[A4] Tires

[Quincy Chiang]

Michael,

I don't think your comparison of the Dunlop SP5000 and Michelin Pilot Sport is fair.  I had 17" Pilot Sport on my my ex-A4 (came from factory), and I thought they performed great, dry and wet.  Even when I pushed quite hard at an ACNA driving school, they still had lots of traction and very progressive near the limit.  However as ultra high performance summer tires, I expected the sidewalls to be stiff, hence a harder ride, that's how summers tires are constructed.  I read that the Bridgestone S-03 are even worse, many people don't like them anymore due to its extreme stiffness.

OTOH, the SP5000 is a high performance all-season, a BIG difference there.  I've heard many good things about them, but again they are not all out performance tire, and it is designed so, more compliant with some "all-season" capability.  IMHO, those tires aren't in the same league.

Btw, I do have experience with Dunlop products, I have SP8000 (high performance summer tires) on my CoupeQ after reading so many good things about them.  I got 205/55-16 (taller sidewall than the Pilot Sports I had), but I find them pretty stiff.  Grip is as good as everyone says, but the ride is quite harsh.  I know ride is a subjective feel, but they are definitely stiffer.

The SP8000 is getting pretty old, so the SP9000 is a better comparison.  However from what I gathered, they seem to be designed to optimize wet traction (one of the best), its dry performance is compromised and is outperformed by most all other similar ultra-high performance summer tires.

If you want dedicated summer tires, I read that the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 is quite good, excellent all-around performance and more compliant sidewall.  I'd give that a try when I finally breakdown and get 18" wheels to replace the heavy stock avus and Bridgestone RE040.

Quincy


----- Original Message -----
From: michael pagano <mvp12547 at yahoo.com>
Date: Friday, April 16, 2004 2:48 pm
Subject: Re: [A4] Tires

> I would agree on the Michelins. I picked up a GTI w/Pilot Sports 
> and soon remembered why I dont buy Michelins, its like driving on 
> bricks. I have had great experience with both Dunlop and 
> Bridgestone. My former 00 1.8TQM Avant rode on Dunlop Sport 5000. 
> Well over 40K miles of even wear with a lowered car. Fabulous in 
> the wet,very good in dry, a quiet tire,rotated every 5K. The 
> Bridgestones are on several VWs and they to seem to be very good 
> all around tires with a consistent high quality. These are the 
> 910s, quiet,comfortable,inexpensive...not a high performance tire.
> 
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