GMcB in Seattle

Hi ar fans,

I have an "04 4.2 ar with HSports bars front and rear. My ar has 105k miles and I've had it since new. This is my second allroad. I originally had an 01' 2.7 with stock Pirelli tires. I am a spirited city driver.

Over the years I trended towards Michelin Pilot Sport A/S because they were rated so well and they handled great. But after my third set (currently about 15k miles on them) they once again are showing signs of extreme wear. Side wall tread coming off in chunks is mostly the problem. This has happened with all 3 sets of tires.

I am now at a new indy shop, and they've had lots of experience with ar's and other performance awd vehicles that are heavy. Their recommendation is to go with the Bridgestone RE960AS or the Continental Extreme Contact DWS. While they like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, they feel that it's too soft a tire for such a heavy vehicle as the ar - and for as spirited a drive as I am.

Thought I'd seek out your thoughts on this topic here. Replies requested.

GMcB in Seattle

vponomar

Look at this survey:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS
It shows quite the opposite. In my personal experience A/S aren't soft at all. Your alternative is Yokohama ADVAN S.4. if you want a stable side wall.

GMcB in Seattle

It's a tough call. I see that the survey shows better sidewall perf on the Michelin. I'll consider the Yokahama's. I'm leaning a bit to the Extreme Contact DWS.

vponomar

It a matter of how much snow/rain driving you do: a lot - go with DWS, more in rain - Yokos.

finiki

I ran 8K with 17" GY Triple Tread, 26K with 19" Yoko Advan S.4. and now 28K on 18" Bridgestone RE960. They were all good tires. The 18"s far out handle the 17"s. The 19"s handle superbly but ride is harsh. The 18"s FTW. The GY's were great but not available in the sizes I have since run. The Yoko's were a great tire and still had life in them when I decided to run 18"s. The RE960's have at least 10K left on them. My next set will be the new RE970's. The DWS do not offer a load index of 100 as I have run and grown to prefer. Weak sidewalls = poor handling IMO.
The Michelin's on my 2007 Accord are weathered and cracked after 40K,
Michelin's FTL.
The surveys at Tire Rack have been right on from my experiences.

5v/cyl

I run the DWS's on my A4 and love them. They replaced a set of GY Tripletreads. I found I needed to run the tires about 2-3psi harder than the GY to combat the soft sidewalls, but overall ride comfort is still better even at the harder pressure. The A4 is a lighter car than than the AR, so there may be some difference.

They're very quiet and dry/wet cornering grip is very good. Excellent in the rain with zero hydroplaning even at 75+mph in a heavy rain. Haven't had on snow yet, but they are supposed to be some of the best A/S tires in the snow. Only complaint is slightly less on center feel on highway. Don't notice it just driving, but if there is a stiff crosswind it tends to wander a little easier.

For spirited city driving with many corners you may notice the soft sidewalls, but other than that they would be a excellent choice. Just plan on running a little higher tire pressure which will help.

JustMtnB44

I have an '04 4.2 with 18" wheels as well. I currently have the Conti DWS in stock size and wouldn't recommend them for spirited driving. The side walls are way too soft for a heavy car like the allroad. I tried more air pressure, but the amount it took to overcome the mushy sidewalls resulted in terribly harsh ride quality. You can read more about my thoughts in this thread https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho....php?t=2814234

My friend just bought an '04 allroad 4.2 with 18" wheels as well. It came with an almost new set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires and I took it for a test drive. The sidewall stiffness is no comparison and is way stiffer than the DWS. They just feel more planted when cornering. That sucks about your tread life issues.

If you want to try something different, than the Bridgestone's looks pretty good. They don't have the snow performance rating of the other two, but in Seattle that isn't much of a concern.