[V8] tires

[Acadianlion]

Well, it's that absolutely disgusting time once again when I must make 
the big decision about tires for the V8. To make it all worse, I have a 
quandry about the tires on the 100 Avant to sort through also.  I find 
there is absolutely NO sex appeal in the process of buying tires, 
especially since I "discover" how much tires cost now, as opposed to how 
much they cost when I bought them that last time. Or maybe I just THINK 
they are a lot more expensive.

So I decided to whine at all of you out there and perhaps you will give 
me your opinion.  I have absolutely NO love affair with any particular 
manufacturer since I have had sets of tires from almost all of them, and 
it all comes down to the most bang for the buck.

Right now the V8 is sitting on Michelin MXV or something or other tires. 
I bought these new six years ago from Tirerack.  I paid $50 each (!!!!) 
and they were the last four they had at that time. I suspect they found 
these in the back of their largest warehouse, but they weren't 
particularly old and have been OK.  Well, what's OK?  I guess around 
35,000 miles and they're really close to being at the end.  One tire has 
worn somewhat more than the other because I have a front suspension 
issue on the right side that cannot be corrected by allignment, and 
truth tell, I have NOT rotated the tires at every oil change which is 
what is needed on this car.  The car has OEM BBS wheels and the 
215/60/15 tires is what the car will get.  Not a great selection 
available in that size, either.

The replacement Michelin tires are north of $125 each minimum, and to my 
experience they are NOT THAT good.  So, I'm looking at all other major 
brands, and there are more now than when I bought these. The oriental 
manufacturers are flooding into the country now, so there are a lot of 
options.  I will not buy a manufacturer's off-brand. Been there and done 
that with Bridgestone's "Fuzion" tires which I had on the stationwagon 
for 28,000 forgettable miles. VERY ugly, noisy although pretty cheap 
tire.  So something else.

Now the Avant is at a decision point. It is on Dunlop winter tires which 
work really well on this car.  We use the Avant as the "driver" in bad 
weather and the difference between Quattro with and without winter tires 
is surprising here in rural Maine.  The tires are on '97 Audi A6 rims 
now...16"...and they have one more winter season remaining. The summer 
tires for this car are General Altimax which are on a set of S4 rims 
which I bought some miles and  years ago with a set of tires on them 
which I used for one season.  I was in love with the idea of having the 
great big, fat S4 wheel/tire combination on the 100 Avant, and the price 
was really right when I was shopping.  The deal actually was for six S4 
wheels, so if anyone wants a couple of S4 wheels, I have a deal for 
you.....but I digress.

The 225/50/16 tires worked well on the Avant actually.  I can go that 
route to new tires for this car also, but it will take a LOT of shopping 
since this tire size right now is very expensive.  I bought the Altimax 
when it was first being introduced and I bought them for about $50 with 
free shipping.  NOT going to do that now, I guess!

So my option for the Avant is to leave the winter tires on through the 
summer and then in the fall replace them with new, winter tires of some 
sort.  The Dunlop Graspix's have been very good through five winters 
now.  Dunno what I'd get next fall, of course so I'm not even 
speculating about that.  I also can get 205/55/16 all season tires and 
peel the winter tires off the rims to have them reinstalled next fall.  
I also know someone who has a set of '98 Audi wheels with nearly new 
tires which are available since their Audi had a transmission failure 
right after buying the tires. Pricey....nearly full price for the tires 
with the wheels sort of free, and although not a bad deal, the wheels 
don't have the center caps and are pretty worn looking so I'm probably 
gonna pass.

Anyone with tire thoughts or nightmares of their own, chime in. I'd love 
to know your thoughts.

Roger