A4 Tire recommendations

"Haywood" wrote

Mind telling us if this is all-season or summer tires you need, so that we're on the right track? Size would be useful, too, as not all tires come in all sizes.

FYI, for general opinions on various tires, the easiest thing to do is go over to

and read owner's reviews - you can even filter it by car model, driving style, and driving conditions.

Pete

Sorry, I need all season tires. I haven't checked the size..I assume most A4 owners would use the same size; within a size or two?

Big assumption and not, I suspect, correct. My A4 3.0q seems to take a very peculiar size - I can only find three manufacturers that sell them in the UK (Michelin, Dunlop and Continental), and at GBP150 each. I wouldn't mind betting that you'll have a wider choice at a lower price.

Peter.

"Peter" wrote

Yeah. In the US, depending on options as well as which part of 2001 model year (2001 or 2001.5), he could have either one of these 3 sizes:

205/60/15 205/55/16 225/45/17

Haywood, pardon my directness, but wanting to purchase tires and not knowing their specs is kind of like trying to buy shoes not knowing your foot size.

235/45/17? Yeah, plenty of tires in that size available in the US, some as low as $100 each.

Cheers,

Pete

I have a B5 A4 2.8q which I believe is the older version of your car and one of its advantages (for a car of its type) is that it takes relatively inexpensive tyres. I just paid £280ukp for 4 Dunlop SP Sports tyres.

Richard

Yup, that's right

I wish!

Tell me, how do you find the Dunlops? I've got Michelin on the car at the moment, but know that they'll need replacing soon. I really don't like Michelin - never have. Boy, you should hear them squeal on corners! (And no, I don't really push it - I do nothing that I didn't do with no trouble at all in the Bridgestone-shod BMW that I had before.)

Peter.

No, mine are only 215/55 16 Y. Hardly any here - wish I could get them for USD100! (The difficulty seems to be in finding any with that 'Y' speed rating.)

Peter.

I really don't see why size makes much difference. I just wanted some opinions on different brands for my Quattro. Just asked how they ride and perform. I'm reasonably certain all tire companies make their product in different sizes. I just put the size that came on the vehicle, like most people do.

I bought the Dunlops because they were OEM spec tyres. They seem to be long lasting at about 25-30000 miles. I drive sedately so don't really notice squeal at all. I never have a problem with grip in wet or drive (probably the way I drive). They are reasonably quiet compared to the Pirelli P6000 or the Avons I had in the past. The Avons did last a long time though.

Hope this helps.

Richard

"Peter" wrote (The difficulty seems to be in finding any with that 'Y'

A 'V' speed rating would suffice. Or is there some kind of a law in the UK that prevents you from using anything lower than what the factory provided?

Pete

You seem to be missing the point. There's no point in someone recommending, say, Bridgestone if they don't make tyres the right size for your car. And no, not all manufacturers do make all tyre sizes/specifications. As noted elsewhere, I can't get tyres to match my car from (for example) Pirelli, Bridgestone or Goodyear. And, in an ideal world, I would prefer to buy Goodyear or Bridgestone.

Peter.

Thanks. That durability description seems pretty consistent with the dreaded Michelins, which suggests that the grip isn't likely to be much better. I can't describe my driving style as 'sedate', so lateral grip matters a lot to me.

Peter.

There isn't any reason you have to buy them with a Y speed rating, unless you feel the need to go up to 186 mph. V is sufficient up to 149 mph, H is good to 130 mph, S to 112 mph. Just choose by how fast you really ever drive (or that your car is actually capable of) not by what your car originally shipped with.

Thanks. I'd wondered about that. AFAIK, the car's limited to 155MPH. In practice, I rarely go beyond 100 and never beyond 120. (It's difficult to find suitable roads when you live in a densely-populated country with a blanket 70 limit.)

But can I safely mix tyres with different speed ratings on the car? I might not need to change all of them at once.

Peter.

"Peter" wrote

Just be sure to keep the same tires on one axle (I mean don't mix between left and right side).

Pete

I had, until recently, a matching set of Goodyear NCT5s on my Passat

1.8T, so I'd assume the same applies to an A4.

They wear reasonably well, 8k miles from the front pair, rears still looked new when I swapped them onto the front.

Grip is good, although they squeel a bit if you're pressing on, and they don't scare me too badly in the wet..... but I have had the rear end feel a bit twitchy at times.

Overall, I'd say they're fair value for money, being a fair bit cheaper than my usual choice of Pirelli P6000s, especially as they last longer.

On previous cars, I've been *very* happy with Goodyear Eagle Venturers. But they can be expensive.

Thanks. That's the answer I was expecting, but it's nice to be sure.

The garage has just phoned (they're servicing the car today) - both front tyres need changing, but the rear are OK. More money gone...

Peter.

"Peter" wrote

Are you familiar with the concept of tire rotation? :)

Cheers,

Pete

Yes - but the last thing I want is to have to pay for four at once. I'd rather have to replace two now and the other two in a few months' time. The decision *not* to rotate them is one taken quite deliberately.

Peter.