ELEVENS

The terrible roads here in michigan have forced me to rethink the summer tire choice. The Dunlops on the S-Line 20" wheels are fine-performing tires and have worn perfectly even and slow... but the stiff sidewall makes for jolting pothole traverses and very noisy expansion joints. The tire also tends to convey a "ringing" sound upon impacts. The nail in the coffin are that a summer tire is just that - not to be used in near-freezing temperatures. So even though my Q5 has dedicated winter tires and wheels, the summer set forces me to use the winters for too many months in the year.

Enter Reggie's recommedation for the Continental ContiContact DWS:


RAVE reviews on TireRack.com, as well as the #1 pick in the Ultra High Performance All-Season category.

I feared they would look "chunky" but they look better than the Dunlops! And truly, they are so quiet it really seems that all the surface roads we travel have all been resurfaced. Amazing! I'm VERY happy with these. Thank you Reggie!

soonerfan

When my Q5 TDI gets here in late August/early September, my dealer, God Bless him, is going to remove the OEM 20" Summer tires and replace them with these. He'll pay me or I'll pay them the difference in cost. Found out the other day that these Continentals are the only "Audi Approved" replacement. Tire Rack reviews are very good, save for one, but also nice to know someone on the forum has had a good experience with them.

Reggie

Blush Blush - thanks

D_Frost

Definitely can't go wrong with the DWS's... I've been enjoying them very much

CRAMAZING

wheres the best place to get these tires in terms of price?

Reggie

I have always had great luck with Discount Tire and Tire Rack

zeus48

Shame they don't make them in the recommended size for the 18" wheels (235/60-18). Does The Master recommend a different size or comparable Continental?

rjrdomer

Has anyone put Yokohamas on the Q5? I see Tire Rack has a set that supposedly fits. I've never been a fan of Continentals. Had a 2000 Passat that had a very loud/hard ride and when the Continentals wore out in 18,000 miles, I put Yokohamas on them and they lasted another 40,000 miles and were much quieter on the road. So I wanted to see if anyone has any experience with mixing it up on the Q5. I know Audi likes to put on whatever tires they have that week, my 13 Q5 19" wheels came with Continentals.

hawke94

I bought the Continent Cross Contact LX20 for the 18" wheels a month ago through Tire Rack at $160 each with a $100 Adidas gift card included. Not as good as previous years' promo where you got an actual Visa or Mastercard gift card, but I suppose I or the wife and kiddies will need new sneakers. Can't tell you how they perform as they're still sitting at the shop right now (just too busy lately to bring the lady in), but they'll be on by month's end, just in time for inspection.

The LX20s were rated #2 on Tire Rack's Crossover Survey, much better than the Michelin Latitudes they are replacing. It was either that or the Pirelli Scorpions, but the Pirellis were more expensive for a marginal difference in ratings. The LX20 also had a much larger number of responses which made it more statistically valid for me.

For those on the fence about the DWS, my wife's B6 A4 had the DWS and she said they were the best tires she ever had, all kinds of conditions. Only regret was she only had them for less than a year before replacing her car last month. The Continental Pro Contacts that came with the new car are complete garbage so I'll have to buy another set of DWS to replace them.

Reggie

I think reading the reviews and tests in Tire Rack is the best place to go for an idea of the best tires to use.