 55R16. They dont make the the assurance triple thread in that size, but i got those on my other car. Even better!!!

 

Low aspect ratio tires are not as good as high in snow.

 

?? what ?? are you trying to say that low-profile tires aren't as good in the snow?? -- no way
look, neither the snow, nor the weight of your car is aware of the rim size or profile of the rubber.
13" rims will perform just as well as 22" rims with identical rubber on them.
it's all about tread pattern and density of the tire rubber, the point of where the tire comes in contact with the pavement is the only thing affecting your traction. not rim size or low-pro tires.

so if your sliding in the snow, get new sneakers for your ride.
my '01 has the sport pkg. so i am famillar with those 17" rims your speaking of rcil.
mine came with Michilin Pilot Sports on them for summer driving, and they are VERY unsuitable for winter driving.
what you have to realize is that Europeans don't like all-seasons, they sacrifice ALOT OF performance just for the convienence of not have to re-mount tires on your car twice a year.
myself, i enjoy a good handling tire, year round, and that means having 2 sets , 1 summer and 1 winter

if you want my reccomendation for a good set of snow tires... the Michilen Pilot Alpin's are excellent i run them.
Pilot Sport's in the summer, Pilot Alpin's in the winter and you'll enjoy your car 12 mos. a year ( and fly by people doing 25 in the snow)

if you want to do some reading go to TIRERACK.COM , on top of have excellent prices they have alot of reading you can do to understand some of the differences in tires.

 

my friend SWEARS by blizzaks

 

I have a 2005 w/ sport packagae (17 inch wheels) and I am doing fine in the snow. I have snows on right now (225) but before I switched I drove in a couple snowstorms with the stock all-seasons (235) and it was fine then too. Honestly I regret switching as I didn't even notice a difference with the snows.

 

205 x 60 x 15 are better in snow than 215 x 50 x 16. 225 x 40 x 17 worse yet. With the same tread pattern , the wide tires slide more on the slippery stuff.