With the inclement weather we have been having here in the midwest, I was looking forward to being pleasantly surprised by the AWD of my 04. I have been in SUV's for the past several years, but I must admit that I feel like I have been doing an awful lot of white-knuckling while driving on quasi-slippery roads.

I'm on 19inch, low profile Falkens, which I think still have decent tread left. Is there some special setting or something that will improve the grip on the road? I think I was expectinga little more from the AWD.

 

Get rid of them Falkens. They tires suck. and would not even think about buying another pair. I have a 04 infiniti FX awd with factory 20's. I brought a pair of falkens when my goodyear RS-A when low on tread. They tires make so much noise and have no traction in any type of weather even on dry ground. They just plain suck and constantly getting low on air. Looking to replace them nowand get back with the RSA's.I have perilli's P6 all seasons on my 04 A8L and they are pretty good in the rain and snow. So get rid of them tires and get a quality pair and you should be fine.

 

There has been record snowfall in montreal this year. Most snow since 1947. The A8 is the best snow runner I've ever had the pleasure of driving. However, 19 and 20's will never cut it as they are just too wide. Take a look at winter rally racers and you will notice how narrow the tires are. I bought 4 17inch wheels and 4 snow tires for less than the cost of 4 19inch tires. It surely doesnt look as pretty... but there is no substitute in inclement weather for the right tires for the job. Tiretrends.com in canada has the 17inch RS4 replica wheels for less than 200$ a piece... it's winter and your just gonna ruin them anyways. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks!
Actually, I was looking to replace them with a set of Perelli P6's, but I saw some reviews that said these were not good tires either. I'm getting a great deal on them, but after I read the reviews I am getting nervous about buying them. SOunds like you have been cool with yours. Handling? noise?

 

handling on dry has certainly suffered... and so has noise... but itadds a cadillac plushness to it.

 

There is alot of road noise. I think it can quieter. But handling wise they are good tires. I drive hard on all my cars. I dont hear any tire noise on hard cornering like in my FX. In snow the car was nice. Felt very confident in car.

 

You know, I've rolled Falken UPHAS {(U)ltra (H)igh (P)erformance (A)ll (S)eason} tires since, like, 1998 and except for glare ice and one or two time when I got stoopit with teh throttle, I've never had a complaint to lodge about them. Of course, I wasn't on 19"ers. Typically, the 19"ers are summer tires, not all-season. If you're on summer tires it won't matter WHICH brand you're on they WILL SUXX BOLLOCKS in rain, ice & snow. I've run Falken UHPAS tires at speeds upwards of 150 in teh rain and 100+ in the snow and never put a wheel wrong (and I've got a bonafide passenger whose ridden with me at those speeds in those conditions, that will confirm that, yes, I am that crazy).

You're prolly on summer rubber, which is treaded/cut/formulated ONLY for dry pavement. Get a set of 17" wheels from eBay, or sunthin', and put some UHPAS Falkens on them. Run them between 6-10 pounds over the car (not tire) manufacturers recommended (trial & error will find what is comfortable for you) for best handling/tire wear. Turn your radio up one extra notch (the can be a bit strumier than, goodyears or michilins, for instance) and drive with confidence.

 

AWDaholicis right...the best summer performance tires will be rock hard in the winter. Get some ultra high-performance all season tires like he said, they will offer the best grip w/out being useless in the winter cold. Michelin Pilot Sport All-Seasons work great. Check tirerack.com