Another VAG with obscure tyre choices!

[monkeyhanger]

I have a slow puncture on my rear drivers side tyre.

When I picked up my used 2019 A4 Avant 40TDI Quattro S-line in June, Audi approved had replaced the front Contisport 6 as they were under 3mm at just 10400 miles (soft as butter), but as the rears were just over, they left them.

With the puncture, it feels justifiable to replace the rears now (I assume a difference of 4-5mm fronts to backs isn't a bother to the Quattro system or Audi should've replaced all 4 tyres?).

So the A4 comes with 245/35 R19. Why Audi? Such an uncommon size, no-one keeps them in stock and they have to be ordered in. I can get Michelin PS4S in 255/35 R19 for 70% of the price of the 245s.

VW did this with the Polo GTI too, putting 215/40 R18s on instead of the common as muck 225/40 R18s. The Bridgestones that car came with are atrocious so swapped them out. The 215s are about 60% dearer than the 225s. I put 225/40s on the Polo all round as changing all 4 it wasn't a concern.

Such a PITA that VAG make poor sizing choices that bite the owner in the pocket come changing time.

I'm presuming VAG get these obscure sizes cheap or that slightly narrower tyre choices squeeze the car into a lower emissions bracket.

In Costco today and I could get 255/35 R19 Michelin PS4 for £128 each and £50 off a pair in a promo that ends today, making them marginally over £100 a corner.

In 245/40, it's £174 each.

Decided to wait until the Goodyear offer kicks in tomorrow and get some F1 Eagle Supersports for a slightly more reasonable £159 each plus £50 off a pair. (£119 in 255/35 R19s...Damn you Audi! ).

 

[Mr Olympik]

Is that £174 fitted?

I was looking into some PS4’s, albeit 18”, but could get some just over £100 per corner (not fitted, just delivered) with some googling around.


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[monkeyhanger]

Is that £174 fitted?

I was looking into some PS4’s, albeit 18”, but could get some just over £100 per corner (not fitted, just delivered) with some googling around.


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Another £8.50 each for fitting (Costco website lists fitting separately).

If you want PS4 in 225/40 R18 then they're £103 a corner fitted and you'll get an additional £25 off a corner if you buy 2 or 4 when they have a promo on. The current Michelin Promo ends today, it'll probably be back in 6 or 9 weeks time (Costco's offer book generally lasts 3 weeks and they cycle between Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone - as Michelin end today, Goodyear promo begins tomorrow).

Buy in store or order online at Costco and gave them delivered to your home or to your nearest store.

 

[Mr Olympik]

I was referencing 245/40 R18


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[monkeyhanger]

Let me check...

PS4 XL are £116 each delivered (add £8.50 each for fitting at your local Costco. 18" come with £40 off a pair with the Michelin promo, making them about £104 each, fitted.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asy5 in 245/40 R18 are £103 a corner plus £8.50 fitting and should come with £40 off a pair from tomorrow (not currently showing promo saving on website).

 

[Pedro Godinho]

Let me check...

PS4 XL are £116 each delivered (add £8.50 each for fitting at your local Costco. 18" come with £40 off a pair with the Michelin promo, making them about £104 each, fitted.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asy5 in 245/40 R18 are £103 a corner plus £8.50 fitting and should come with £40 off a pair from tomorrow (not currently showing promo saving on website).

Did you had fitted some of these two (PS4 or F1 A5) before? I need to swap the potenza s001, and i'm in doubt about the one to go for. A feedback about them would bem nice. Thanks

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[monkeyhanger]

Did you had fitted some of these two (PS4 or F1 A5) before? I need to swap the potenza s001, and i'm in doubt about the one to go for. A feedback about them would bem nice. Thanks

Enviado do meu IN2013 através do Tapatalk

Our Polo GTI+ came on Bridgestones and they are a poor tyre - hard, noisy, poor wet and dry grip, lots of tramping and wheelspin on a FWD car. Michelin PS4 are massively better. They transformed the car's abilities. Obviously it's more fun flinging around a hot hatch than an A4. I hear that F1 A5 are also excellent but probably won't last quite as long.

 

[Dingah from Downundah]

In the 18 months i have had my B9 S4 V6T I have swapped out four sets of tyres just trying to find something that I like as opposed to something that the 'social media driven auto lemmings' believe is best.
The car came from Germany fitted with Hankooks (245/35/19) since then I have tried Pirelli PZ4, Micheline Ps4S, Conti Sport 6 and now Dunlop SP Sportmaxx GT.
I now run 255/35/19 and wish I had since the beginning - they provide significantly more protection to the rims, ride well, add a little more to the static stance of the car and make the indicated speed almost exactly match the actual ground speed.
As per comments above they do occasionally offer up more choice as well. I recommend the size change.
If I could get them here in Oz I would go back to the tyres I ran on my SQ5 a few years ago and that is the PZ4 Pirelli PZero with NCS.
The NCS foam inserts made a terrific difference to the in-cabin road noise to point where I thought I had suffered even more significant hearing loss than I currently suffer.
The Pirelli's grip. turn-in, wet cornering etc etc where exactly what you'd expect of a premium quality tyre.
The Michelin tyres were tossed very early as, although they performed very well they were far and away the noisiest tyre I have ever used.
The Hankooks were a surprisingly competent all-round tyre and a decent alternative to the big named brands.
The Conti similarly so - very competent.
My wife's Tiguan R runs 235/50/18 F1A3 Assymetrics and they too are a very a very competent and pretty darn quiet tyre on that car.
So far, on the S4 the Dunlops are quite impressive and pretty darn quiet too so they will likely be on for a while unless I see a set of Pirelli PZ4 with NCS in 255/35/19 with my name on them.

Dingah

 

[monkeyhanger]

If I was in a position where replacing all 4 tyres was practical then I'd probably swap them all out for 255/35 R19s in the same way I swapped out all my Polo's 215/40 R18s for 225/40 R18s.

I'm not hung up on comfort - I've had a string of VW hot hatches (including a Golf R on 19" wheels) and never felt the need to go for adaptive dampers. I'll admit that the Michelin PS4 and PS4S are a lot harder than the PS3 and PSS, but they still feel miles softer and quieter than Flintstone Potenzas.

Never touched Pirellis since I had a Scirocco that came on P7s and 3 of the 4 original fit tyres had sidewall bulges within 3 months of purchase new.

 

[psychopomp1]

IMHO the best tyres you can buy in 19+ inches - in terms of performance & cost - are the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti's. As good as the Michelin PS4S (if not better) but signficantly cheaper. The Vortis are a newer version of the legendary Sessantas, I'm sure many will agree that the Sessantas were brilliant tyres.

 

[monkeyhanger]

^ I'd consider those, but with the current Goodyear offer for the F1 Supersports at Costco making them just a fiver more per corner (on a fitted basis), I'll go to Costco. It's local and I know they won't mince my wheels.

 

[tiggerthefox]

My prior A4 S line Quattro BE ran on, firstly Michelin Pilot Sport 3, and latterly Pilot Sport 4 rubber in 255/35 profile on 19” rotors. Always found them giving good all round performance, grip, acceptable cabin noise and durability. The last set of boots were acquired at my local Costco on a promo in March 2019. At the time I traded the vehicle at the beginning of July this year the car had covered a further 24,000...mainly motorway...miles with 5mm left all round at the the last service, which was done just 3 weeks before disposal. More than acceptable VFM.

By comparison, the B9.5 A4 Avant Quattro Vorsprung I was intending to factory order runs on 245/35 rubber, also on 19” rims. Thus concurring with the original post about bizarre tyre specifications.

Quite what wear performance I’ll get out of the Conti Sport Contact 6 rubber in 275/30 ZR 20 trim on the RS4 is unknown at 1,100 miles in, but I’m already thinking I’ll switch to the PS4s for the replacements when the time comes.

 

[monkeyhanger]

My prior A4 S line Quattro BE ran on, firstly Michelin Pilot Sport 3, and latterly Pilot Sport 4 rubber in 255/35 profile on 19” rotors. Always found them giving good all round performance, grip, acceptable cabin noise and durability. The last set of boots were acquired at my local Costco on a promo in March 2019. At the time I traded the vehicle at the beginning of July this year the car had covered a further 24,000...mainly motorway...miles with 5mm left all round at the the last service, which was done just 3 weeks before disposal. More than acceptable VFM.

By comparison, the B9.5 A4 Avant Quattro Vorsprung I was intending to factory order runs on 245/35 rubber, also on 19” rims. Thus concurring with the original post about bizarre tyre specifications.

Quite what wear performance I’ll get out of the Conti Sport Contact 6 rubber in 275/30 ZR 20 trim on the RS4 is unknown at 1,100 miles in, but I’m already thinking I’ll switch to the PS4s for the replacements when the time comes.

Was the first A4 mentioned intended to be run on 255/35 R19, or did you make the decision to switch to 255/40 R19?

I found Costco to be a total PITA when switching to a non standard tyre width. When I decided to swap out the woeful Bridgestones on my Polo GTI, I decided that I wasn't paying £155 a corner for PS4 215/40 R18 when I could stick 225/40 R18s on for £87 a corner.

Costco guy wouldn't have it. Insisted that the car had to have 215/40 R18s. Told him there was no reason to not have 225s, the wheel width is 7.5J, same as the Golf GTI that runs 225/40 R18.

The only way they'd do the change was for me to take each wheel off myself, pass it in and get it changed and refit myself. Never worked so hard for a job I was paying someone else to do!

The Contisport 6 on my 40TDI Quattro Avant were changed by the Audi garage when I bought it, with 10400 miles as they had less than 3mm on them. The backs weren't replaced, but just 1700miles later they are under 3mm too.

On that basis, I'd say the Contis are soft as butter and unlikely to do 13k miles to legal limit from new. Could be worse than that on an RS4. I'd hate to think what the front tyre wear on a FWD car must be like...8k miles all in?

On my Golf R (Haldex 4WD and 300ps), I replaced the woeful Bridgestone Potenzas with Michelin PSS and they were only 70% worn (7.4mm down to 3.5mm) with 27k miles on when I sold it.

 

[tiggerthefox]

Sorry, not sure where you see 255/40 R19 on my post?

The prior A4 S line BE Quattro always ran on standard spec tyre profile for the model - 255/35. I was drawing the comparison with the current B9.5 equivalent car that runs 245/35 profile and unless this is to keep emissions in check, I see no reason why Audi should not have configured the car with 255/35.

Wow! That’s pretty poor yield from the Conti rubber. Had heard / read that they’re relatively short life, but this tyre seems to be Audi Sport standard fit on the RS4 Vorsprung based on the vehicles I’ve seen up close in addition to my own.

All of my currently heavily truncated mileage due to being based at home these days because of you-know-what is short trips on a mix of mainly single lane A roads with some B road infill as I live in a village. Consequently, up and down the gears, on and off the brakes with lots of twisty bits. Not good for tyre wear or fuel consumption. I suppose driving style and how heavy your right foot is or not will also have an impact, good or bad.

Just on Costco, I can’t comment on lack of cooperation for ‘non standard’ requests, but I have found them excellent to deal with for my factory-spec requirements and prices are usually pretty competitive. That only works for those of us with an easy commute to a depot and a Costco membership, of course.

 

[monkeyhanger]

^ Sorry for the confusion, reference to 255/40 R19 is a typo on my part.

Costco do take great care of your wheels, their prices are always as good as anywhere else and the Gateshead one is handy for me - that's why I always go to them. They are very inflexible with their rules though - probably comes from being part of an ****-covering litigation avoiding American company. I do with they'd employ some common sense and just get you to sign a disclaimer in those circumstances like wanting 255/35 R19 instead of 245/ 35 R19. If I were wanting all 4 tyres replaced, I'd probably go through the "one wheel at a time off the car" circus again and get 255s on. If the Audi garage hadn't put those new Falkens on the front, I'd have gone for 4 x 255 Michelin PS4 for £400 (with promo) rather than 2 x 245s in F1 Supersports for £284 (with promo). Maybe next time if I keep the A4 well beyond warranty. Realistically I'll probably only do 16k miles over the next 2 years (I have a 62 mile round trip commute once a week plus leisure driving) so shoudn't have to touch the tyres again until the car is at least 4 years old, maybe 5.

 

[monkeyhanger]

Well, I got my Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersports fitted at Costco last night.

They're operating a booked timeslot for fitting right now which is must more sensible than a first come first served basis. Last time I got 4 x PS4s fitted to the Polo GTI on that basis, I had an estimated 3 hour wait so walked across to the Metrocentre and visited the cinema to kill 2.5 hours!

What a difference to ride comfort they have made compared to the Contisport 6 they replaced.

I didn't think changing the rear tyres would have much noticeable effect on the overall ride vs changing the fronts but consider me impressed.

Only time will tell how they wear but surely they can't be anywhere near as soft as the Contis.