prg

I love my new S8, but am disappointed by the harsher ride and significantly greater tire roar than the A8 that I test drove prior to my order. I assume much of this is due to the 21" wheels.

Has anyone swapped out the 21's for 19's. If so, I'd love to know your results. It appears that there is adequate room to clear the rotors with 19's. Any issues with the speedometer? I live in an area with poor road quality and would happily give up some style points for reduced NVH.

cal333

I have a 2014 A8L TDI that came equipped with 20" rims and rock hard Pirelli tires - after complaining about the suspension noise transmitted into the cabin my dealer swapped my 20" rims for new 19" rims with Continental tires - this helped the ride some but the noise persisted - unless you have a brake caliper clearance problem with 19" rims, the extra sidewall height should ride somewhat softer on poor road surfaces - however, it has been my experience that the noise transmission through the front suspension will continue mostly unabated - the current D4 suspension has noise transmission into the cabin which probably have no apparent fix until Audi recognizes this and makes necessary improvements in the next D5 generation - as long as the 19" tires are the same height as your 21" tires there should be no issues with incorrect speedometer readings - good luck!

Tuesday

Is the noise you guys are referring to like a subtle humming sound coming from the tires when you're driving?

I thought maybe my tires were overinflated and intended to check pressure, but perhaps it's as you say, a design flaw of some sort.

I just noticed this noise the past few days - have always had the radio on so it wasn't apparent. Hardly an issue, and definitely not worth complaining about - but interesting none the less.

prg

Thank you for the reply. I am going to contact the dealer re my options.

RM-S8

I'm having the same 21" tire (Dunlops) problem. The noise is absolutely unacceptable to me.
The solution which I'm going with (and hoping it will work) is to purchase A8 19" OEM rims which will accommodate 255/45/19 Michelin tires.
For me is very simple, Michelin or nothing.

cal333

Per an earlier post I switched my 2014 A9L 20" factory rims with Pirelli tires for brand new Audi 19" rims with Continental tires - THANKS to my understanding Audi dealer at no cost! - the 19" rims did quell some of the suspension noise so I decided to one step further and swap out the Continental ProContact tires for set of Michelin MXM4 in 255/45/19 (standard Audi size) - the Michelin tires actually rode harder and transmitted more suspension noise into the A8L cabin - there might be a better Michelin tire out there but I would avoid the MXM4 as its not as good as the factory Continentals - I went back to the Continentals and have learned to quell the noise with higher volume settings on the stereo - Audi is going to lose a lot of high end luxury buyers if they don't fix this annoying suspension noise on the 8 series 4 doors...its unacceptable

RM-S8

I'm not sure about Michelin's MXM4, as I never used them.
What I always used for over the years was Pilot Sport PS2.
In my opinion, best tires ever. And I just read that if one wants to have all season ultra high performance tire, Michelin came out with the new Pilot Sport A/S 3.
I'm not saying that Contis are bad tires, not at all. I've got them while purchasing CL600 and CL63 AMG. They are just not as good as top end Michelins.

WausauS8

I just tried to get my snow tires put on my S8 using my old S4's 19's. They wouldn't fit over the caliper. Now I'm shopping for new wheels again.