mbr

I drove one with 20" with steel springs and my wife drove one with 21" with air. I was impressed with the ride with steel springs. We ordered 21" with steel so we'll see how it rides in a couple of months!

jallen0

Thanks for that information. I was just going to start a post about that exact topic. It seems there is only two options out there with air shocks, white with brown seats or fully loaded. Not sure about either option.

marnes

I am very seriously against RFTs. Increased cost, reduced longevity, harsher ride quality at the benefit of meager weight savings. At least with regular tires, if I do get a flat, I am happy to have a spare to put on.

Consider the situation where you are on a road trip, out of your home city. Going through a mountain pass... POOM! You may or may not be in range of a nearby garage, and even if you are, the chances of having a replacement RFT are low. Either way, you risk a high chance of being stranded outright and extra costs of missing out on parts of your vacation, towing/rental/transport. Same thing can actually happen in a home city too -- calling around until you find a shop that can get it.

While it's never happened to me, I've heard these horror stories numerous times. Also not sure if people always replace in pairs when they puncture a tire, but RFT's have a much higher tendency to require replacement while a normal tire can be repaired easier and safer.

In 20+ years of driving, I've experienced maybe 1 or 2 flats at freeway speeds. As long as you remain calm and don't over-react, you just let off the gas and move over gradually. Not that different from reacting to hitting ice. And as for punctures from nails in day to day driving, maybe a half a dozen times. Easy to repair, costs far less than replacing an RFT. While technically you can repair RFTs, it's not recommended, especially once you've driving on it flat.

It is interesting that Audi decided to include RFT with the 19" and 20" Q7 wheels, while the 21" are regular. At least people have a choice, although you have to get S-Line $1800 + $1000 size upgrade to go from 20's to 21's (Canada). I'd rather have 21" regulars over 20" RFT. That $1000 will pay itself back.

ksalno

Just an update. You may have seen on the news that there was an unanticipated (at least by DOT) snow event in the DC area last night. Basically there was 1+" of snow that came at rush hour, immediately turned to ice and paralyzed the whole city. People were quoting commute times of 4 or more hours to go 20 miles. I drove around 60 miles in my GL350 with Goodyear All-Season RFT's. I took mostly back roads to avoid the mess on the Interstates. The GL never wavered and got me up and down the hills and around the curves without problem. Maybe a pure snow tire would have been a little better but not enough to make it worth having to change tires and wheels twice a year.

A4rooster

This weekend should be a good test

marnes

That's impressive. I imagine a chunk of that has to do with the quality of your traction control and taking it easy. But skipping out on winter tires isn't an option for many parts of the world or at highway speeds. Here in BC, we have mountain passes, and it's always annoying to see how idiots without winter tires spin out and barrier their car.

When I was younger and poorer, I made due with all-seasons, but the safety difference is beyond substantial. But if you can afford a nice Mercedes SUV, skipping out on tires could be very regretful. And even if it's not you, someone might start sliding towards you and you won't have the agility to get out of the way. It is truly night and day. But again, can be hard to justify if the climate doesn't really require it.

Although this is more about all-seasons vs winter tires than regular versus RFT tires.

baltfan

My new Q7 did equally well with the runflats in DC yesterday. All seasons are more than sufficient. Can't wait for the big snow to check things out further

jallen0

Now we just need to see how someone with 21" summer tires did

jperryrocks

I looked at the 21's and they have a much higher 400 tread rating. They're not going to last that long, but it's still a lot better than the old q7s. I wonder what 21 all seasons might come available in the future.

I have the Goodyear excellence summer on my 15 3.0. For a 20" summer tire it's wearing quite well. With 12k miles on my car, I still have 1/2 plus tread reamaining. So I could potentially get 25k miles out of them.

The Michelins I had on my 14 prestige rode great, but a much softer tire. Had I kept my car, they might have been toast at 17-18k miles.

I drove the q7 with 20" RFs, and the ride was very good. Also nice with the 21s too.

jallen0

Audi's official line for those that have 21" tires is to switch to a 19" rim/tire during the winter. I, and one or two others, have put Continental ExtremeContacts DWS06 tires on. The summer tires are 285/40R21. There are no other tires that size out there right now. The Conti is a 295/40ZR21 tire.

I'll pick mine up on Tuesday.