I installed the wheel/tire package (thank's Eddie@tirerack for letting me change my mind a few times) last evening. Wow, what a difference. It should be noted that my car was delivered to me with Pilot Alpin snows. I have driven on the all season Conti's in test drives.

I think ChrisJB posted that there is about a 25% greater degree of stiffness and about 50% better handling with the 235/45 tire. That is very accurate. My improvement was slightly better because I was running snows.

I am amazed at how different the steering feel is now. These tires really track well. The response is much more of a point and go feel now. I probably would not have changed the OEM setup if it was not for this forum so I do have to say thank you to all of the people who posted their impressions and reviews.

If you have not considered plus sizing your A6 wheel/tire I would strongly suggest doing so. This minor change provided major benefits. The car matures some with the change. Due to the slightly stiffer feel, I understand why Audi does not deliver the cars with this type of setup (with the exception of the sport package which should have a setup like this). They decided to make the ride soft knowing that it would be a small change to put it right where it should be in my opinion. However, I wish it were an option.

The 17" wheel looks better too in my opinion. I am not as much into looks as I am to road results so my wheel choice will probably appeal to very few on this forum.

Again, my suggestion to those who like me are not inclined to change anything is to at least change to 17" wheels/tires. You will be surprised at the difference.

Brian

00 2.7T
17" ATP S5 / 235/45/ZR17 Yokohama AVS Sport

 

How would you rate your tires as to noise?

 

Brian, I'm glad your so happy with your wheel/tire upgrade. I now have about 7,000 miles on my AVS Sport's and they seem to be wearing very well!

Chris JB
00 2.7TM

 

They are not too loud at all. Any speed over 50mph will cause the wind noise to supercede any tire noise. I was very impressed with the Pilot Alpins quiet ride so I was looking for a tire that was comparable. They are equal in my book.

Do you have the AVS Sports ? Have you had a problem with the noise. My guess is that they are slightly louder than Pilot Sports or SP9000's. If you are very sensitive to road noise or drive without air/stereo running I would definitely give them a test drive before buying.

However from what I understand, any tire with a low profile and aggressive tread compound/pattern will be slightly louder than a less aggressive counterpart.

BTW, I received my first compliment on the car with the new wheels/tires only 15 minutes after installing them. They look very aggressive.

Bri

 

My car is on the boat. so I don't have anything yet, but from what I hear on this site, it's a wheel and tire change that a lot of folks think of first. My past experience with high performance tires would probably be that certain tread patterns seem to be noisier than others. Next would be rubber hardness. I have had Comp TA ZR's that are loud as all get out, and I've had Pirellis that are rather quiet. But, I haven't bought any tires in over two years, and things change. At no time have I ever had Yokos.