Winter/snow tyres

A

A2steve

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This newbie is struggling for grip on the snow with his A2, can anyone advise?

I have a 1.4TDI with Pirelli P6000 standard road tyres spec 185/50 R16 on alloy wheels. My car gives superb fuel consumption (average over 63MPG), but has no grip on snow. Has anyone in the UK managed to get winter/snow tyres fitted to their A2, and if so what type, on what yupe of wheels? An idea of price paid would be nice as well.

Cheers, Steve
 
A chap I did a cruise retro-fit for in North Wales, David Roberts, has pukka snow wheels and tyres fitted to his TDi (90) - he owns property in Austria, where it gets VERY snowy!

I'm sure he's now a member of the forum, so drop him a PM for more info.
 
Hi Steve

If you are considering changing wheels, Audi list 5" x 15 steel rims for 155/65 winter tyres. Second best would be a set of the standard 5.5" x 15 alloys with 175/60's. For winter tyres, check out www.mytyres.co.uk. They seem to stock all sizes and show related tyre test articles.

Cheers Spike
 
I have fitted Continental Winter Viking tires to my car. These tires have spikes in them. I'm not sure if that is allowed in the UK. These are 155/65-15 fitted on 6,5" Dezent F alloy rims. You have to be careful not to damage the rims because the rims are actully a bit wider than the tire but works just fine. Since I don't want steel rims I tried to find smaller 15" alloys but I couldn't. Anyway the tires are great. Here it is against the law to drive on summer tires on ice/snow-covered roads.
 
I wish the government would make such legislation in this country - it seems that we only need to have a dusting of snow these days for society to grind to a halt! We are truly pathetic compared to our Scandinavian neighbours.
 
I think the legislation is good but not really effective during autumn and spring because it is only mandatory between December 1st and March 31st.
We've had icecovered roads occasionly since october and my opinion is that whatever the date is it should be mandatory to have winter tires (without or preferably with spikes) fitted to your car when there is a risk of ice or snow on the roads. But, it's better than nothing I suppose.

I've uploaded more pics of my car, including the winter tires, main beam auxiliary lights and the painted brake drums. I painted the brake drums directly after I bought the car so corrosion would be avoided as long as possible.
 
Winter Tyres Result

Thanks to everyone who has shown an interest and offered comments. If anyone finds they need to drive their A2 on snow/ice my experiences may be useful, so:

My A2 1.4TDI SE with standard fittings proved to be the worst performer on a little bit of packed snow that I have ever encountered. It was literally undrivable on a slight slope in conditions that a Corsa could manage. With the winter we are forecast and my journey to work over Dartmoor that means either improving its ability, or not driving it, or crashing.

Audi's official line is that you cannot put winter tyres on an A2 in the UK, and they were very reluctant to reveal any information as to solutions. Yet if I took it abroad it could be illegal to drive it with standard tyres.:rolleyes: They were not pleased to be told that, in my opinion, this policy is stupid and dangerous. When pressed they revealed that on the continent you can put 155/65 R15 77Q snow tyres on 5Jx15 ET28 rims, but they refused to help me obtain these.

I found that it was virtually impossible to obtain winter tyres in this country for either Audi wheel specification. Although I could have had a holiday on the continent paid for by the saving I would make by buying approved wheels and tyres there, I decided to buy within the UK from a local supplier, ProTyres Guppa in Plymouth.

So I am now some £600 poorer, but I have a set of Michelin Alpin 195/50 R15 T tyres on 15" Alloys. This is a LOT wider than the official Audi route, although the rolling radius is slightly smaller. Also they are only rated to 119 mph not 130+ :) . But, the essential point is whether they grip - so now I am waiting for the bad weather to return to find out......
 
A2steve said:
Audi's official line is that you cannot put winter tyres on an A2 in the UK, and they were very reluctant to reveal any information as to solutions. Yet if I took it abroad it could be illegal to drive it with standard tyres.:rolleyes: They were not pleased to be told that, in my opinion, this policy is stupid and dangerous. When pressed they revealed that on the continent you can put 155/65 R15 77Q snow tyres on 5Jx15 ET28 rims, but they refused to help me obtain these.
Click to expand...

This response from Audi is unbelievable! Our Merc has the recommended winter tyres listed in the handbook and on the fuel filler cap - if a 300bhp AMG can have winter tyres, why do they think an A2 can not? As you say, in many areas of Europe they are mandatory. Perhaps, they thought you were asking for studded tyres? Now that would be a different proposition.

I think we ought to think more about winter tyres - seeing all those cars on the news stuck for hours makes us all look foolish!
 
Audi A2 handbook

Ok, I've just been down a got the handbook out of our A2( copyright 2000).

Page 192 - 'Winter tyres. In winter road conditions winter tyres will considerably improve the car's handling. Note the following points when fitting winter tyres:
* For best possible handling, winter tyres must be fitted on all four wheels.
* Only use winter tyres of the correct type approved for your vehicle. Information on specified tyre sizes can be found in the registration documents (depending on regulations for the country concerned) or can be obtained from an Audi dealer. See also section headed "Replacing wheels and tyres".
* Winter tyres are no longer fully effective when the tread is worn down to a depth of 4mm.
The effect of winter tyres is also severely impaired by ageing, even if the tread is still much deeper than 4mm.
Winter tyres are subject to the following maximum speed limits:
Code letter Q: 160km/h
Code letter T: 190km/h
Code letter H: 210km/h
In Germany vehicles capable of exceeding these speeds must have an appropriate sticker attached so it is visible to the driver. Suitable stickers are available from Audi dealers.
Please note regulations to this effect in your country.
* All-weather tyres can also be used instead of winter tyres.'

So what are the Audi dealers talking about?

www.mytyres.co.uk have Continental WinterContacts 185/50 R16 81H for £92.50 each delivered.
 
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A2 1.2 TDI - 145/80R14T Winter Tyres

Hi Guys,

Anyone know a UK source for these? I've tried VAG parts, who can only get the 4.5J x 14 alloy 4 bolt fixing wheels fom Germany. No wheel/tyre sets apparently available - sold out for winter!!

Ciao,

Erling
 
A2 1.2 TDI - 145/80R14T Winter Tyres

Hi Guys,

Anyone know a UK source for these? I've tried VAG parts, who can only get the 4.5J x 14 alloy 4 bolt fixing wheels from Germany. No wheel/tyre sets apparently available - sold out for winter!!

Ciao,

Erling
 
There shouldn't be any problem getting winter tires in the UK. I did a quick search at www.mytyres.co.uk and came up with two options of Continental tyres, WinterContact TS 780 165/65 R15 81T and 155/65 R15 77T.
Winter tyres should be as narrow as possible to avoid sliding above slash instead of through it.

As stated before, I have fitted 155/65 tyres on 6.5" Dezent F ET38 rims with no problems. See pics uploaded earlier. No need to get the 4,5"-14 rims for this as 165/65-15 tires will fit even better on a relatively wide 15 rim. Dezent Z and G models are available in 6" width and should work just fine with 165/65-15 tyres.
 
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