Dear fellows,

I would like to say hi to all of you and wish you greetings from Athens, Greece! Although I've been registered for quite sometime to your forum, I haven't post so often.

I became owner of a 2000 Audi A6 1.8TQ Avant (180 PS) and I'm very happy with my choice. The car is excellent in terms of passenger and cargo space and best suits all family - and driver's - needs. It is quite fast from a standstill, although this car is meant to be driven at highway speeds and even cruise at 160 km/h.

I need your help because I wanna change Audi's tires and I came to some suggestions.

What I would like to find out is whether there would be an issue in terms of safety, handling, fuel consumption, snow-chain fitting, etc. if I subbstitute the original 215/55-16 dimension with a 215/55-16 or a 225/55-16. What do you think?

On the other hand I wanna choose tires that would suit mixed conditions in a percentage of 70% dry-25% wet - 5% snow/ice. I came up with the Dunlop SP Sport 01, the Michelin Pilot Primacy, the Yokohama AVID H4S and the BF Goodrich g-force Sport. What do you think?

After all I would like to thank you in advance for your help!

 

I put 215/55's on mine (2000 A6 Avant) -so far they're on the rear only - only needed 2 after fronts wore out. If I had to guess, I'd say 225's should also fit.

 

Dear karguy427,

thanks for your reply to my original message.

Let me tell you what I found out about my wheels and then let me ask all of you forum people your opinion about what tires brand to choose.

First of all, my original wheels are 6,5 inch wide (16" diameter) and therefore I was advised not to put a tire that exceeds the original 205/55-16 dimension. So my first thoughts of putting an aftermarket set of 225/50-16 tires were vanished.

So, after having concluded to go with a set of 4 new 205/55-16 tires, I am a bit confused on what to choose. The climate where I live at (Athens, Greece) is quite near the California, USA, climate, with high temperatures throughout the summer (30-37 deg. Celcius/97 deg. F), short winters, usually short raining periods and almost now snow at all (at least in the city of Athens).

I was then advised to buy one of the brands below:

- Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2
- Pirelli P-Zero Nero
- Bridgestone Potenza RE720 (heard that they have been discontinued or what?)
- Bridgestone Turanza RE300

On the other hand, I would like the tires to last for let say 40.000 kms. (25.000 miles) and - if possible - to have a near decent/minimal behaviour in the ice/snow for the weekend's excursions on the nearby mountains during winter. Am I asking too much?

Can you give a little help on this?

 

I have put bridgestone potenza RE720 and what a difference it made over the Continental premium contact. Try them out you won't be dissappointed. I heard that the Exalto's are also great but not in cold weather.

 

Dear friends,

after having tried the Pirelli P-Zero Nero and P-Zero Rosso, I finally ended up with Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 (205/55-16V).

Although the two Pirelli tires have very good road grip, are silent and do not bend when hard cornering arise, they have a great disadvantage if intended for a family car use; you can feel every every single speck of asphalt inside your hands! The Pirellis, let all road generated vibrations to pass through the steering wheel, becoming very annoying after a while.

The Exalto 2 is in comparison a more all-around tire. It may not be as agile as the Pirellis or it may tend to roll more when cornered hard, but at the end of the day it provides a plush yet sporty feeling while keeping all nice features of a max performance tire, i.e. braking very good, good wet and dry performance, etc.

After having installed Michelin tires to almost all passenger cars I've ever had, but having ocasionally tested some Bridgestone and Pirelli tires, I've come to the conclusion that until now Michelin provides an unsurpassed combination of luxury, yet sporty, driving feeling and characteristics.

 

Having said all that, I need to conclude that the Exaltos are a pure crap tire for a car like the A6 1.8TQ Avant! This happens because the Exaltos are far too soft so the car bounds amazingly in every hard (or even not so hard) corner and therefore the feeling you get at the end of the day is a great deal of insecurity when driving a bit more aggressively!

Now, that I've changed both weels (17") and tires (Avon ZZ3), I need to say that in terms of attacking hard corners I do not feel so insecure because the Avons have not so soft sides and so they do not bounce from corner to corner, BUT... the car oversteers (even with minimal speed) like a 1980's BMW series 3!!!!! I think that the ZZ3's compound is made for intentionally allowing great amounts of oversteer even with minimal speed!

So, I do not feel that the Avon tire choice is ideal for me! Next time, I'll try the Michelin Pilot Sport and see how this feels! Until then......, hasta la vista!

 

I'm running Dunlops 205/60R15 on the front and Goodyears on the rear. The handling is a bit soggy and there isn't much feedback on grip levels. When the rears wear out (maybe another 5k miles), I'll try a set of Bridgestones.
My other car has Pirelli P Zero Rosso, which are outstanding tyres, but I couldn't justify the expense on the Audi.

 

I have the A6 and am currently running the 225/50/R17 Contis that it came with. They seem like a decent tyre.
However, I am running the Pirelli PZero's 225/45/R17 on my Jaguar X type and have used Pirelli's for the last 200,000 miles or so on my Company cars, Ford Mondeo and Saab 93. I cant see past them as a good all rounder. Fantastic in the wet, acres of grip, a great ride and hard wearing into the bargain.
Its all down to personal preference at the end of the day though I guess.

Jim