Winter Tire Width / Load Rating

[Selektaa]

Hey all,

I've got a B7 S4, but I recently got some B7 A4 wheels to run in winter. They're the dual 5 spoke 17s, and I believe they're 7.5 wide. I'm going to be doing a lot of skiing this winter, so I want tires that will perform well in the snow. The stock size is 235/45/17, but I'd like to go lower, to 225/45/17, or maybe even 215/45/17. I called up Tire Rack, and they said the smaller tires would have an inadequate load rating for my car, and I'd be risking a blowout if I went smaller than stock.

I have 2 questions:

1) How much of a difference will I see in the snow with 225 vs 235?

2) Is this guy correct that I'd be risking a blowout? I've seen people around here running smaller width tires for winter, just wanted to ask directly if anyone has ever had any issues.

Thanks,
Mike

[coolgraymemo]

Have you considered 205/50?

I'm not sure what their load rating is though.

[Selektaa]

That might work. I think I read somewhere the minimum load rating is 91, and those are 93. 97 for the same tire in stock size. Would they fit on a 7.5" rim, though?