Tyre Choice - Opinions Welcome

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MattS

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As I made the mistake of not ordering my A3 2.0TFSI with Quattro, although 90% of the time it is perfectly fne with FWD, it bugs me that I havent got quattro.

I think alot of the problem with the FWD is Audi's bad choice of tyres for the car. Mine has only 5500 miles on the clock but I am going to get rid of the Continental's and get some better rubber.

My choices are :-

Yokohama AVS Sports
Yokohama Perada 2
Toyo Proxy (Type to be decided)

I know that by adding a decent set of tyres will dramatically improve overall road holding.

I did this on my Zafira GSi (270bhp/295lbft) and tyres improvd alot.

What are your thoughts?
 
Those tires are a bit "aggressive"...

I personally would go for Michelin Pilot Sports, Bridgestone Potenza S-03

Another good ones I've used on my Alfa (2 sets of them alreay) are Dunlop SP Sport, less grippy you have Goodyear F1, but go for the top ones and you won't be disappointed for shure... not cheap though..

Pedro
 
Eagle F1s or Pilot sport 2s would be my choice out of all the tyres. I opted for F1s in the end due to the massive price difference. They consistantly win tyre reviews due to the levels of grip they have especially in the wet. There are some tyres that grip slightly better in the dry but not by much. I have them on both our cars and are very happy with them. They have quite a big rim protector too.
 
I'm definately interested to hear peoples own experiences with tyre choice is on FWD A3's.
Really not impressed with the Conti's on my TDi170 and the amount of wheel spin/traction control activity in the damp I get when I'm not even driving hard.

Must say that my friend always fits F1's to his STI Imprezza and he drives it how it was designed shall we say!!! :tocktock:
 
I had the bridgestones on the Golf which were standard fit, the rears have been changed to F1s which I really like, they are also fitted to my cabby and also to the Focus I owned before the Golf. Pirellis are supposed to be good if not loud. I had Toyo ... never again, did't last long, the inside edge went through to the canvess with around 2.5mm left over 3/4 across the tyre, yes the car was lowered but the camber was well within spec and the drop was minimal.
 
The way I look at it, you can't have the best levels of grip and expect the tyres to last. I am prepared to have the best tyre and sacrifice wear.

I have Yokohama Perada 2's on my Zafira GSi and when I sold it the tyres had done 8000 miles and had loads left. My wife drives the car 90% of the time and does not drive at all hard, so even with Yoko AVS's or Toyos I would expect to get 10,000 out of them.
 
i have yokohama's on my a3 and they are great!!

check out www.mytyres.co.uk for some prices

another decent brand with budget in mind are nokian tyres - i have heard good reports
 
I've been running with BF Goodrich G-profiler (part of michelin) for the last
9k miles,still with plenty of tread left on the fronts.
They seem to do quite well on the review on the Mytyres website.
 
rich1068 said:
I've always like P Zero Rossos.
Click to expand...

I took them off our car after 4k miles, partly due to the lack of rim protector after the wife kurbed a wheel and the fact that they lacked so much grip. The grip in the dry with them was ok but nothing special and in the wet they were just crap. My T4 with 205/50/16 eagle F1s would way out grip the A3 with bigger tyres and Rossos fitted and the T4 isnt known for having the best suspension setup. Try F1s they are in a different league.

On brand new Volvos Rosso equiped cars now come with a warning about how quickly the tyres will wear out and that it isnt a fault with the car or the tyre, they have had that many warranty enquiries from owners because the tyres are knackered so quickly.
 
I have just fitted a pair of Pirelli Rosso's after having the Goodyears F1's all round, I have had my car for 6 moths and the Goodyears went down far too quick. I like the feel of the Pirelli's so far but have not pushed the car in the rain yet.
 
I never had any problems with the Rossos on my Octavia. They lasted well and I never had any issues with the grip.

It's an odd one when it comes to recommending tyres. It shouldn't be but it's a bit like arguing over what's the best colour. dandle's experience of the Rossos seems to be the complete opposite of mine :think:
 
Heres a tyre review from car and driver. It doesnt cover all tyres and is from the end of 2005 but it does give some comparision.
 
rich1068 said:
I never had any problems with the Rossos on my Octavia. They lasted well and I never had any issues with the grip.

It's an odd one when it comes to recommending tyres. It shouldn't be but it's a bit like arguing over what's the best colour. dandle's experience of the Rossos seems to be the complete opposite of mine :think:
Click to expand...

I hated the stadnard fit rosso's great in the dry, awful in the wet and wore out in no time at all. The F1's in the other hand have lasted...
 
im just about to buy 2 new tyres myself,,,,,
For those who prefer the f1's ..... do you spend most of the time driving your car enthusiastically at speed or spend most of the time at normal legal speeds ? Wondering how many miles you get out of them. I have bought cheaper budget tyres in the past for other cars ive owned to get more mileage out of them but its always at such a huge sacrafice in performance even though i dont push the car that hard.......
 
Dandle has hit the nail on the head with his two tyre choices!

Either of these and you won't be dissapointed, I have had both on my old S3 and rate them very much!
 
I've got the new conti sport contact 3's on mine,loads of grip in the wet-not from standing but when pushed they're superb,only downside is that they're a little noisy.
If you go for F1's you won't be disappointed,excellent grip and handling,just a little slippy this weather till they get warmed up.
 
MarcQuinlivan said:
What tyres are coming factory fit with your cars?

My current car came with Pirelli PZero Rosso 225/40 R18Y tyres, and my last A3 had 17in PZeros. Most other A3s I've seen seem to have Continentals or Michelins. Do Audi just fit whatever they have in stock at the time, or do they put particular tyres on different models?

Not sure I agree with the comment about the Pirellis lacking grip. I never found that to be a problem with mine. They lasted about 22000 miles on my last A3 (almost three years), so the wear rate wasn't a big issue either - although I did rotate them after 18 months.

The Pirellis were about 285 euro a piece to replace, so as I was changing the car a couple of months later I opted for Bridgestones (80 euro each), but found them a bit noisier than the Pirellis.
Click to expand...


Generally manufacturers multi source tyres and just fit whatever is in stock for the assembly line that day which is the right size and rating for the vehicle.

Mine came with Dunlop SP Sport MAAX and I have to say I'm very pleased with them and find they grip well both in wet and dry conditions. Dunlop, as a make, probably wouldn't have been my first choice but you have to speak as you find and they seem good. How well they wear remains to be seen.
 
michelin pilot sports - very good

Goodyear F1 GSD3 - very good

Bridgestone Potenza - soft compound, dont last long
 
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