Getting Fed Up with 17-in Low Profile Tires.....

[Chris Newbold]

On 4/17/07, Bob Gregory <rggpa1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> My B5 S4 (225-45-17) came with the famous bubble prone RE040's and 3 of those died well
> before their tread life was over.  Changed to Toyo T1-S, and they wore out amazingly fast, wore
> heavily (strangely) on the inside, and had substantial tread separation issues.  Just changed to
> Conti SportContact and within 1 week,  a bubble appears in a sidewall!  I know exactly what
> caused it and it wasn't much.

My B5 S4 also had the RE040s, and I managed to get a couple of free
ones out of the dealer after finding some AoA document detailing the
failures. I put them all out of their misery at the track. Like you, I
also tried the T1-S; that tire seemed like it might have been okay for
a 2500lb car, but it didn't do well with 3800lbs of Avant on top...

Which brings me to the Michelin Pilot PS/2. I'm on my second set now--
and I've never, ever bought the same tire twice in the past. These
stick like silly wet or dry and have proven robust on New England
"roads" for seasonal use.

I've used NRWs for winter tires before, though in the stock 225/45-17
size. Those were indestructible, and my mechanic always hated mounted
them because of the iron-like sidewalls.

-Chris
2001.5 S4 Avant 6spd   -- Pilot PS/2 & Conti WinterContact TS810
2004 allroad 2.7T -- Nokian WR