HB253

Some of you may recall I posted a message last week about wet handling problems with our recently purchased 1998 A6. We got the car back today from the service department and other than replacing a suspension piece that was bent in the last spinout, the dealer found nothing wrong with the differentials, brakes, and 4 wheel drive system. That leaves the tires as the only possible culprits in the wet pavement instability problem I've experienced. I'm trying to pressure them to pay for 4 new tires (the current ones are mismatched front to back, Eagle RS-A front, Pirelli P8000 Vizzola back)), but don't expect any satisfaction on that front.

I'll probably end up buying the tires myself, so I'm looking for suggestions on tires that have excellent dry AND wet performance. I find the Tire Rack surveys useless as every tire I've looked at there has people who both swear by and curse the particular tire.

Help!

jnystr

POTENZA S-O3 Very ,very good in wet conditions

pablo1

are happy with the Bridgestone Potenza S-O3's but I wanted something a little quieter with a better ride that still had excellent wet and dry handling and went with Firestone Firehawk SZ50's. I am very happy with them and was very pleased with their track performances. They are far far better then the Pirelli 6000's that came with my 4.2 sport. Another choice is the Dunlop SP9000 and the Yokohoma AVS Sport. These 4 are all excellent tires (all summer tires) with slightly different characteristics. There is always a trade off.
How could the dealer sell you a car (however used) without a matching set of tires? That's not right and contrary to Audi recommendations. Look in the manual and argue this point. Good luck and let me know if i can assist you further.

TXurS6

These are excellent IF the temperature is well above 45 deg F.

fibonacci358

What is best or second best in the wet below 45 degrees?

TXurS6

Then go back to the TireRack reviews, not the surveys. They have some excellent comparisons between tires of the same type. If you live in an area that gets snow and you don't have dedicated winter tires I would suggest looking at the Ultra High Perf All Season tire category or the High Perf All Season category if you are on a tight budget.

If you want Max perormance wet and dry only then I would suggest the Bridgestone S-03 if you are in a hot or warm climate.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR4&amp;url=%2Ftires%2Ftests%2FtestResults Performance.jsp%3FperfType%3DUHPAS">TireRack Ultra High Perf All Season</a></li></ul>

TXurS6

I would look at the Michelin Pilot Sport AS. I don't have any experience with them myself but I've heard good things about them. BTW, they are not cheap!

Aldous

but mind you, these are "max performance" summer tires. If you're trying to go a more budget path (guessing by the fact that you left these other mismatched tires on the car at all), you may be wanting to go the all-season route. I'd suggest going onto TireRack's site and reading the road tests and comparisons on the tires that come-up by using the tire selection menu process the site walks you through. TireRack really does provide some of the best tire comparison tests you're going to find (even sometimes on products they don't carry themselves).

HB253

I complained to both the Audi Used car sales and Service at Jack Daniels Porsche/Audi/VW about the mismatched tires. I pointed out that the manual says all 4 should be the same. However, both Audi USA (1-800-FOR-AUDI) and the dealer state that for the Audi Assured program, the only requirement is for tires on the same axle must match. A front to rear mismatch is acceptable.

I don't have the time or money to get lawyers involved.

HB253

Like everyone else, I want it all (or mostly all, in one tire). My budget doesn't allow for winter and summer tires. I want:

- all-season capability since I live in NJ
- cost ideally $100/tire or less
- excellent wet traction
- sticky dry traction
- decent snow traction
- last 20,000 miles