Gold A4 QT

I'm down to picking between Yoko AVS dBs and Bridgestone RE 950s for my A4 1.8T Q. Will be getting a 225/50/16. Anyone with either of these tire? Opinions? Thanks.

Paul H. (near Annapolis, MD)

I have been back and forth between these two, as well as the Dunlop SP5000 and the BFG g-Force T/A KDWS. I have finally decided to go with the AVS dB's.

It depends on your priorities. Mine are to have the best wet/dry performance possible without being comepletely useless in the snow. I read some reports that the dB's are terrible in the snow, but I was able to get around fine in snow with the Dunlop SP8000's that came on the car, and these tires are not even rated for snow. So I'm hoping the dB's snow performance will at be at least as good as the SP8000, because otherwise they seem to offer the best dry/wet performance out of of all of these tires.

I decided against the RE950 early on because it is only H-rated, and while I rarely go near 130 MPH, there are times when I do venture up to those speeds and I don't want to take the risk of a tire failure. Also, from the performance reviews I read at the Tire Rack site, the RE950's didn't seem to offer as much performance as the others. They didn't test the BFG tires, but someone who had both said the dB's offered slightly better wet/dry performance than the KDWS (at the expense of snow traction).

Hopefully this helps, rather than muddying the waters even more...

Paul