NCSailing

Good morning A-Team!

For X-Mas, I picked up a new Cuvee Silver 3.0T Prestige/Chestnut Brown interior and 20" wheels. I have other posts with pictures.

The vehicle arrived with a new tire from Goodyear called the Goodyear Excellent. (Can you imagine that after months the marketing team at Goodyear came up with such a stellar brand name for a tire?). The tires were the "summer sports tire" option on the vehicle for an additional $800...

The tires are far from excellent and will be gone in a week. Too harsh a ride for my age.

I am sure that this ground has been covered, but, I am looking to validate the Yokohoma Parada Spec option. Continental DWS are sold out around USA. There is a Kumho option (Ecsta...) but no reviews on this.

Anyway, goals are comfort, all season capability--but, obviously, I don't want to lose the complete sporting characteristic of the car.

Thanks all!

BA

HaveBullDogWillTravel

Given your goals and obvious desire to keep the 20" wheels there's only 2 tires I would consider...
the Continental ExtremeContact DWS
and the Prada Spec X.

Given the way lower price of the Prada Spec X and the NIS situation with the Contis, I'd lean to the Spec X. I just can't bring myself to recommend Kumhos to anyone but for the $$$ they seem to satisfy a lot of drivers.

However, with 20" wheels, your level of comfort will not change much between Brands/models of tires. Your biggest gain in comfort will come from the use of smaller wheels (19" and 18")...your selection will go up and price will go down.
Have you checked your tire pressure to make sure that they are not way over-inflated. That can make a huge difference.

Q5KCMO

I can't give you a comparison on 20" tires, but I can give you my comparison on 235/55-19" tires. My 2010 Q5 3.2 Premium+ had GY LS2's. The ride was firm and sporty, which felt just fine for me. After I replaced them with Yoko Parada Spec X's, the ride was slightly less firm and more smooth, which I liked alot better for day to day driving. I did feel that the slightly softer sidewall of the Paradas allowed the car to squirm just slightly under spirited driving conditions. You might notice flat spots on the Paradas if the car has been sitting for a couple of days, but after you drive a few miles and the tire warms up it will be smooth as glass again. The tire also likes to pick up pebbles between it's treads though. I didn't get a change to drive with the Paradas in snow before I traded it in, so I can not give you any info on that. However, I did purchase the Paradas based on reviews on TireRack, which many praise the snow handling capabilities. So I'm sure it will do just fine in the snow coupled with the Quattro system. Overall, I liked the Paradas over the LS2's and would recommend it as an option.

The Kumho's I'd stay away from, however, this is based on my experience with them back in 2005 when I had a Chevy Tahoe 4X4 with 22's. Everything was fine on them except snow traction, which were not all that good. Even in 4WD it was still very challenging getting around. It may have been attributed to the with of the 22's, but in any event, I did not like them for their lack of winter abilities.

abcabc

Are the tires called Goodyear Excellence? It looks like those tires are Run Flats which may be why they seem so harsh.

From the Tire Rack website:
Goodyear RunOnFlat (ROF) tires incorporate special sidewall reinforcements that support the weight of the vehicle even after sustaining air pressure losses that would render conventional tires immobile. While internal tire damage will likely make replacement necessary, ROF tires are designed to endure being run on while flat for up to 50 miles at speeds up to 55 mph and provide drivers the temporary extended mobility necessary to drive through stormy weather and away from dangerous situations.

spijun

I do not want to be misunderstood.
Continental DWS did not for SUV

http://www.conti-online.com/generato...suv-tires.html
http://www.conti-online.com/generato..._tires_en.html

NCSailing

Thanks for the information. Goodyear makes two versions of the Excellence and one is a run flat. Audi installed the non-run flat version, but, the tires are still lousy and the sidewalls will never generate any comments. There will be no, hey dude, I see u are riding on Excellence-nice.

Parada Specs ordered from Tire Rack. Great price. Will update all after the switch.

For now, just now, u can't control what Audi will use from month-to-month. Even our dealer stated that that they were even different on the last batch of 20's.

jtie

I've had the 19" Parada's on for the last year and I like them.

HaveBullDogWillTravel

Audi will use lowest bidder tires from given manufacturers based on meeting a level of specification. It all depends on meeting the spec for the lowest price possible and being able to meet supply demand.
Lowest bidder tires inspire such confidence!

spijun

I do not agree with you that Audi takes tires with lowest price

These are tires that put Q5

255/45 R20:
-Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport
-Goodyear Excellence
-Michelin Latitude Sport - used Porsche Cayenne
-Pirelli Scorpion Verde
-Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT

It is interesting there are no German company: Fulda, Continental

abcabc

It's called business. If the supplier can meet the spec for a lower price, they get the order. It's stupid business to pay more. I have confidence in Audi. That's why I've bought for of their vehicles.