AUDI S4 Do I need winter tires?

Yes. I would strongly suggest you get snow tires. I had an s4 and drove it without snow tires in the snow once and nearly slid into a stone wall. I would suggest the pirrelli fire and ice snow tires. They have good dry road handling and excellent snow handling.

well how much snow do you get? the NY area is a pretty big area. Like upstate? the snow tires are a must but if you live near the city I would think you'd be ok with some all season tires. I never had anything but those until I moved to CO, now I rock Blizzaks. I don't think I would choose any tire over that though for snow tires.

I live downstate and travel in and out of NYC to New Jersey to work. ( 38 miles round trip). The S4 I am getting has the 19" summer performance tire and package. What size winters should I get and do I use the rims from the 19" or drop down to 18's? What do these tires cost approximately? Do i just get 19" tires or get wheels and tires? How much can this cost? I would need them from December to mid March. We get a few winter storms a year with a snow accumulations of several inches quite often. The roads can get slick. This will be a leased vehicle, so I will have 3 winters. I am seeing that there are different recommendations. I am not in a major snow belt, but I want to know I can commute without worrying if there is 7-10 inches of snow on the ground. Any suggestions on where to get these tires and rims? 19 or 18? thank you

19 inch tires are fine. The smaller the better but the 19 inch look better. I'd get another set of rims and have the snow tires monted on them so you don't have to deal with mounting tires each winter and you save your nice rims for summer.

2nd that. if you were going to get snow tires I would get a second set of wheels for a dedicated snow tire. the summer roads are going to tear away at them. I would look into older S4 wheels for snows, like the 18s off the B6 then leave the 19s in the garage over the winter. also, that way if you do end up sliding into a curb or something then you won't mess up your brand new 19s... I drove an A4 in new england for years without worrying about snow tires though. A commute from rhode island to boston every day gets more snow then nyc to jersey. I drove to and from new hampshire and vermont weekly to go skiing and never had a problem. you don't get that much snow.

I leased an A4 Avant Sport. Summer tires would not move the car up the driveway apron. Switched to Nokians on separate wheels. Much of my driving is back roads in Ohio snow belt or highway during the night. The Nokians are aggressive, directional, and speed rated. Never got stuck and threw great rooster tails lol. Big problem is the lowered sport suspension. Little ground clearance can be a problem on unplowed roads. Also, get the narrowest tire that fits. Screw the looks..pure physics..the greater the tire width the greater the contact area, or less lb/sq in to dig in deeper snow or slush so acceleration and more importantly braking ability suffers...just ask your body repair man.

russ is right that the smaller the tire the better the handling and braking. In the end it is a personal choice. I drove my S4 with 19 inch snow tires for 3 years in the boston area and in some pretty heavy snow storms and never had a problem. The handling in fact was insanely good. Russ is also right about clearance. If the snow is deeper than a foot your are going to run into ground clearance issues.

Did you use the summer performance tires in the winter from RI to Boston to NH? You mentioned you didn't get snow tires? Are you saying I could get by w/o snows in the NYC area? If you do recommend snows what do you mean by B6? thank you

Never said anything about summer tires. I would be surprised if the package from Audi included summer tires in NY. You would be fine with "all season tires" on your roads. I live high in the rockies and recorded almost 400" of snow last year. My girl drove a Jetta with all seasons and she stood just fine last year. B6 is the model code for an A4 or S4 from 2002-2005 The S4 had some pretty sick 6-spoke Avus 18" wheels that would look beautiful on yours for snow tires.

I have an S4 and moved from LA to Colorado with summer super sport tires on it. I thought because I've driven a lot in the snow and with Quattro I'd be fine. One 50 foot ice-skating slide into an intersection later and I got Michelin Pilot Super Sports that are about 30% all weather and 70% sport and they're amazing. Highly recommend. I drive to resorts in heavy snow and they perform very well on dry roads - - not quite summer tires but close enough to handle anything and put a smile on your face.

Summer performance tires aren't meant for snow traction, period. While all season tires can perform adequately, a dedicated snow tire will dramatically increase your traction and safety. Narrower tires are better for digging into snow, and a smaller diameter wheel with a taller sidewall tire will absorb impacts better. Best way to go is Tire Rack dot com they have tire and wheel packages, mounted, balanced and ready to install. I've used snow tires on winter wheels on an A6 Quattro and two Passat 4motions and will go anyplace that my 4wd pickup with snow tires will go.

I got caught in a terrible snow storm in Delaware with the stock tires. Had excellent traction on unplowed I-95. Same exact model you drive. However, when stock tires wore out, I went with relatively cheap all weather tires.

The other reason to run winter tires is the rubber is compounded differently; it is softer and therefore it gets better traction in cold weather