New Tire Selection Buying Advice
 

Does anyone have recommendations for the best all season tires for my 2008 Audi A8 with 19" rims (255 40R19)? They should strike the best balance between all the characteristics of the tire (ride, traction, wear, etc) and perform better than the completion.

I have had Continental Procontacts. They have only lasted me 30k miles but were MUCH smoother than the Pirellis the car came with. The new version of the Continental Procontact called the ecoplus is not available in my size. Tire rack recommended the Bridgestone Turanza serenity plus.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

Michelin Pilot Sport II All Season. That's what I use on my 19" factory turbines from April to December. Then I switch to Michelin X-Ice 17" rubber (not as wide as my 19" ones either) for the real winter season. The PS II's are good in light snow but for deep stuff the X-Ice tires are way better. I would have went with Blizzak's but Tire Rack was out of stock so I went with Michelins. I bought the cheapest alloy rims I could get for these winter tires. Would have went with the Euro-Look black steel if I could have found them in stock somewhere.

i have had terrible luck with michelins. I am running kuhmo ASXs.

I had the exact opposite experience with Khumos on my D2. They were not the ASX but a previous version and I took them off my car with only about 8K on them because they were so horrible with traction in wet and cooler weather. They dry traction was ok, and I knew what I was getting into since the Khumos were not top of the line tires. I'm in ATL so it really does not get that cold. I replaced them with Michelin P/S2 and it was a night and day difference. I now run Pilot SPort A/S+ on my D3 and they are great as well. Not as much pure traction as summer tires but should last a little longer, 45K warranty.

I've had Yokohama Advan S4s, Kumhos and now Bridgstone Turanzas. The Yokos were great riding and handled well, but didn't last that long. The Kumhos were simply awful. Noisy, got out of round easily, wore out prematurely. I got 60% credit on them when I bought the next set because they only lasted 40% of their rated life. The Bridgestones have been wonderful so far. Quiet, great handling and still look new after 8,000 miles.

So I would run away from Kumhos, but the Yokos and the Bridgestones are great.

I just had to put on new tires and went with the new michelin pilot sport AS 3s. (a8l sport 275/35-20 limits choices considerably) Very smooth, very very quiet even with the low profile. That being said, they roll over a lot more the horrid dunlop maxx when turning but this is my daily luxo mobile and not my weekend sports car so the smooth, quiet ride is much more important.

The only other tire I was considering was the Conti DWS, and since that's an older design and just about the same cost I went Michelin. I also have Michelin PSS on my boxster (previous owner put them on right before I bought it) and I've had a stellar experience with them, so that influenced my decision a bit.

No snow experience yet, but cold temps don't seem to change the AS3s characteristics at all.

I have been partial to the Conti DWS tires. I have had a good ride, traction and good life out of them, found them to be reasonably priced as well. Had been using Michelin's exclusively prior to the Conti's, 1st tried them out on my allroad and could not beat them, I recently just put a new replacement set on my '04 A8, got close to 50k mi on them and there was still some miles left on them but it is getting close to winter here in CO, and I have them on the W12 as well. Not sure why they would not be on everyone's list, but we all have different experiences and driving techniques/expectations.

I just picked up a set of Pirelli Scorpion Verde A/S for my 04 with 19"s. Run extremely smooth & quiet. Great traction for here in the Pacific NW and a 50,000mi warranty to top it off. Had the Hankook Ventus V12 on it before that were just garbage! 25,000mi and you couldn't even see tread anymore. Hope this helps

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....lar=Base Model

The new michelin pilot sport AS/3 that came out a few months ago is getting great praise as the best all around tire. Some are calling it an Ultra High All Season with the grip of a summer tire.

I'm driving with Pirelli's P6 all seasons and they're pretty nice.

Cheers,

Louis