yuvalw123

hi
in canada we have winter tires from december till april. but from may till november, do i get summer tires or 4 season tires?
my car is 2011 A8L with only 50,000 miles
(80,000 km)
thanks for any info

andrewmr

Seeing as how you're driving an "L", I have to assume you aren't looking for ultimate performance..... based on that I would recommend an all season tire.

yuvalw123

Thanks for your replay. i am also thinking for a 4 season tires. also want them to last longer.
for performance , i enjoy in the summer my 1995 993

andrewmr

You'll find a few people on here that like the Conti DWS-06 for all season use. I use them on the BMW and switch over to dedicated snows come winter. The all season tire allows me to use them a little longer into winter and then get the winters off a little earlier in the spring.

MP4.2+6.0

If A/S, then another question is your budget. Typical choices at performance + premium end would be Continental DWS 06 or Michelin A/S3+. See Tire Rack site for reviews. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=230

I have used current or prior versions of both, and currently have the DWS06 on my D4 S8 as my winter oriented tire here in moderate weather California. FWIW, the Pirelli's in the test are pretty widely thought of as noisemakers by mid life on the D4's where they are a common OE tire. Owners tend to ditch the Pirelli's and migrate to other choices.

yuvalw123

Tanks again for all the info. going with 4 season tires.
cost of tires really went up

David Burke

Beat me to the punch but FWIW, I'm found snows to be far superior to A/S in snow and frigid temps (teens or below) when it comes to both traction and stopping distance. Summers are superior to A/S for traction and rain. I ran A/S for years before, situationally, I was forced into summer sports in one of my old S4s. I went ahead and bit the bullet on snows for that winter and wow, what a difference. Ever since then I've invested in two sets.

Financially, it's all about the initial outlay of cash since both sets will get an extended life (time, not miles) due to the seasonal rotation. I never bought into new wheels so that helps keep the cost down. Like everything else, it boils down to priorities but after experiencing snows, it turned into a safety concern for me.

KnappAttack

I've had a bunch of different tires on my Audis over the years. Some of them I've had on my 2011 A8 include The 275/40/20 GoodYear Sport All-Season, which I liked, good in most all conditions including snow, tended to hydroplane in heavy rain a bit however, nice and quiet, great ride & good response. Excellent tire wear on these. Better tire than there rated on Tire Rack, just beware of the hydroplaning in heavy rain. I would run them again If I couldn't get the Michelins I speak of below.

Also tried the Conti DWS06's in a 275/40/20. Didn't like these as well as the GoodYear Sport, not as good in the snow, very spongy feeling and non responsive, they were good to start for ride but started vibrating around 15K miles or so, they started to shake with a broken belt in one tire and wore quickly, way over rated IMO. Also hydroplaned in heavy rain, not as much as the GoodYears, but close. Needed more than average air pressure as not to be spongy and get someway to respond half ways decent. Won't buy them ever again.

Conti Sport Contact 3 265/40/20 which is a summer tire. OK for summer use, wear out very quickly, quiet, do nothing better than the All-Seasons I've run other than no hydroplaning and quieter. Will never have straight summer tires again, but would have dedicated snows perhaps.

Have the Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3 N-Spec 275/40/20 on now. WOW-WOW-WOW! Best I've ever run on the A8. Ride good, response is super fantastic, acts like a race car tire and does not need a bunch of air pressure to feel this way either, traction in any conditions and on any surface including snow and ice, and no hydroplaning in heavy rain either. Holy smokes, fantastic tire so far. We'll see over time how it wears but these are the tires to have. Finally, I feel in control, and in any weather. How they do this I'll never know, wet, dry or snow they don't care and just rip. No vibration, shaking or bad behavior. I'd say these tires as good as the beloved Michelin Pilot that are a summer tire, but these things perform in any weather. I'll take these all day long for my A8!