rhedrick17

just poking around the forums I saw a member post about having Pirelli tires. mine came with continental 245/35/19 sportcontact 6 and have about 2k miles on them and really am not happy with them. I live in Florida and it rains constantly, these tires are terrible in the rain almost to the point where its scary. ill be ordering new wheels soon and ill be putting Michelin sport 4s on so I'm not too worried about these but I thought it was interesting that other members have different tires.

mplsbrian

Conti SC6 here as well. No complaints but haven't driven much in the wet.

If you are an area where it rains and pooled water/hydroplaning is a daily concern, you might be better off going with an ultra high performance all season than a summer evne if the car never ever ever sees snow. The Conti DWS06 is the best tire I've ever driven in the wet on and is a popular choice for this car.

Twowheelsgood

Interesting comment. Mine came with the Conti SC6 as well. So far they seem to have fantastic grip and minimal road noise for a performance tire but they nearly look like slicks. Curious to see how they deal with water. It would be more concerning in a RWD car - the AWD provides a bit of a safety net though not with braking.

I've got an 18" setup for winter that I'll be sure to put on well before the snow flies.

markcincinnati

I have the Pirelli CINTURATO UHP Summer tires 245 x 40 x 18" -- they're sticky and quiet. They will, undoubtedly die young -- 12K miles probably. I'll replace them with UHP A/S's from Continental, Michelin or Pirelli. The DWS 06 Extremes from Conti have been great for our S cars. Recent test reports seem to favor the Pirelli PZero Nero All Season Plus over the Conti's -- but the top performance all-season is the Michelin, but it is often criticized for being "too harsh" as a daily driver, although it seems to be the least compromised in terms of performance.

Any of the top A/S UHP tires from these three manufacturers are good choices (according to reviews on Tire Rack's website and according to Consumer Reports). The Pirelli also has a 50,000 mile guarantee.

NHman

I have Hankook Ventus S1 evo2 (on 19" V-spokes). Winter setup tbd but will be installed by mid-November.

mplsbrian

As a word of cautionary advice, AWD does nothing to provide hydroplaning resistance, and your two biggest issues when hydroplaning are that you can't brake and you can't steer. All AWD is good for is accelerating, but you won't be worried about hydroplaning when starting off. All-seasons are almost always better than summers at resisting hydroplaning because of the more aggressive tread/siping pattern you usually find on them.

What setup are you going with for winter? I'm about to order a set of 18s as well.

Twowheelsgood

I'm painfully familiar with hydroplaning having totaled a Lexus GS300 in the last century. Worn tires and standing water. That was a RWD car. AWD probably wouldn't have helped but might have in the transition from wetter to drier pavement as I rotated out of the puddle.

The current 18" set is Audi OEM wheels and Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D 245/40R18. They're a bit noisy but otherwise seem okay though I haven't tried anything else yet. They have lasted longer than I expected. Looking at Tire Rack, I might try Blizzaks next time around.

I put Nokian Hakkapalitas on my Q5 TDI in winter. They're great on the SUV but have such aggressive tread I think they'd get shredded on dry winter pavement in an S4 driven with intent.

James Cole

For everyone swapping tires I recommend 255/45-R19 like the S5 has, it seats perfectly and you get more contact patch in all four corners, I did and was very satisfied downside is a little bit more tire noise and of course the wider the tire the more prone to hydroplanning, to me the surefootedness of the car is no.1... I used MPSS and replaced Pirellis.

kstrike155

Picked up my 2018 S4 with black optic package yesterday. It came with Pirelli P ZERO (PZ4).

Twowheelsgood

Is it odd that Audi puts different brands of tires on the S4s they're shipping?