My tires are shot and I'm looking for a new set. Any of you have favorites you'd recommend? They have to have at least 40k miles of treadwear and still have traction. I would also like it if they were fairly smooth and quiet (demanding, aren't I?).

I have found some Falkens that look good, but have no experience with the brand. They're 60k mile guaranteed, A for traction, and fairly well reviewed. Right now, they're about $500 out the door with about $90 back in rebate cards (which seems like a really good price): Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

So, any and all recommendations? I've got a 2006 2.0T quattro, so the standard tire size is applicable (235/45R17, I believe).

 

i have firestone precision sport on my 2008 quattro. they are pretty good and were only $95 when i bought em last year but i think they have gone up now. i have not had any traction or handling issues throughout the bad winter. the only downside is that they seem a slight bit louder on the highway than the stock pirellis did.

 

I put Dunlop Fierce Instinct ZR - 235/40ZR18/XL 95W on my A4 and so far really like them. Don't sound to noisy and have so far provided good traction (mainly rain with some snow). They are only listed as 30k mile tires though. Got them from Sams for about $135 each so the price was right for me.

 

I went with Continental Extremecontact DWS. So far so good. I looked around for a while and these had good reviews. Can't comment on life span but they are warrantied for 50,000.

 

May also depend on where you live.. Need all season tires or are you warm weather only? I don't plan on driving the cabriolet in snow but still went with the all season as they usually have longer tread life and we also get heavy rain here and want the traction. Gotta keep the wife safe!

 

Just bought a set of Michelin Primacy MXM4s today to replace some Pirelli All Seasons that were pretty noisy. Will update when I get some miles on them.

 

So, I decided against the Falkens. Just didn't know enough about them. I got a set of Nitto Motivo's for not that much more ($134/tire, but no rebate). 60k mile treadwear warranty, and good traction/temp ratings. They seem to get decent reviews and the two guys helping me at the tire place really like them. They were a decent price for the 60k mile wear. So far, they seem really quiet (much quieter than the crap I had on there before). I'll let everyone know how they wear as time goes by.

I really wanted the new Pirelli P7 (they are replacing the P6 and they have a 70k mile treadwear warranty), but they're not manufacturing them in my size until May. Also, found out I had a warped wheel and was thankful for the full-size, matching spare the 2006's had. Maybe someday I'll replace it, but for now, it's fine as a spare.