I have the ContiProContacts and they are driving me crazy with noise and shaking.33000 on them. I have had them rotated numerous times. Last time the noise subsided for a while and then started up after a few K. Is it the alignment? Who knows? What kind of tires would you all suggest putting on?

Cheers

 

Yes on the 40 PSI front and rear. I always had better mileage because of that also.

 

I also always ran my Pirellis at 40psi as well. Definitely helps with everything except wheel spin at launch.

Cheers!

 

I probably go with Yokohama YK520's, they are very popular for HR rated tires and ride quiet.

 

Hey JohnS - the service manager at the dealership also said that about the pressure on my Pirellis. It' really interesting that they seem to know about that issue. For my 5K, since they had the wheels off to check the brakes and etc - he said the check the balance on them. Really cool service department there.

Charlie Whitten - I wouldn't worry about hearing things about tire wear on these cars - most guys that have these cars (including myself) tend to drive them hard. It's a car that presents the temptation just a little too easily - hard acceleration + hard cornering = big smiles. I'm sure if we all drove them like a Buick - we wouldn't be seeing issues with the tires until we're upwards of 25K on them.
BTW- Which dealerships have you been to? And have you had a chance to take one out?

 

Hey L7
We test drove a 07 base manual out of the Rockville Maryland Porsche Audi dealership.We were very impressed with the power and handling ; running it quite hard on back road switchbacks leaving it in 2nd and generally stomping it. My wife's office leased her an A6 some years back and this is the car she wants when her lease expires in 4 months. We've driven Mini's and Speed3's and this looks like where we will end up. We want a driver for the long term and the tire thing and oil consumption have me a little concerned. The base model suspension and tires felt fine to me although I am going to test drive the sports package next. The Corvette and Z28 I had were very stiff riding with lousy tire wear and the stiff ride got old in daily driving so maybe the base suspension is the way to go. Any further thoughts from anybody would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

In regards to the A3 as anall around car, I will never drive anything else. Drove one in Germany in05 and couldn't wait to get one when they came to the states.Sold my big GMC truck and have never been happier with performance and gas mileage. Themileage would be better, butI have a Thule roof rack and carrya bike to work 3 days a week. With the roof rack it gets 27mpg and without around 30mpg onhwy. This is thefirst foreign car I have ever bought and can't seem to drive it enough. I havethe 06 base model and put 85 miles a day on it with a lot of two lane, hwy and city driving.Itnow has 33k.Yes, it does use some oil, but that is expected with the turbo.I do drive it hard and like L7 said above, andthat would contribute to the tire wear and noise. The tires didn't start to get loud until sometime after my 25k maintenance. Buddies have told me to stay away from the Contis, but the dealer says I was lucky to have them instead of the Pirellis. Who knows? Don't let those things keep you from buying this car. My dealer let me keep a car for a full weekend to see if I liked it. Good luck

 

Personally, I haven't seen any of these issues with my own car and I drive it like I stole it, and mine is fairly modified. Oil consumption on mine has been less than a quart every 5k miles which I consider just fine.

I have the sports suspension and it rides just fine for the most part. Unfortunately, living in the LA area, the highways get choppy at times and the car sends a little too much of that to the cockpit. I personally would rather have that annoyance with the tighter feel around corners, but that's my preference. Still, it won't be nearly as tight as the vette. These are great cars. Every car has some flaws but this one tends to be rock solid on most everything in my opinion.

Cheers!

 

L7,Chef and Country Grammer- Thanks. Your input is invaluable to me and this forum is outstanding. If only I could get the dealer to let me have one for the weekend!

 

Wow what a nice dealer! [sm=bounceybounce.gif]

About the tires you get with your A3, it depends on what's being put on the A3 at the time on the assy line. I seen them come in with both Continental ContiProContact and Pirelli P6 Four Seasons. Sometimes the dealer can request a specific tire preference with the order. Although neither tire is that great as far as wear, the Continental ContiProContact stick out a little bit more on the side, and protect you from scratching your rim's when parking next to the curb.

Online I find it totally amusing the disparity between reviews against the same tire type between Discount Tire/America's Tires (low scores on reviews) and The Tire Rack (high scores on reviews).

BTW if you are going by user reviews the Continental ContiProContact beat Pirelli P6 Four Seasons easily.