I just bought a 2000 A6 4.2 and I am trying to make it suitable for the rocky mountain winter roads. The vehicle came with 17in 40 series rims & tires, and even after putting brand new all season Kumho ASX's on the vehicle I'm still experiencing a lot of rear sliding when I turn on a snow packed road. Does anyone know if that vehicle will handle well with a smaller rim (15 or 16) in order to open up the options for a better all season tire or less expensive snow tire.

 

The key is to go narrow so that you're not riding on top of the snow, but biting through it. So, a 16x7" wheel would probably be your best bet. I'm skeptical that you could find a 15" wheel that would clear the brake calipers. Should not be hard to find some used 16x7 Audi OEM wheels on the classifieds here/www.audiworld.com/eBay. You'd be able to put a 205 or 215 width tire on that.

Good luck.