well with winter over (depends where you live) I was wondering I'm coming from a Subaru and I found I really did not need a decated Snow tire but how about for the Audi? I was looking at the Continental ContiExtremeContact for an A/S tire what do you think? I live here in Connecticut btw.

 

I use bridgestone blizzaks in winter and they are incredible! I would never use another tire in winter, I had them during the Denver blizzards of 06-07 and while everyone else was sliding around the road and into each other I was driving through them like slalom gates. I use a high performance tire in summer because it's just more fun that an A/S.

 

I was going to do winter tires but I would be putting them on spare winter wheels.

 

I have to sets of rims and it makes life easy. I have 16' A6 rims on in winter then some nice 17's for summer. Plus I like the change in the look of the car season to season.

 

I'd mount the winters on the stock rims and I'd run my Aftermarkers for summer.. when I get the aftermarkers I might just pant the stock black. The only thing is I really have no place to store two sets of tires+rims

 

I don't understand the winter tire thing. Where do you have to be the three days per year (or less) when the roads are so bad that you can't get around on all season tires with Quattro? And if you are out there and everyone else is stuck, you ain't goin' nowhere anyway. If you want to offroad get a beat up Bronco. Maybe in Germany where I've ridden with a local in his A6 going wide open in the rain on their interstate highways (autobahns) with special summer tires not somehow suitable for winter. Just an opinion.

 

I used to wonder about the winter tire thing myself until I actually drove with good ones. It means you can drive with a level of confidence that you can't get crawling around all season tires. All I know is that I never slide through stop signs on ice or spin the wheels when accellerating from a standstill like I did with my all seasons. Furthermore after driving through a summer on all seasons it makes them much less effective in winter.

 

and as for rims...I have always had good luck with nice rims on craigslist. Just store your rims at a friends house...thats what friends are for...

 

Haha I thought about the friend's house thing since I do most of my work in the yard.

just only have to worry about the one billion spiders that might crawl out of it when the season starts again.

 

I used a set of Dunlop Graspics this season(came with car), but next season its studded Hakkas, especially if they have more ice racing where I live Get yourself a set of factory steel wheels too, the narrower wheel/tire will help in the snow, like a 195. Ugly as hell though. Prob don't need studs being from CT, well depending on what part.

The Quattro system makes up for a lot, but you will notice a big difference.

We just got a couple inches of snow here today, and I just switched over to my summer tires, lol.