Living in the frigid clime of America’s Third Coast, just blocks from Lake Erie, I am the key demographic for tire companies when they plan their winter tire marketing campaigns. Winter is getting an extremely late start in 2024, but I know that winter tires will be a necessity when the white stuff finally does start flying. I will swear by winter tires and have not gone a frozen season without them since I was in high school. If you live somewhere that regularly sees temperatures below 40 degrees, you should do the same. And you should get a second set of wheels to keep those tires on.
I can already feel some people pulling back because who can afford a second set of wheels and tires in this economy? My argument has always been that the shorter stopping distances and better cold/snow/ice grip could be the difference between your 3,600-pound family hatchback stopping normally versus sailing through the back seat of whatever unlucky rusty Ford Explorer stopped at the intersection in front of you. The insurance premium alone is more than the cost of a good set of wheels and tires.
I knew when I bought a sticky set of summer tires for my new-to-me Audi A3 E-tron earlier in the year that I would have to find another set of tires for cold weather work. As luck would have it, I’ve owned Audis before and had this grey set of OZ Racing Rally wheels in storage. You can find a good set of aftermarket wheels on Craigslist if you do some hunting. The Fifteen52s I bought for the summer tires (below) were only $400, to give you some idea. If you aren’t inexplicably vehemently opposed to stock wheels, as I am, you can probably keep your factory wheels for winter use to save a few bucks and get something more attractive and fun for the summer months.
The grey OZs were always going to be my winter wheels, as they are 17-inch wheels. I wanted 18s for the summer tires to really fill out the wheel wells, and the chunky look of the OZ wheels work better as a winter wheel in my eyes. We found a reasonable price on a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS90s mounted and balanced for $972 (including the disposal of the old tires still on the wheels). Even if I’d bought the wheels brand new today, the whole thing would have been under two grand out the door. If this setup helps save me from even a minor fender bender, it’ll have been worth it.
While I was messing around with the car today I decided it was a good time to do a bit more futzing. Since I’m going for a tarmac rally look with this car I ordered a pair of FIA Hybrid placard decals. The WRC may have dropped hybrid powertrains for 2025, but I haven’t.
And to make my Audi Dork level even higher, I installed an old Audi Sport license plate frame that I’ve had for over a decade. I love this vintage look on a modern car, and it works great for the modern Audi Ur-Quattro rallyist aesthetic I’m trying to adopt.
I’m nowhere near done with this project, but these personalization are always some of my favorites. It doesn’t take much effort to make your car your own.
