Michelin Tyres

[rsbetts]

Hi, I currently have Michelin PS2's all round but the rears are down to about 2.5mm so will need replacing soon. I like the Michelins but they are expensive.

Dunlop/Goodyear/Conti all seem to be around £130-£150 per tyre (235/40/18) compared to £170 for the Michelins. I'm sure I will get on with the cheaper (branded) tyres but have always believed the Michelins generally last longer, which if true means thre Michelins may not be as expensive as they first look. I have never had the Michelins before this car and I have only had it a few months.

Can anyone confirm my beliefs that the Michelins last longer, generally speaking; I realise the driving style makes a huge difference.

Lastly, if I decide to change to a different brand is this OK for Quattro? I'd have the same type per axle. The front Michleins have about 6mm of tread left currently.

Thanks

Rich

[CarMad]

I've got Goodyear F1's Assy's on my BMW and it is as good as it was on the PS2's.

But instead of changing all 4 tyres just change the rears for some Michelins. I see Kwik-fit have a deal for PS3's for only £163 if you order on-line might be worth a look.

[S4_marv]

Consider the Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas, I recently bought 4 from Camskill where they are on offer:

VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA - 235/40R18 95Y XL

I then paid Kwik Fit £10 a corner to fit them.

I've found them smoother and quieter than my previous tyres. And the wet and dry grip (wet especially) is amazing. They also get pretty good reviews. See below.

In terms of the Quattro, Audi do recommend that you have tyres of the same make, tread depth and tread pattern on all four corners. However in reality I'm not sure it'd be a problem to have them per-axle. Not sure what insurance implications it would have though, if you were in an accident (it'd take a pretty keen insurance investigator to pick up on that though).

[rsbetts]

Thanks for the info. I have looked at the Vredestein, seen they have good reviews and are cheap. However I only need 2 tyres at the moment (fronts have 6mm).

I have tried many different tyres and always found the cheaper ones are that for a reason, especially as they get down to 3mm.

I admit £100 vs £170 is a big difference and much more favourable, I might have to see how long I can drag the rears out before they need to be changed.

I saw the Kwik Fit price, however they add some additional costs after you go to pay such as Tyre disposal etc, which brings them up to the rest. I have a local F1 Autocentre who will price match, I got them down to £164.99 all in so far.

I only ever seem to get 12k from my tyres (like corning fast) so would love to find some cheaper tyres I am happy with.

[miniredcooper]

Hi,

not sure if Costco are an option fro you. They only do Michelin, the PS2 is due to be phased out I believe and replaced with a new model.

But they still sell them.

I use Michelin Pilot Primacy on my a4 Quattro 1.9tdi avant and really like these tyres, they have great road holding in the wet, are quite quiet in use and seem to wear quite well. (Primacy HP has slightly harder compound than PS2 so should last longer) Favourite tyres is always a subjective topic so just my opinion!

Costco charge approx £125 fitted/disposal/valves/balancing etc. for 235/45/17 and considerably less for the 205/55/16 but you have to be a member.

PS2 was approx the same price.

On the 205/55/16 I saved the cost of annual membership on my first two tyres. (had them on previous A4 quattro saloon).

(No affiliation to Costco - just a satisfied customer)

[Cuprabob]

Hi,

not sure if Costco are an option fro you. They only do Michelin, the PS2 is due to be phased out I believe and replaced with a new model.

But they still sell them.

I use Michelin Pilot Primacy on my a4 Quattro 1.9tdi avant and really like these tyres, they have great road holding in the wet, are quite quiet in use and seem to wear quite well. (Primacy HP has slightly harder compound than PS2 so should last longer) Favourite tyres is always a subjective topic so just my opinion!

Costco charge approx £125 fitted/disposal/valves/balancing etc. for 235/45/17 and considerably less for the 205/55/16 but you have to be a member.

PS2 was approx the same price.

On the 205/55/16 I saved the cost of annual membership on my first two tyres. (had them on previous A4 quattro saloon).

(No affiliation to Costco - just a satisfied customer)

They also do deals on tyres quite regularly if you keep an eye out for their Passport Book

[rsbetts]

Thanks guys, I am a Costco Member, however they do not seem to be any cheaper for my tyre size - 235/40/18 coming in at just over £170 a tyre.

I used one of their deals before and got 20% off 4 HP Primacy's for my wifes Touran, which made them dirt cheap. I have about 2.5mm of tread left on the rears so not sure how long I can hold out waiting for them to do their deal again!

For a laugh I called Audi to check the official stance with regard to changing tyres on a quattro. They recommended I change all 4 tyres, even though my fronts have over 6mm tread left and even if I put the same brand on.

[rsbetts]

I;m interested in what people think about this. I have justed chedk my fronts and they both range from 5.8mm to 4.5 across the tyre, so effectively they are actually half warn.

PS2 are hard to find (and cost more) and I wold expect PS3's are still seen as different tyres with a different tread pattern so I am thinking of replacing all 4 with the Vredestein's.

The PS2/3's would cost £340 for the 2, I have found the Vred's at £115 each fitted. As the fronts are more worn than I thought I think this is the best solution.

I know tyres are different to everyone, but I assume no one has any serious negatives against the Vred's?

Thanks

[S4_marv]

I've been impressed with the Ultrac Sessantas since I got them, but like you say, everyone has different thoughts on tyres. I'd be interested to hear other peoples' opinions on them.

Do a quick search on "ultrac" or similar, there are loads of threads here on TSN.

Out of interest, where were you quoted £115 per corner? I couldn't find any places that'd supply and fit them for a decent price. All in I managed to get mine for £105 fitted, but that was when Camskill's price was a bit cheaper, and I had to twist the guy in Kwik Fit's arm to fit them for cash (they don't normally fit tyres they haven't supplied themselves), so it was more hassle than getting it all done at one place.

[rsbetts]

The quote was from Mytyres.co.uk

The local F12 Autostore to me price match so goignt o see what they say. Most place do not seem to sell the Vred's, which is slightly concerning.

[cruiser647]

For another laugh, call your Audi dealer and ask for a tyre price. Sometimes, they are cheaper. (I know, not often but you never know!)

[maersk]

Not so daft actually, my dealer is cheapest by miles for conti and mich!

[gizze]

The Quattro system works by reading the revolutions and you do need to make sure there is no more than 3mm difference between tread depth on each axle, and no more than 2mm on the same axle.

I would not recommend mixing tyres and definitely do not put a symmetrical tyre on the back of your car with an asymmetrical tyre on the front, which is what your PS2 tyre is.

You could move the PS2 to the rear and fit the new one to the front, this will prevoke oversteer quite a bit, which may help on the A4 actually.

For the sake of £60 is it really worth bothering??

The PS2 is the best tyre but quite some margin, pay the extra £60 and know you have a decent set up.

Buy a pair of ebay for £150, far better than mixing tyres.

[gizze]

Another tyre I like is the Khumo KU31, a cracking tyre and can be had for peanuts.

I had them on my M3 when I bought a set of 18" wheels from someone, I had already ordered the PS2's but used these for a good couple of weeks and they were awesome, alot of the M3 guys use them and rave about them.

KUMHO TYRES / CAR / KUMHO KU31 ECSTA SPORT KUMHO KU 31 - 235/40R18 95Y XL TL :: £94.70 :: Car Tyres - MPV Tyres - People Carrier Tyres - 18" :: R18" - 235/40/18, 235/40 R 18 ::

Falken FK452 is also a great tyre and excellent value...

FALKEN TYRES / CAR / FALKEN FK452 FALKEN FK 452 - 235/40R18 95Y XL TL :: £87.50 :: Car Tyres - MPV Tyres - People Carrier Tyres - 18" :: R18" - 235/40/18, 235/40 R 18 ::

The Vreds are £100 each here...

VREDESTEIN TYRES / CAR / VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA - 235/40R18 95Y XL TL :: £100.00 :: Car Tyres - MPV Tyres - People Carrier Tyres - 18" :: R18" - 235/40/18, 235/40 R 18 ::

[PetrolDave]

The PS2 is the best tyre but quite some margin, pay the extra £60 and know you have a decent set up.

I've had PZero Rossos, F1 Assymetrics and PS2s - and although the PS2s do cost more they last much longer so the cost per mile works out less, and they are a great tyre.

The F1s have one big plus point - more rim protection which reduces the risk of kerb damage to your alloys.

Can't say anything nice about the Rossos though - poor wet grip, very short life, high road noise - avoid.

[gizze]

I sort of forgot we are talking about a Quattro car here, and with Quattro the thing you really want is ultimate grip, however that is not where the PS2 excels, the PS2 does last, and is very quiet, however its real strength is how progressive it is.

On a RWD car you can really feel what is going on and you can feel and control when the car lets go at the back. It gives you a lot of confidence when pressing on, there are no nasty surprises with it suddenly snapping and you not being able to control it.

Now, on a 4WD car you may be better to go with something like the Vreds which do grip longer but don't have much in the way of progressive feedback, after all, that is why you bought 4WD and not RWD.

I had PS2s on my 3.2 A6 Quattro and although really nice, I am not sure they were worth the premium over even the Nankang NS2's I had on the 18" wheels, which by the way are £240 for all 4 at the moment from mytyres and camskill, where as on the M3 they really did help me learn how to drive that car properly.

[S4_marv]

The Vreds have pretty good rim protectors on them too. There have been a few times that I've kerbed it now (I have to parallel park on-street every day) and each time when I've checked the wheel, there's been no damage. I never knew they existed before, but they're such a simple but effective solution!

[Chav]

kumhos and other similar value brands always done me fine and never noticed any probs compared to the super rip off mainstream brands.

also pretty much irrelevant for most a4s as they're not exactly f1 cars. cant believe people pay 170 a corner. think kumhos were 60 a corner (on 18s) and 80 odd a corner on 19s and current tyres were even less. not even sure what brand they are.

cheapest way to increase lateral grip level (important for quattro as people tend to corner quicker) is to use narrower tyres. end of. simple physics.

also not sure how a piece of rubber can stop 2 tonnes of metal grinding into a kerb. never seen that effectively proven. just fecked up wheel after fecked up wheel. ho hum. :-)

[rsbetts]

I have had the car a few months now and I have been enjoying the PS2's. I have not had them before but heard they last well, which is why I wondered if their initial cost was not as bad as it seems.

I have noticed that when I really push the car they don't quite grip as well as I would like, that may be me expecting too much!

As the fronts are as low as 4.5mm too I am just going to replace all 4 and at the moment I'm thinking of trying the Vred's, they seem to get good reviews and the price is easier to swallow.

I've had a number of different brands and I do believe there is a big difference between brands. I purchased a wheel/tyre package for my previous car (150bhp Saab 93) and it came with Accerlera tyres. They were horrible (but £44 a corner for 17's), as soon as it looked like rain was coming the wheels would just spin, they were horrible. I have to admit I could not really tell braking was affected but cornering was useless. They were one of the reaons I went for quattro, I was fed up of the traction control kicking in, even at average speeds.

[miniredcooper]

Hope this doesn't come too late. But just got the Costco voucher book through the door and they are back on at 20% off 4 tyres. So looking at approx £400 fitted for 4 PS2's/ Primacy HP's in 235/45/17.

Voucher valid 14.06-11.07. Max no. of deals 2 (8 tyres)