Approaching the need for new tyres. Recommendations please

[philipwalker]

I think for the RS4 you should have the RO1 compound tyre.

I am advised this is only available from two manufacturers.

Michelin priced at £209.99
Continental £189.99
Plus vat.

[klauster]

I recently had the same decision to make, and after reading this forum decided to go with the Eagle F1 Asymmetrics.

Best tyre for the money I think

[P_G]

I think for the RS4 you should have the RO1 compound tyre.

I am advised this is only available from two manufacturers.

Michelin priced at £209.99
Continental £189.99
Plus vat.

From personal experience the Conti SC3's are absolute rubbish. 3k miles of decent grip followed by 9K of slip and slide in all conditions. Never again.

[P_G]

I recently had the same decision to make, and after reading this forum decided to go with the Eagle F1 Asymmetrics.

Best tyre for the money I think

I would have said the same but the Secret Santa's may well yet trump them and my opinion of the F1's And I have been an Goodyear F1 fan for the last 8 years in GSD2, GSD3 (personal favourite) and assymetric forms.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

I think for the RS4 you should have the RO1 compound tyre.

RO1 is the new 'car maker specific' tyre rating for ALL Audis - in a simlar vein to the N0/N1/N2/N3 for Porsche and the MO for Mercs.

I am advised this is only available from two manufacturers.

Michelin priced at £209.99
Continental £189.99
Plus vat.

Yes, but the Audi RO1 ratings are only applicable to OEM sizes, and are also not compulsory like on Porsches. So if you elect for 275s on the RS, you probably wont find any RO1 rated boots.

[philipwalker]

They may not be compulsory, however they are recommended...

So you can fit what ever you like? Fine until you fall off and you have a keen vehicle inspector.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

They may not be compulsory, however they are recommended...

You are confusing the RO1 (which are a 'new car only' fitment - and are not even 'recommended' for replacement time) with the far stricter N, C and K standards - which are specifically and highly recommended at replacement time. This is taken from the Michelin professional handbook, and it specifically states it is 'not recommended' to mix normal tyres with only N, C and K ratings - for all other manufacture specific codes, it is completely permissible to not only NOT use them, but it is also perfectly OK to mix OEM rated an non-OEM!

So you can fit what ever you like? Fine until you fall off and you have a keen vehicle inspector.

Huh - so how come a 2004 Audi S4 had non-RO1 tyres, yet an identical spec 2005 S4 had RO1s? This was the same for all Audis - one week, they were factory supplied with non-RO1 tyres, and the following week on the production line, RO1 tyres were fitted.

And how many 'keen vehicle inspectors' are there? Most no jack schit about specifics such as tyre speed ratings and load indexes - just like they no cock all about illegal aftermarket HID kits.

[philipwalker]

What do you recommend?

[ArthurPE]

I'm apparently in the minority, but I like the Conti SC3's, although the Vredersteins sound promising
I like the GY F1's also, the Michelin, although no experience on the RS, I have drven sets on the M3...can't justify the price....

my main complaint re: SC3's, noise increases substantially with wear...

[Teutonic_Tamer]

What do you recommend?

I like PS2s - much better than the OEM P-Zero Rossos.

And I've just got an axle set of Pilot Sport 3s on the GTI - and they are another step improvement over the PS2s, particularly in dynamic stabilty.

I'm not at all sold on Goodyears - tried the F1 Asymmetrics on a GTI - and really didn't rate them.

But tyres are quite a 'personal' thing. One person may actively seek a certain trait from a tyre, and someone else may look for something completely different. But I'd strongly recommend avoiding the Pirellies - as these IMVHO verge on the downright dangerous. Pirellis may be fine on relatively lightweight sports cars, but heavyweight cars like Audi RS's and AMG Mercs are a big no-no.

What rubber floats your boat?

[Teutonic_Tamer]

I'm apparently in the minority, but I like the Conti SC3's, although the Vredersteins sound promising
I like the GY F1's also, the Michelin, although no experience on the RS, I have drven sets on the M3...can't justify the price....

my main complaint re: SC3's, noise increases substantially with wear...

How do you compare the earlier SC2s with the latest SC3s?

I personally found the SC2s quite poor with outright grip, but rock solid with stabilty, especially with a fully loaded car at v-max.

[PetrolDave]

I reckon 25k miles, plenty for Europe.

I've never got more than 13k miles out of a set of tyres - 9k from PZero Rossos, 13k from PS2s and 11k from F1s.

[P_G]

19K was a bit of a record for the F1's last time Dave, I am astounded at how well the Vredesteins are wearing. I was thinking they should be near the blocks and changing for the Euro trip, but no chance of that.

As for the RO1 rating, another control mechanism. Much like outpatients given a mediaction and 'recommended' to stay with that medication through their GP.

I would be confident in the scenario that F1's or Sessantas would keep me away from a situation where a vehicle inspector would be needed unlike the SC3's.

[ArthurPE]

How do you compare the earlier SC2s with the latest SC3s?

I personally found the SC2s quite poor with outright grip, but rock solid with stabilty, especially with a fully loaded car at v-max.

I've only driven the 1's and 3's, never the 2's...

I don't profess to have an instrument grade butt, but obviously the 3's give better all around performance...but honestly, they both give far in excess of what can be prudently used on public roads...

I'm sure I'd like the PS3's just fine, but not $500+ more, especially at 12 to 15k intervals...which seems to be about what I get, although I change at wear bars +2/32...from what I've read in the Bosch manual, you lose too much performance, especially wet, at anything less...

the SC3's have adequate grip, good stability, wet & dry, and are at a decent price point

[drcarrera]

Just rebooted with the Vreds, as I was very pleased with the previous set, which lasted almost 20K (although I should really have changed them a bit sooner ) and performed pretty well.
At under £600 next day delivery from Camskill, they're good value as well. I found a local fitter (A&B in Newbury) who swapped them for 60 quid, and I was able to inspect the shocks and brakes at the same time. Shocks (surprisingly!) seem OK. Need to get the brakes done next up, though ...