Winter tires for B5 S4

[bigbadboss101]

Any of you boys looking for winter tires? Just wondering if I should go with Blizzak, Kumho KW19, Dunlop M, Nokian, or other brands. What do you have on your winter rims?

On a side note, I have been driving with my windows open. Like to listen to the shhh spooling sound. My rear left speaker is rattling so I don't use the stereo much either. Just replace the stock speakers or is there something else I can do?

[R_Ethug]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

i have the kw19s are are good stuff.. blizzacks 22s are great too i've had those in the past

[Jester B]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

do a search on AW. There is a problem with the dust cover separating that can be fixed with crazy glue. Took me under an hour to fix mine

[bigbadboss101]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

Thanks I read that.

I assume you guys have played with the 'hidden' eq? Quite neat. Mine was set at the factory 55555555 but changed to 86687667 and like it.
Hold 5, then press the ON button.

[Smarty39]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

yeah, the hidden EQ is pretty cool...and I was shocked when it actually made a difference!

As for winters, I have the KW19's and love them. They are super quiet for a dedicated winter and they perform perfectly in our climate. Hit up Tirebob for a quote

[PRY4SNO]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

I prefer my Dunlop SP 3D to any other winter tyre I've driven (vs. Blizzaks, Pilot Alpin, X-Ice, a Hankook kind, Nokian WR and Hakk., Goodyears, and a couple others).

[burner]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

Nokians for sure. Most of the big tire companies make a good winter product but Nokian specializes in it. Their product performs awesome and wears extremely well, something I cannot say for Brdigestone or Michelin winter product.

Check out the rsi - amazing tire but possibly overkill on an all wheel drive or,

wr - an all weather performance tire (not all season)

I have used rsi's on two different quattro's and the cars feel unstoppable on even the worst winter roads. For the record I used to be a rep for a ski company and put on about 70,000kms a year (mostly winter driving), so I have tested out my share of winter tires.

[canuck699]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

I own some Toyo Garits. I absolutely love them in the winter here in calgary. I've had some other winter tires (nexen and kumho, and pirelli that came with the car) and these were just heads and tales better. a little bit of road noise (nothing major) but expected from the tread style. Noise was not bad at speed if you have to head off and do some mid winter highway driving as well.

The guys at CMS, at the barlow honda, were where i got them and a great price too. definately recommend them.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

my kuhmo kw19s were like 900ish for the stock 17's 225/45/17

i wanted the nokians for sure! but they were like 1500 bucks or some crazy **** and the only place that carried them was like fountain tire if i remember right

we have toyos on my wifes car i forget which ones but they do the job too..

[burner]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

Actually it's Kal Tire that has the exclusive on Nokians for Western Canada. But for some reason you can order them online from 1010tires.com, they're a CDN company shipping out of Richmond, BC. I don't know about their pricing though.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

ahh thanks for correcting.. kal tire is right.. i remember it was one of the chains but yea $$$$ for em

if i lived in edmonton or banff maybe but it dries up here so freaking fast you almost only need all seasons nowadays but winters rule

[greenGS]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

KW19s. Great tire.

[zoik]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

my kuhmo kw19s were like 900ish for the stock 17's 225/45/17

i wanted the nokians for sure! but they were like 1500 bucks or some crazy **** and the only place that carried them was like fountain tire if i remember right

we have toyos on my wifes car i forget which ones but they do the job too..

i thought you had kw17s? i had a choice between kw17s and 19s for roughly the same price, 17s were more ice tires and the 19s were more snow. since i hit the mountains for snowboarding i got the 19s. they're alright, i don't think they grip as good as my sister's toyo's.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

oh 17s then lol i'll have to check mine

[tirebob]

Re: Winter tires for B5 S4

No winter tire is better than every other winter tire for every situation. It is a matter of finding winter tires that suit you driving needs.

For example, if you are a farmer living up a dirt road that never gets plowed and turns to goop when it thaws a bit, you want a pretty aggressive lug type pattern as this will dig away the most amount of loose snow and goop, but the trade of is they are noisy and handle like poo on bare asphalt...

If you drive only too and from work within the city or from the burbs, and you like the car to drive as similar to all seasons as possible, but want a definite traction improvement when it is a bit snowy but most likely compact or plowed with some decent ice traction, then a high performance winter with a T or H speed rating and a tight, non-lug type pattern with extreme siping density and a bit firmer tread compound will generally have more stability and better road feel, but the trade off is that they will not provide the very best traction in the most extreme of conditions...

If you are someone who simply is not comfortable driving in the most extreme of icy conditions etc, then the highly specialised ice compound tires, or even studs (although studs are mostly overkill in our enviroment here in the city) will absolutely maximise your ability to maneuver on the slippery stuff, but the trade off being that pure ice compounds do wear quite quickly and also do not handle as well on bare asphalt.

The truth is that any winter tire, even the most entry level products, as long as it is truely a winter tire will help you tremendously in winter when compared to even the best of all seasons... No matter what the tire companies advertising claims, a tire has to have certain properties built in to provide certain characteristics, and all the characteristics have side effects. If there were only one tire that could magically do everything, there would only be one tire, and the companies with the biggest advertising budgets are good at making themselves look even greater, but do not fall into the trap of thinking that unless you spend enormous amounts of money on only the top brands that you are not safe of the roads. Again, it is a matter of selecting a tire that fits your budget and does what is required of it as best as possible for your specific situation. If that means you are a student with very little money and you only have enough money for the cheapest entry level brand winter tire possible, you are doing the right thing by improving your safety to the best of your ability.