S4 Sal

There's quite a price difference. Is the Bridgestone really that much better? If so, how?

Warren Wang

and offer similar performance, then it's the better tire, IMO. The AVS Sports are a fine dry tire. Not too shabby in the wet either, though not quite as good as the S-02.

Ya know what though? You'll feel pretty bad if you roast the more expensive S-02 at the track, or if you don't want to drive on them too hard because they are more expensive. I drive the **** out of the stock tires, mostly cuz I just don't really care about them. Get the cheaper tires and drive them like you hate them (and when it's safe to do so!).

Warren

leepym3

<p>Peter Y. Lee
Philadelphia, PA
96 M3 Lux (an S4 aficianado)
Remus exhaust, Brembo OE
slotteds, stainless steel lines,
JimC software & intake, H&R
w/ Bilstein, Hamann HM2 18"s,
S-02's, ERT underdrive pulley,
Ron Stygar SS, Racing Dynamics
su

LCP

I would have thought they'd be worse. My 235/40-17 AVS Sport's felt like they had more grip than 225/45-17 S-02 PP's, although the AVS Sport's were howling a lot -- that's just what they do. The AVS Sport's also get a little droning at 55-60MPH, but I don't know about the S-02 PP's. There's no way S-02 PP's are a 30-40% better tire than AVS Sport's, but they are that much more expensive.

S4er

I tried them both on my 94 Acura Legend Coupe. AVS is nice on dry pavement but kinda sucky on wet road. Bridgestone offers a balanced performance for both situations but a bit pricey but more durable (I got 22000 out of AVS and 25000 out of Bridgestone). I also found Bridgestone is harder to balance during mounting and requires balance periodically. Hope that helps

LCP

I know that the S-02 PP is supposed to have more silica in the tread compound that supposedly improves wet traction a lot when the tire starts to wear out, however.

Warren Wang

Particular tires are better suited to some cars than others. Take the Toyo Proxes T1+, which I loved on my A4, but my roomate detests on his E36 M3.

Why? Mostly because the A4/S4 is so sure footed that we don't need ultimate performance tires, and anyhow, I personally think it's a waste if you're just driving them around on the street anyhow. I mean, how much lateral grip do you really use on the street? I've never found myself wanting more than the stock RE040's give me on the street.

So yes, you get what you pay for. You get a really ultimate grip tire, but you could have had 90% of that grip at 75% of the price. Also, with cheaper tires, you'll be willing to drive on them harder, so you kinda get more out of the tire. Hell, if you can get them in our size, go for the new, sleazy cheap Kumho 712's.

You really don't need super tires on the street for this car. Quattro gives us a nice little surefooted advantage =)

Warren

Chris C

<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/avs_sport.htm">Tire test</a></li></ul>

pikachu

Good point

Vijay

One could also argue, along similar lines, that you should just get less expensive car with 75% of the S4's capabilities (Mustang GT, for instance) and just beat on it all the time instead of worrying about the damage you may be doing to that chipped twin turbo motor. I do agree that you will never need the extra performance capabilities of the more expensive tires most of the time, but the same can be said for almost any mod/upgrade. Just my $0.02.