Ursula 2.7T

Hey guys, could use some advice on tires. I only have 6,000 miles on my new car (and thus on the tires), but they are already giving me trouble. They are the "Continental" all-weather tires that came with the car. Here's what's happened so far:

1. Air was a little low in one tire at my 5K oil change, so dealer filled it up. It was low the next day, so I filled it up again. It hasn't been low since. How does that happen???

2. This morning, I turned a corner and pulled up next to a curb. My aim was a tad off and my tire brushed the curb (a different tire than the tire mentioned in #1). When I got out I inspected the tire - it had two big hunks of rubber (each roughly the size of a penny and about 1/4" deep) taken out of it.

Are these tires just fragile little hot-house flowers, or am I doing something wrong? I never had such problems with my tires on my Corolla.

So, I have a couple of questions (hope you don't mind stoopid questions from a car idiot like me!):

1 - What brand of tires should I replace these continentals with? FYI, I live in Northern California so I only drive on dry streets or rainy streets, no snow except maybe twice a year in the winter when I got to 4,000 feet to visit family, and even then it's light snow that even my Corolla could handle.

2 - I'm going to Audi Driving School next week. Should I just replace the one gashed tire from this morning with the full-size spare, or should I go ahead and replace all four tires before driving school?

Thanks in advance for your help! I really appreciate the collective brain trust on this forum!

néné

...former...

5speed6 v.2

The issue with the tire that had the low air could be one of several reasons. The valve where the air goes in to the tire could not have "closed" 100% when it was filled up when the oil change was done. Another possibility is that there might be a screw or nail stuck in the tread area of the tire. That screw or nail acts as a plug, but when you drive, air will leak out a little at a time. Another possibility is that maybe the rim is "out of round" at some point, and the tire might not be seated 100% on it, causing a slow leak.

Best thing to do (if you don't plan on changing all your tires), is take the car to a local tire place and have them inspect the rim & tire.

As far as the Continetal's being good or not, that is a very subjective issue. true "enthusiast drivers" complain about the performance of these tires. But, "fragile hot-house flowers" (love that phrase) they are not. They are a top rated tire.

If you do wish to change the tires, I recommend the Pirelli tires I have (see my sig). They are an all-season tire, that are excellent in the rain. Another top tire is the Michelin Pilot A/S, about as pricey as they get.

The gashed tire should be replaced before going to the driving school.

Two other things...stop beating up curbs with your car and your questions, nor yourself should be considered stupid. We are all here to ask questions or answer depending on the moment.

Egil A64.2s - S6

Sound advice!

ar2002

I'd replace the damaged tire, and the one on the same axle, right away. Definately get a new set of rubber before hitting the track. As to brand, there are a number of good ones out there. Do a search on this forum, the AudiWorld tires forum, and check out tire company websites and internet retailers such as Discount Tire and Tirerack.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com">Tirerack</a></li></ul>

Ursula 2.7T

Thank you everybody on the A6/S6 (C5) and the Norcal boards who answered my tire question. It never ceases to amaze me how great you all are in helping an automotively-challenged person with her Car 101 questions!

Special thanks to <b>5speed6</b> and <b>BuddyDog</b> for your very detailed responses!

I appreciate all the different tire recommendations you guys gave me. I'll research them all and figure out which ones are the best for my car and driving conditions.

And I will try to keep away from those danged curbs!

absolutcq20v

I have a set of Contis on my Audi coupe, they have been good tires, except that they flat-spot overnight. They eventually get back in round after a few miles of driving (warming the tires up). Personally, I won't buy another set.

With respect to the chunks of rubber coming off the sidewall: if a tire is overheated, it tends to delaminate the layers of rubber, ply, etc. That could make it more susceptible to what you describe. I would replace it ASAP to prevent risk of a blowout.

As for the tire pressure loss one day and not the next, the most likely culprit would be the valve stem. It could have had some debris (dirt) in it that was dislodged during one of the top-ups by the dealer or yourself. Just make sure you keep caps on the valve stems to prevent it in the future.

I'm sure there are those here to better comment on the tire-DE topic; I haven't done a driving event yet but I REALLY want to.

Good luck and have fun at the driving event!!

AlexiD12

My '03 came with the Pirelli's instead of the Conti's and they have got to be the worst tires Pirelli ever made. They have a looong history of weak sidewalls that bubble like crazy (see review on tirerack.com). I got 26k on my car and will probably get 18" rims in the spring with summer rubber and toss the Pirelli's on the stock 17's for snow tires.

Conti's are pretty decent tires for the most part, not exceptional, not lousy. I would however get a better tire when tread got low on em.