lastws6

Seriously. I just installed a new set for the first time on my 00 a8. Mabey it's the size,245/45/17, but the handeling is really bad. Horrible actually.
I'm not talking about performance driving, mind you. Just driving home from the garage. It feels like something is wrong. Almost like two are almost flat or something. pressures are 36 all around now. I dont want to go any higher.
My wife drove it and hates it. "It feels like the front and back of the car aren't connected."
She is right.
What do I do now? Any help would be great.
I'm sure these tires are great in the snow, but do they all feel like this?
Thanks, Dan

PaulW

I had WS-50's on my car and had the same feelings as you do. When you go around a corner, the tred has to move to the side, then the side of the tire catches up and starts to turn the car. It's like the tread is so soft it moves first, then the tire catches up.

If it's above 32 F, they are really, really soft. If you have to drive and it's 45 F, they are no fun.

pw

RCBENZ2

Sorry to hear that...

greenie

There is hardly any ride or handling degradation. IMHO, the WS-50`s are good where there is snow on the ground most of the time but for a balanced tire, the LM-22 is the sure bet.


greenie 6625


04 A8L silver/sabre

lastws6

After I mounted them tonite it was about 25 degrees. I live in PA.
I have only ever read great reviews about these....I'm real bummed.

gworrel

I have been driving on a set of 225-55-17 WS-50s for about a week now and I was just thinking that they aren't bad at all. I have had the car about 6 weeks now and it came with Toyo T1-S tires that were incredible around corners but way too noisy. The Toyo tires made me want to take turns at high speed just for the fun of it. But the noise was unbearable. I replaced them with Falken 512 tires that were quiet and capable but not as much fun around corners. I just got the Blizzaks on last week and I don't notice much difference from the Falkens.

Dave G

I know there are tire pressure ***** lurking on AudiWorld, who don't want to hear that you can go with pressures which are higher than what is listed on your tire sidewalls, but here is a situation in which this is your only alternative (unless you plan to get rid of the WS-50's).

What is the max tire pressure listed on the tire sidewall? If its 35psi or 36psi, then try increasing the tire pressures to 40psi.
If the max listed is 44psi, try setting the tires to 44psi, or a few pounds higher (if 44 still feels lousy).

If you look closely, you'll see that there are no warnings on the tire sidewalls in regard to "overinflation". The warnings pertain to "underinflation", and "overloading" (which is underinflation based on load). Don't worry about "overinflation" if its just a few pounds of pressure.

Once the tires wear a little, the problem probably won't be as bad. However, if you stick to the lower tire pressures, you will never like them.

I know about the front/back disconnected feeling, because my Dunlop SP5000's caused the same thing. Those Dunlops have a listed max pressure of 51psi. I run 48psi to get them to feel proper. But when new, the SP5000's, even at 48psi+, still give that front/rear disconnected feeling. Its due to the tread squirm that PaulW talks about with the WS-50's, and possibly soft sidewalls.

Good luck.

ryoung

Looking at Tirerack's winter tire <A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/winter.jsp">Owner Survey</a>, note that the WS50 is in the studless snow tire category, not the performance winter category. The results are in line with your comments. Of the top two categories, the WS50 was designed as a winter tire and it is tied for #1 in "snow traction", but it also has one of the lowest rating for "cornering stability" and "steering response".

Also, what are your summer tires? Even though my Pirelli 210's have the highest rating for "steering response", I notice a huge difference compared to the S-03's. One of the differences is that winter tires have heavily siped treads that just can't be as stable as the S-03's tread blocks that have no sipes. As others have said, you can experiment with higher pressures to improve handling feel.

A slightly related story concerns the race tires for our Formula Continental. Goodyear, Hoosier, and Avon compete strongly for the position of fastest tire. Needless to say, the drivers prefer razor sharp response from these slicks, but a few years ago, both Avon (which we use) and Goodyear introduced tires with more flexible sidewalls. The drivers hated the way they felt, and some cars couldn't even run the GY's. The sidewalls were so flexible that the wheel actually moved laterally inside the tire several inches during hard cornering, and the tire hit the a-arms. But ... the more flexible sidewalls did a better job of keeping a large contact patch on the track, and they resulted in quicker lap times. You can imagine which tires the drivers quickly preferred.

Jkay

Blizzak LM22s are "Winter Performance" .. Im surprised tho, that you are so very dissatisfied - mine are fine but of course, you **know** you are wearing winter shows when you use them.

There is a difference between snow boots and sneakers!!

OH and of course, all tires, *especially* snows are "squirrelly" for the first 100 miles, since they are unscuffed ... smooth and shiny and new.

Let them settle in and see if it changes.

My LM22 Blizzaks on my other car were ... um ... scarey to drive on in the rain the day I bought them.

BTW, I told the tire guy to put 34 in the front and 32 in the back.

docmusolf

the dry, warm or mildly wet, BUT in the bad stuff there is nothing better. Worthwhile trade for me. I fyou deside to get rid of them let me know I'll probabally pick them up from you.

Brent