What replacement tires are you buying for your car?

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dko3tgk

Active member
Joined
Apr 16, 2019
Messages
33
What tires are you all buying? I saw some old discussions but mainly it was a couple of members blowing out their tires constantly. I don't seem to have that issue with my Conti's on the 18" wheels.
I feel like the Conti's always slip when accelerating from stop in EV mode. Will different tires not slip?

I'm almost due for new tires so I need to start looking. i have the 18" turbine wheels.

I live in SoCal so I'm probably getting summer tires. Thinking of Michelin Super Sports from Costco. I've read that the Mich PS2s perform a little better but wear out pretty fast.

Not a fan of run flats. If you get a nail, then you likely have to replace the tire. You save time on convenience of not being towed, but have to replace the expensive tire and don't have the option of patching the tire. Most tire places say that manufacturers discourage fixing a run flat since the sidewall is compromised if you drove it at all after the flat. So i'm probably going with regular tires again. No run flats.

This is my primary car, so mostly commuting, but also maybe 1-2x a year long distance to Vegas or San Francisco.

What tires have you bought and what do you recommend or not recommend?
 
I'm still interested in what tires you are all buying for your car.

Costco here in the US has a $150 rebate on Michelins. After a little bit of research, the old Pilot Super Sports are not low rolling resistance rubber. The same for alot of the other Pilot Sport models.

It looks like the options are summer Pilot Sport 4S, a very highly rated, very high performance summer tire.
Or all-weather Pilot Sport All Season 4. Michelins best all season tires.

While super sticky summer tires sound nice, I'm leaning towards the All Seasons only because our cars are not super sporty. They are not some big engined fast german RWD/AWD sports coupe. And the all seasons last alot longer. 45,000 mi warranty vs. 30,000 warranty.

But I'm still very interested in hearing what tires you are all using.
 
I haven't needed tires on my Audi yet. (not driving very much during these COVID days) but I like the
Hancook VENTUS S1 NOBLE2 Ultra High Performance All-Season.
I have these on 2 of my other vehicles and they handle very well and have a 500AA wear rating.
Good as Summer tire and in the rain in So Cal.
 
thanks bruuster. Are the Hankook's low rolling resistance rubber? Also the Tire Rack reviews are brutal.

I ended up getting the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4. The Costco discount was hard to resist.

Huge difference in grip over the OEM Conti's. As I said if I give it a little too much gas from stop with the Conti's in EV mode I always had tire spin. The tire spin is now gone with the new Michelins. Also the sidewalls are nice and firm which improved the ride greatly and made the car feel more planted and stable. It's like driving a new car.

The reviews on Tire Rack are correct however, at highway speeds they are a little on the noisy side. There seem to be Goodyears that are equal in performance but quieter.
Also I feel there's noticeably more rolling resistance in these tires. When I take my foot off the gas pedal in EV or Hybrid, the car seems to slow down faster than with the Conti's. They don't seem to coast as easily.

But for the price and the performance I'm very happy with the Michelins. Although maybe next time I will go for the summer Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, because they are supposed to grip a little better and be alot quieter.
 
After a few months of driving on the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4s I'm kind of torn.
They stick like crazy. I can't make the tires spin or skid. Even on wet roads the tires stick as if the road was dry. So that's great. It's like driving with glue on my tires compared to the stock Contis.

The rolling resistance is pretty bad. As soon as I take my foot off the gas the car starts to slow. Coasting is horrible compared to how the stock Contis behaved. I'm getting much worse EV range and gas mileage in hybrid now. And since we have an eco focused car I'm not happy with the loss of EV range and gas mileage.

Is this something that all grippier tires do? Or is it just these specific tires?
 
The only suggestion I can make is to have your tires inflated to the maximum air pressure printed on the sidewall. That may give you less rolling resistance and help with coasting.
 
Thanks. I did that. Door sticker says 40psi. I went up to 45psi. 47psi on the drive LA to SJ. It's alot better. The car doesn't slow down as aggressively and I got a small amount of coasting back. But overall still too much rolling resistance compared to stock Contis, but way grippier.
I'll be making sure next tires have much lower rolling resistance in ratings.
 
After a little bit of research and a pretty good deal, I ended up with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06. Got a good price on them because there is a newer model of the same tire. After a week on them, mileage is the same if not a little better than what I was getting on the stock Contis and Pirellis (I had 2 of each; there was 1 conti and 3 Pirelli when I bought the car, got a flat last winter and the dealership replaced it with a Conti)

It has only been a week but I am happy so far.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... ium%20Plus
 
My Continentals are worn down, and I'm looking at replacing them with the Nokian WGR4 just in time for winter. They call it an "all-weather" tire, which I think will be good for Seattle. It hovers around 45 degrees here in the winter, plus or minus, so all-season tires should be good. But we do get the occasional snow, so all-season tires with the snowflake symbol ("all-weather") should be better. The Nokian website also claims that they're a good brand for electric cars. And they have a 60k mile warranty.
 
dko3tgk":1tzqi90e said:
Thanks. I did that. Door sticker says 40psi. I went up to 45psi. 47psi on the drive LA to SJ. It's alot better. The car doesn't slow down as aggressively and I got a small amount of coasting back. But overall still too much rolling resistance compared to stock Contis, but way grippier.
I'll be making sure next tires have much lower rolling resistance in ratings.

So after about a year on the Mich Pilot Sport All Season 4s. They still stick like crazy. No skidding or wheel spin ever. I like this.
To keep the rolling resistance maximized I try to keep topping it up to 46psi at Costco. And I'll even do 47psi before longer drives. It does improve the rolling resistance. But it's still obvious it's not really a feature of these tires
On a side note the sidewalls brown like crazy. I used a strong tire cleaner (Adams) and a tire scrub brush, and then applied a 1 year ceramic tire coating(Carpro). Browning came back 3 weeks later. I know Michelins brown more than other brands but this is extreme.
 
hey, dko3tgk thanks for your comment today! what perfect timing knowing this forum is still active. It's the first thing that popped on my google feed while searching for the right wheels for my 2017 a3 etron Sportback premium.

Since you mentioned you live in California, do you happen to have lots of potholes in your area too?
I've taken my car in 3 times already in the last few months. I've had the car for almost a year, and it seems to only happen after the rain.. obviously, our low profile tires are doomed to potholes, but there is no way its just bad luck as its been happening on the same tire, 3rd time in a row (in 2 months tops).
I just don't want to replace the tire one more time without knowing whats the smartest action here.
my current tires are- Yokohama S34NV All-Season Tire - 225/40R18 92V.

would love your help and suggestion!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W-Nzww ... sp=sharing
 
bellztoring":1dg94vwv said:
Since you mentioned you live in California, do you happen to have lots of potholes in your area too?
I've taken my car in 3 times already in the last few months. I've had the car for almost a year, and it seems to only happen after the rain.. obviously, our low profile tires are doomed to potholes,
I just don't want to replace the tire one more time without knowing whats the smartest action here.
my current tires are- Yokohama S34NV All-Season Tire - 225/40R18 92V.

I don't have that many potholes where I live. I live in the eastern suburbs near Pasadena. But even when I drive to the city and encounter potholes I guess I just avoid them. I'm pretty good with either swerving around or slowing down for the wide ones. I haven't drove into any deep ones even after the rain. I'm from the east coast and know to be more observant after rain or snow for deep potholes.
I think I may agree with DeepSeattleBlue. Just get different tires. After a whole year on these new Michelins I never blew out a tire. Knock on wood I've never blown out a tire on any car. And I think my tires are XL load. The battery makes our cars heavier so it would make sense to get XL load tires.
I just read a few TireRack reviews on your Yokohamas, weak sidewalls and frequent blowouts seem common with your tires. Just switch I say. Our tires are not that low profile by today's standards and as I said I never had one blowout with my e-tron with the 18" wheels.
But if you read my review, while I'm happy with the insane grip of these Michelins. They are noisier, bad rolling resistance compared to OEM, and heavy sidewall browning even after a heavy cleaning and coating.
I would recommend getting the warranty with whatever tires you buy if you blowout alot. Look at the Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate and the Conti Extreme Contacts that tmwes has also. They also look like good options.
 
dko3tgk":3lrs101u said:
What tires are you all buying? I saw some old discussions but mainly it was a couple of members blowing out their tires constantly. I don't seem to have that issue with my Conti's on the 18" wheels.
I feel like the Conti's always slip when accelerating from stop in EV mode. Will different tires not slip?

I'm almost due for new tires so I need to start looking. i have the 18" turbine wheels.

I live in SoCal so I'm probably getting summer tires. Thinking of Michelin Super Sports from Costco. I've read that the Mich PS2s perform a little better but wear out pretty fast.

Not a fan of run flats. If you get a nail, then you likely have to replace the tire. You save time on convenience of not being towed, but have to replace the expensive tire and don't have the option of patching the tire. Most tire places say that manufacturers discourage fixing a run flat since the sidewall is compromised if you drove it at all after the flat. So i'm probably going with regular tires again. No run flats.

This is my primary car, so mostly commuting, but also maybe 1-2x a year long distance to Vegas or San Francisco.

What tires have you bought and what do you recommend or not recommend?

Can’t go wrong with the Costco Michelins. Also note, Costco recommends tire rotation at 5k. I didn’t believe it but I do now. Had to replace a pair of Michelins at only 17k. Also, keep track of tire pressure. The tires go quickly when under inflated.
 
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