So, what kinds of tires do you recommend for an S4 B5?

[Euthanasia]

I'm looking for some ultra high performance summer tires for my audi. I've heard nitto invo, toyo proxy t1s, vredestein ultrac sessanta, goodyear eagle f1 asymmetrical 2, blah blah blah so many... Can I get some help please?

Also, I have another post that not one person commented on regarding new jline wheels. I'd appreciate any feedback on that as well. If not, oh well...

Thanks in advance!
:D

[CELison]

Conti Dw's have been the best tires I have had on mine.

[ringsofdespair]

Well you're comparing a premium Goodyear to low end tires. I.E. toyos and nittos. The f1 tires would be comparable to the pilot sport line. I have the pilot sport A/S and they're fantastic for handling because the way their shoulder is designed it will grip the road completely when turning and driving, whereas most other tires will usually leave an elliptical footprint, so the middle of te tire will grab, but as you go towards the edges, less and less of the tire will contact the pavement. I have the ps a/s, but if you have summer tires I'd suggest the ps2 tires or just the pilot sport. I sell tires for a living.

[aldito2]

I have to agree that the pilots are amazing tires! theyre sticky, and last long... however that works lol. i have a set on my car and I have been selling tires for 10 years now (grew up in the business) I would say get teh Michelins and you wont regret it, nut unless you're racing every day I say the conti extreme dws are pretty good bang for buck. I kinda hate nitto, and toyo feel they are ricer tires, but maybe I'm just biased

[PearlS4]

I have run several on mine, Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3, (discontinued), Continental DW, and Michelin Pilot Sport Super sports. The Michelins hands down are the best, with the old Goodyear design bringing up second. This car is a summer driver, does not see track, but gets driven pretty hard on the twisties. I could never figure out why people would cheap out and buy some Changshin tire crap when they have a European performance car, get the best rubber available.

[ringsofdespair]

I agree aldito2, they're like sumitomo and Yokohama, when people come in and say they're great tires, I just shake my head.

[DiscoPotato]

Conti Dw's have been the best tires I have had on mine.

Big +1 on this

Conti DWS have awesome tread wear and great ratings and they are not too expensive.

[AudiSportB5S4]

^ He's saying the summer tires, Continental DW.. Then there ire the Continental DWS, an all season. I liked the tire but spun them hitting second gear.. My new tires are great, Hankook Ventus V12.. I think any summer would have done the trick over an all-season with fast shifting and the fair amount of torque my car makes especially on a hard 1-2.

[Korben007]

i wouldnt touch goodyear. Have had nothing but problems with those! I just ordered a set of Conti DW to get put on next week. I did a bunch of research before I got tires. I buy over 5 sets of tires a year with work stuff and what not. The first and most important decision to make is what kinda tire do you want. An all-season or a summer tire. Once you have made that decision go from there.

I just wore through my PS2 on and now going to DWs. The main factor was cost. The PS2 and SS from Michelin are amazing tires and edge out the DWs on most test but the addition cost for the SS or PS2 over the DWs is just not worth it me for a very small drop in performance. The Conti still has amazing reviews and is very light weight and the price point for what you get is very good. This is why i went with them.

For all season I would go with the Conti DWS. I have them on my wifes TT cause she doesnt like to switch to snow tires in the winter like I do and doesnt drive around to much in the snow, but those tires are probably the best all around tire I have had. Light, Quiet, Good snow grip and decent summer grip, amazing tread wear. If I had to get one tire for everything the DWS would be it.

[PearlS4]

I'm looking for some ultra high performance summer tires for my audi.

I don't think he is looking for all seasons guys.

[wheel366]

I have only had Michelin on my S. First the MXX3s, then Pilot Sport now PS2. I love the PS2. So far best tire I have had on there. On my A, I am looking at the Conti DWS (All season ultra performance category).

[splatt]

I'll be ordering Conti DW when I order my new wheels, can't justify the 30-40% premium for Michelin PSS but I might give them a shot next time around.

[SurferD]

Stay away from Goodyear's. I had a set from Tire Rack and they just wouldn't balance.
I ended up sending them back and the guys there admitted Goodyear has manufacturing issues.
I have been running Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's and they're great.
The only thing is I keep wearing out the inside because of being lowered with no adjustable uppers.
I think there's a new tire to replace the PS2.

[lidoautogroup]

Bridgestone Potenza RE11's are pretty badass. I would weld my Southbend Stage 4 clutch together trying to launch my 95 Audi 90 Quattro with a 1.8T. A little on the expensive side, so I picked up a set of Dunlop Direza Star Spec for the S4 and I will have some reviews for them this summer.

[Sal Collaziano]

I've been thinking about these...

[lidoautogroup]

I've been thinking about these...

I have those waiting to be installed, they look really nice and aggressive. Picked up a set for $400 shipped that had 3k miles on them.

[S4James]

ventus v12 here.

ive run Azeni 615, and hankook S2 before.


Azeni where fairly sticky, but terrible in the rain, and had bad tread seperation and bead failure at their end of their life. Nearly blew them out at the track.

S2's were about as sticky, better in the rain, but hockey pucks at the end of their life. Could not hold traction worth a damn. Worse in the cold.

2nd year on the V12s now. And that in itself is remarkable. All the above tires were completly destroyed in one summer. With VERY limited racing. only 6 passes ever made on S2s for example.

the v12s grip well, only corner slightly less better than the S2s and have LASTED. my god they wear well.


Im my opinion they are about as sticky a tire you want to run on the street. Pay the coin for a set of rims and R compounds for track days. Its cheaper in the long run.

[bl0wn3ur0]

another vote for conti DW tires.........just put a set on my S4 and boy they grip well, considering it's not optimum temperature for summers yet.

[aldito2]

Shop around too. don't just assume tire rack has cheapest tire because when you factor in Shipping, mount, balance and new valves and disposal fees you can probably get a better deal from your local shop. Remember that the internet shops are killing local businesses!!! maybe you do save $20 but you just drove a guy trying to help you out out of business. At my shop we usually have better prices after all labor is priced in than buying from any internet store or even costco. Normally a shop will charge you more when you bring outside tires; remember that their business is that of selling tires. Please support local businesses which give jobs to your local people :)

[034Motorsport]

Conti Dw's have been the best tires I have had on mine.

Straight up.

Continental DW Extreme. They are the replacement for the SportContact3 which is my previous favorite tire. They aren't half bad in the rain too, I've tracked em rain and shine.

Pretty much everyone here @ 034 rocks these tires, and they are also the tire of choice for the Eurotuner GP

[AudiNFS]

I have tires for sale OP

[Chris@EPL]

Dunlop Direza Star Spec

Hankook Ventus V12..

Continental DW Extreme.

Agreed with the above

[Korben007]

I also researched the v12s. The reason I went with the DWs was if you got them from discount tire they come with a 30,000 mile guarantee whereas the V12s did not. I wanted to make sure I got my full use!

[S4 00 2.7]

I like Michelin, but will look at Conti's and Hankook as well.

[belinko]

I've been running the Dunlop's for almost two years. I've gone through two sets of tires.

The Good: It's a great performance tire, lots of traction and size options. It is a known quantity on the track, very predictable, lots of info re: tire temps and pressures. Symmetric tread pattern.

The Bad: It's so damn sticky that I've got over 6+ flat tires in the past year. It gets loud as it wears down.

Due to the flat tire, I would have to replace a pair per axle. (Repaired tires = very bad things at the track). This lead me to getting a dedicated set of track tires and wheels. For the track I use NT-01's because of the bang for buck value.

I will not buy another set of these tires for street use and no point in running them on the track, if you have a dedicated track tire.

[Sal Collaziano]

More than six flat tires in a YEAR?! Damn... I'm just going to hope my streets here in Palm Beach County are cleaner than yours! (wishful thinking) - By the way - what is your setup running in the quarter mile?

I've been running the Dunlop's for almost two years. I've gone through two sets of tires.

The Good: It's a great performance tire, lots of traction and size options. It is a known quantity on the track, very predictable, lots of info re: tire temps and pressures. Symmetric tread pattern.

The Bad: It's so damn sticky that I've got over 6+ flat tires in the past year. It gets loud as it wears down.

Due to the flat tire, I would have to replace a pair per axle. (Repaired tires = very bad things at the track). This lead me to getting a dedicated set of track tires and wheels. For the track I use NT-01's because of the bang for buck value.

I will not buy another set of these tires for street use and no point in running them on the track, if you have a dedicated track tire.

[VMRWheels]

It depends on your budget really. If you're looking for a super awesome summer performance tire I vote for Bridgestone RE-11s or Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Otherwise Hankook Ventus V12s or Continental ExtremeContact DWs will be fine.

[atnek1020]

Dunlop Direza Star Spec

Hankook Ventus V12..

Continental DW Extreme.

Yes to above.

[Euthanasia]

Thank you for the great response guys! I plan on buying the tires from the person who is getting the jlines for me. He is an authorized dealer... I just wanted to know what brand to tell him to get for me. I told him that I understand tirerack is damn hard to beat in price, but he is going to mount and balance them for me, ship them cheaply, blah blah blah I'd be glad to give him my business.

Again thank you for the kick ass replies!
Next set I need, I'll contact you AudiNFS

:)

[HighPsi(NorCal)]

I just stopped running the V12 on my MB S55 because they wear quickly with that much weight and tq (trying the Falken pt-722). The V12's are an amazing tire, just wasn't a great fit on such a heavy car. I will not think twice about putting them on the S4. Tirerack has the best reviews, Discounttiredirect.com has the best prices after taking shipping into consideration.

[joe@vwvortex]

Conti Extreme DW. Just did 4 session on a set at Laguna Seca in the dry. I've got Pilot Sports on my Cayman S - the DW's are far superior in the wet. In fact - coming home from Laguna it was dumping rain. The DW rocked in lots of standing water. My buddy wasn't having as good of a time on his Direzza's.

[AdamS4]

great thread....

i run ventus v12... discount tire direct price matched tire rack and there was nice mail in rebate (~100 visa gift card) this fall




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[belinko]

More than six flat tires in a YEAR?! Damn... I'm just going to hope my streets here in Palm Beach County are cleaner than yours! (wishful thinking) - By the way - what is your setup running in the quarter mile?

Streets in Socal are pretty clean. Just driving through any debris, it's like driving in the snow when the fender liners get pelted with rocks. These tires just pickup every loose object on the road surface. I had the head of the nail puncture the tire in one case, large flat head. These tires are really sticky. If you're just using them for street, plug and patch will work for you.

Sorry, I have no 1/4 mile times, just lap times.

[BlkdoutS4]

Been running the Hankook Ventus V12s without issue..

[BITRBO]

Its good to hear that the RE-11's got mentioned, cause my dad told me to look into them and Tire Rack actually rated them higher than the Star Specs (which have been the tire of choice for mixed street/track duty). As much as I'd love to get a set of PS2's or DW's, theyre both over the budget and the RE-11's look like the best bang for the buck so far...

[Makeshift]

i have continental extreme contacts on mine and so far have no complaints. car sticks to the road like glue to the point that im scared to push it past the speeds ive gone around turns. im rolling completely stock at the moment with a freshly rebuilt front end(control arm wise) but the car is on rails and i cant spin the tires even in the rain. they also didnt explode at 145mph on a closed coarse with a professional driver ;)

[sherbet]

Continental DW Extreme Contact. Awesome tire.

[Sl0w_S4]

I got toyo proxi ra1's gotta wait for it to be a little warmer tho

[00SantorinS4]

I have Toyo Proxes4 All Seasons (NE weather sucks) and They are not a quiet tire..
Not bad overall though, wear has been minimal with over 10k miles.
Great in the rain and I did get through our totally mild 30" of snow this winter lol.

[Mantis]

Well you're comparing a premium Goodyear to low end tires. I.E. toyos and nittos. The f1 tires would be comparable to the pilot sport line. I have the pilot sport A/S and they're fantastic for handling because the way their shoulder is designed it will grip the road completely when turning and driving, whereas most other tires will usually leave an elliptical footprint, so the middle of te tire will grab, but as you go towards the edges, less and less of the tire will contact the pavement. I have the ps a/s, but if you have summer tires I'd suggest the ps2 tires or just the pilot sport. I sell tires for a living.

I really wouldn't place nitto on the low end, their prices are low, but in my opinion (have used Conti's, Pirelli's, Goodyear's, Michelin's) they offer an amazing tire.

I have personally run the Invo's and am currently running NT555's on 2 different cars. The performance is fantastic, coupled with excellent wet road stability, something that some of the other UHP summer tires I have used fall down on.