minsicomm

Hi all. I have used this site for about 2 years to gain insight on what Q7 owners use and recommend for tires, brakes, accessories, etc. Its great. You have all been very helpful.

I joined today because I need new tires soon, and I have some specific questions about tires that I can't seem to find when I search, so either I search incorrectly, or maybe no one has asked these questions or used the tires I'm interested in.

I have an '07 4.2 Premium with 265/50/19's. Bought it in 2010 with 22k on it. They came with the original Duelers, which lasted to about 48k, but were noisy as heck. I replaced them with Pirelli Scorpion Verdes. Loved them, nice and quiet, but I am at about 21k, and they are down to 4/32nds. Very disappointed. Also, they seem to be wearing in the middle more than the edges, even though I keep them inflated to the specs on the door jamb sticker.

I have been looking at the Pirelli Scorpion Verde Plus, which in theory, should lats longer. Also on the radar are the Michelin Latitude HP and the Nitto NT 421Q.

So my questions are as follows:

1) I have read on here that Q7's do go through tires quickly, but why would the Pirellis be half the mileage of the Duelers? And why are they wearing in the middle when the Duelers did not? Is this common for this vehicle? Or are the noisy Duelers just that much better of a tires? (FYI, I'm a conservative driver. This is my long distance family hauler. I haven't driven above 70mph in 20 years after a series of speeding tickets as a teen driver. So I am not aggressive and chewing up tires. I do load it up for long trips, but don't tow or use the roof rack.)

2) Does anyone have the Plus model of my tires already, and if so, are they an improvement over the originals?

3) Thoughts on the Michelins? They seem to have less of tread depth when new than the others, but I read reports of great tread life.

4) I can;t seem to find any Audi drivers using the Nittos. I looked long and hard, and found some Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chevy Traverse/GMC Acadia owners who found it to be remarkably quiet and better in wet and light snow conditions than their previous tires, but those are vehicles with better off road and towing capabilities, so not quite an exact class comparison vehicle. Has any one here used any Nitto tires ever? Its got the best tread depth and mileage warranty of my three choices, but I don't know anything about it.

Thanks

Edd W

Not the same tyre size, mine are 20" but I find Goodyear Eagle F1 seem to last very well and I drive quite quickly with a fast 2000 mile trip through France every summer. They are not noisy, seem to wear evenly and although they are asymmetric they are not directional so it you're a fan of swapping them around you can swap to your hearts content!

Force-1

I had the Nitto NT 421Q installed on my 2011 Q7; however, traded it in for the 2014 3 weeks later. Can't provide much feedback other than I was impressed for the short time I had them. I will definitely consider them when my 2014 needs new tires. I have had excellent experience with Nitto tires on other vehicles.

minsicomm

Thanks so much. According to Goodyear's site, those are not available in my specific size.

UPDATE: After a call with Porter @ Tirerack.com, it appears I could go to a 255/55/19 intead of a 260 as long as it meets or exceeds my weight load requirements. There are few, but there is an 80k warrantied Dueler that caught my attention.

Has anyone done that - gone to a slightly smaller size? What, if any, are the effects that I would feel while driving?

minsicomm

Thanks for your response.

Did you have any specific impressions or feedback on them that might help me?

chingwodapigu

Where did you get your Pirelli Verdes from? You know that they have a 50k mile treadwear warranty, and as long as you rotate them regularly and your vehicle is properly aligned, you should be getting a pro-rated payment on them. The Verde Plus have an even longer 65k treadwear warranty on them. You should go back to your tire shop and get the pro-rated credit towards your next set of tires.

minsicomm

I got them at the local VW dealer/service center, which also services Audi and Porsche. They are owned by the same family/ownership group as my nearest Audi dealer/service center which is an hour away.

I had not thought about that. Given the uneven wear, could they deny it by saying that I have a mechanical issue?

Also, I rotate them myself. Do I need to produce paperwork as proof? Because, clearly, I wouldn't have that.

chingwodapigu

Wouldn't hurt to ask...and if you rotate your tires correctly, all four tires would be worn similarly to one another, even if the treadwear is uneven along the tread. You might get some grief about your Q7 needing an alignment though, so since you're undocumented, I wouldn't get my hopes up that they'll cover. But print up a copy of the treadwear warranty from tirerack.com or the Pirelli website and bring it in case they don't know about it.

Ideally in the future, you buy your tires from a place that does free tire rotations, and that way they won't require any paperwork to document the tirewear if it doesn't live up to the treadwear warranty. And if you have uneven wear across the tire, they would see that early on and you could get an alignment done if that's what is causing it. I know that properly aligned Q7s still wear more on the outside of the front tires, so depending on how the shop recommends rotations, the outside shoulders on all 4 tires will most likely wear first. I've yet to get more than 27k from any set of tires on my Q7, so it will be interesting to see how the 65k warranty on my Verde Plus will work when the time comes.

minsicomm

So I tried getting the warranty credit via Pirelli, and through my usual place. No dice. With no documentation that I had rotated them properly, neither would honor it. Also, I found that the door jamb sticker is the max pressure for the tires under full load conditions, and that the owners manual has a totally different set of recommendations for normal load driving. So not only do I have no proof of rotations, I was over inflated. Lesson learned.

With that unsatisfactory taste in my mouth, I started calling around local tire shops and service centers. Only one was able to get all three of the tires I was looking for, and their prices, while not the dead lowest, included all installation and disposal costs, while being the third lowest. And alignment was 50% off with a tire installation. And they gave me a 10% military discount (my wife is active duty) on the whole bill, not just parts.

On top of that, they offer free tire rotation every 3k on tires they sell and install for as long as I own the car, and allowed me to compare the warranties of the three prior to purchase and promised to honor them upfront, and deal with the manufacturers on their own.

Since they assume all risk on the tire, and back their work like that, I was sold.

Based on all that, and their recommendation on expected tire life (80k, the best I could find in this size) and on what would be the simplest warranty claim to file if needed, I went with the Nittos.

My goodness, I am impressed. I know that there are other tires that are probably a touch quieter, and I know that there are UHP tires that have better grip when aggressive, but as an a/s tire on an everyday driver that mostly eats highway miles to visit family all over the Northeast USA (I work from home, so city driving is minimal most days), its excellent. Great wet grip so far, even on those nights that are increasingly getting down into the 50's and 40's. Road noise and small bumps are next to nothing on blacktop. Concrete is always louder, but not by much. Snow grip remains to be seen, but its possible that I might not see snow in the winter where I live (Delaware). Not cold enough yet to report on truly cold weather performance.

For the price point, I don't think you can get a better tire in this size. The Michelins are highly regarded by everyone I ask, but even after a mail in rebate program they were running, they were still $350 more than the Nittos, with a lower expected tread life.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

pagpc

yes, since i got the car. 07, 4.2 Q7. never been a problem. i have used toyos which were great and now nokians for all season.