Thread: Talking stiff

Can anybody point me in the right direction as to which tyres have the stiffest sidewalls?Ive just stuck some goodyear F1 assymetrics on the front of my a4 and its like riding on jelly.Great grip but jelly.The bridgestones i had on before were really stiff but crap in the damp/wet.Thanks in advance

Pump them up a bit more John.

No idea, but good to see you back John

Originally Posted by john herman

Can anybody point me in the right direction as to which tyres have the stiffest sidewalls?Ive just stuck some goodyear F1 assymetrics on the front of my a4 and its like riding on jelly.Great grip but jelly.The bridgestones i had on before were really stiff but crap in the damp/wet.Thanks in advance

John I missed you & your sock memoires

Goodyear for me are ****, really are ****, only tyres I had that caused me problems & they refused to accept was there fault aswell, blew for no reason whatsoever & others were splitting, never will buy expensive tyres ever again, not had 1 economy tyre with a problem, go figure.

pumped em up to 39psi....not much differance.Dont fancy bin rumbling at the tyre shop for me old uns.Nothings straightforward is it.Plucking up to get 4 new contis...but dont want the same probs.Feel like i havent got my eibach arbs on at all!.By the way have found teddy and put him back in the pram.!

John, out of interest, what size are the tyres you have, where did you get them from as well...

Was watching Fake Britain the other day or something like that and they were talking about fake this and fake that, so was just wandering thats all.

Hi Nilz, they were from tyretraders and are 255 35 19.

Could you buy 'run flats' for them?

Cheers dude, was just asking as per my earlier comments.

Originally Posted by quattrojames

Could you buy 'run flats' for them?

good point.ill enquire

No runflats unfortunately.However, ive been looking at the new continental contisportcontact 5, but in my size they are listed as a mercedes fitment.Will they have an adverse effect on my A4??

I've seen this before, tyres are listed as MO (Mercedes Only) as far as I'm aware the tyres are exactly the same as normal, I can't see any issues with fitting them.

TY.I also see that they do audi spec contisport 3, as well as normal.Confused? Im.(doesnt take a lot) lol

Don't extra load tyres have stiffened sidewalls?

youd think so but obviously not.I phoned continental up and enquired about the fitment of the contact 5 mercedes tyre and was warned against it.Apparantly there are differences.So i plumped for four new spot contact 3's' audi fitment.Theyre very quiet and havent pushed them yet as i need to run them in.However the sidewall is slightly stiffer than the goodyear, but not as stiff as the bridgestones.But ill put up with them, as its an expensive experiment

Sockie your mad to go with premium tyres mate, I dont even bother, middle of the road & havnt let me down in many many years & hell of alot cheaper, not that I'm tight by any means mate, just after my experience with Goodyear tossers & at £150 a tyre I voweled to never go back to premiums, Goodyear as a company are w4nkers.

Nige, you really dont like goodyear do you!!!I understand your sentiment.....i hate sony as a company as they dont give a **** after youve bought thier product.But i love thier lappys and tellys.And yes you have a battle on your hands if anything goes wrong that aint straightforward or you need advice.Im pretty anal about tyres.They are between me and the road, and to push my car (which i do at every opportunity) i need to trust them.Ive been in too many pursuits over the years driving cars with average tyres (my firm buys the cheapest) that lose it when pushed.In fact there was an occasion when we had a motor on test with dunlops, and again i couldnt trust them.Id always diven nails before i got my b7, so speed and handling was never an issue.The b7 came with contis which were great bar the fact that id only get 8000 miles on the front.Stuck some goodyears on and again, was happy.So i get the B8 and it came with bridgestones(two short straws, the other fitment was dunlop).Not massively impressed when wet or graesy, and downright dangerous in the cold.Four new tyres isnt a cheap option regardless, and the last thing i want to do is fit a set of vredstein and hate them.Differant people rave about differant brands ...i know that from reading posts.So ive fallen back on what ive experianced in the past...ive never felt close to losing the car with contis or for that matter the goodyears..in fact id say the goodyers were the better grip in the wet but my contis havent bedded in yet. Come the winter i know ill be ok with them unlike the bridgestones.Problem with buying tyres is you cant take them back and say you dont like them.You can take a telly back but not tyres.Bit like lingerie...once worn no exchange!So id rather spend 800 holes and be happy than risk 600 for non premium and be disappointed.The goodyears will be on ebay next week if youre interested (lol).Sockie.I like that!!

Well ive stuck four new conti sportcontact threes on, and guess what.Yup.Bloody soft sidewall.So theyre coming off and its back to bridgestone.They are the only tyres i know of that has a stiff sidewall.Im just going to be carefull in the damp.255 35 19 's if anyones intersted, done 300 miles!

I know I'm late adding my 2p, but here goes. I've just replaced a set of pirelli pzero rossos with conti3's, and massive difference! I was unhappy about how stiff my car was, and thought it was down to it being a sport model(I'd hate to drive the s-line everyday!). It turns out that it was the tyres. They were a 97 load rating(extra load) which made them as supple as a train loco wheel. I've been told that my car doesn't need xl rated tyres. So, try the pzero rosso extra load tyres for ultimate stiffness. My car is so much quieter and no longer "crashes" over the potholed roads I drive on everyday.

Hi.Thanks for that.Damn!!Icould have flogged you my conti's!!Ive found out the hard way that a 96loading (xl) makes no differance to the stiffness of the sidewall.Shame you cant try before you buy.I know what you mean about the contis ironing out the bumps, but they counterbalance the new arb's ive stuck on.Ive got some bridgestones on order now, but thanks for your input..I now know that goodyear and continental are soft, and pirellis and bs are stiff.I wonder what michelins are like but ill be damned if im spending another grand on finding out!!