I know this is a tricky subject.

I have been replacing my Michelin Energy tires on a regular basis due to chords breaking. I'm getting tired of this with tires that I purchased to last a while.

I was looking at Good Year Eagles and noticed they were 100 dollars cheaper. Has anyone used them? I used them in the late 80's and they were good back then but...

Any other tires that are decent. At this point I would prefer to save money and change them sooner. Then to spend more, listen to stupidness and still change them sooner.
I don't want to go with tires that sag or are just plain junk.
I was also thinking of reducing the sidewall by going with a larger rim and using 40's. I don't know if that would help.

 

Jack,
I have 2,900 miles on a set of ContiPremierContact and I'm very happy with them. They still look new, and are terrific in wet conditions. They aren't the best for really tight cornering in town (although I suspect I may need new control arm bushings), but on the highway are quiet and handling is their best feature - wonderful road grip.

I bought them back in January from tires-easy.com for about $ 71/piece, free replacement certificate for premature failure included. 600 treadwear, temp A, traction A - 60,000 miles.
It is a tricky subject indeed as people tend to get married to a certain brand of tire. I used with satisfaction in the past (not on the Audi though) Cooper Lifeliner Touring SLE, Michelins MXV4 Energy (that came OE in a 1995 Altima we used to have since brand new), Hankook Optimo 408, Falken Ziex 512 - the "newer" 912 is better, and GoodYear Eagle GA.

 

Personally? I like BF Goodrich..

g-Force Super Sport A/S H&V

460 wear, AA traction, A temp

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

 

You ask 10 people and you will get 20 answers... Anyways, I am very happy with my Bridgestone G009s, but they may have discontinued it.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I know everyone has an opinion but I'm going through Michelin energy in a year. This isn't an Audi issue either, had the same problem on the Toyota Avalon. I'm done with them.

Jim, how long do they last for you?
I did have a set of BF Goodrich, same ones they have on the Hummer on a Bronco 2 for 5 years and they were still good when I sold it. I was impressed, and considering it had frame damage and could never be aligned correctly. But then again that's a truck tire. It seems car tires really suck. I can't believe they charge the same money for them as truck tires.

The only thing I will say is I put 60's on to get it off the ground a little more (the car came with brand new Uniroyal tiger paws that were 50's and very saggy/squishy . It was so low I need to crawl into it. I'm used to climbing. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. It did list them as optional equipment. That is why I was wondering if putting a 17 or 18" rim with 40's would help. I would get it off the ground and loose some sidewall. I noticed OE wheels has a few nice rims with what ever tires I want. Not that I am into switching rims if I don't need to, but if it resolves the issue.

 

Well, I had the previous model on my Intrepid (225 55 R16) put on in 2003 and while I should have changed them last year, I am just now doing it for Winter, but last Winter I still had no troubles.

If you change rims, you should keep the overall diameter the same unless you calibrate the speed sensor. And, smaller sidewalls will improve handling in turns, but ride rougher dont forget.

 

I don't want a rougher ride that's for sure.

 

I'm on my third set of oem Pirellis and got 50k miles out of set #2. These have been very durable summer and great winter tires. I tried 18" Coopers and they kept disintegrating. I switched to Contis for the 18" and they are fine after 10k miles, but I did not put them on this summer (wanted to run the Pirellis down before fall so I could get new ones -- wore them right to the wear bars). BTW, at 150k miles.

 

50K that's great. I can't believe the chordes are snapping in my Michelins before 20K, It's sad for them. Are the Perelli's still smooth riding?

 

I second the Pirrellis, P Zero Nero all terrains are what i used on my S4 and got 40k out of them slammed to the ground with around 400 horsepower.