Re: S4

[sebruun@ihlpe.att.com]

This actually has much more to do with all-season performance tires
that with the S4 (drool!).  I bought a 1992 100CSQ back in July, and
one of the first things I wanted to do was to rid myself of the tiny
195/65-15 Eagle GAs (*much* too small a tire for the car) and put a
set of real tires on the car.  Given my address (Chicago), they were
going to have to be all-seasons, and given my driving style (rather,
um, *spirited* shall we say), they were going to have to be capable
of cornering with gusto.

At the same time, I decided I didn't much like the looks of the ten-
spoke alloys that came on the car, and figured I'd swap those at the
same time.  The dealer was willing to buy back the original set, so
I began the quest for the perfect wheel/tire combination.  After an
extensive search, I settled on a set of 16x7 BBS forged alloys in a
platinum tone which is a lovely match with the pearlescent white on
the car.  (By the way, these were originally meant to be mounted on
a Mercedes, which meant that the center holes had to be sleeved for
hub-centricity and the lug bolt seats had to be milled a bit larger,
but the Tire Rack offered to have this done for free in addition to
selling me the wheels for cost -- $170 a corner for what often sells
for $400 retail -- because they were badly overstocked with them.)

Anyway, we mounted 205/55-16 BFGoodrich Comp T/A VR4 all-seasons on
them, and the effect has been stunning, both aesthetically and prac-
tically.  The tires are tenacious on wet and dry roads, and since we
have had snow on the ground for the past couple of days, I can tell
you that they pass that test as well.  I had been a little concerned
about putting this wide a tire on the car, especially for use in the
snow, but the quality of the ride has not been diminished nor does
the car seem to be skating.  The proof of the pudding will come when
there are a couple of fresh inches on my steep driveway, but so far
I am very pleased.

This, by the way, was not my first experience with the BFG Comp T/A
all-seasons:  Last year, I put a set on the Taurus SHO I traded in
on the Audi, but we had so little snow that they didn't get much of 
a trial.  However, they did a wonderful job of taming that brute, so
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for the more cosmopolitan cars
we drive.  If you need a good high-performance all-season tire, you
really ought to check these out.  I realize that because they don't
have a sophisticated European name on the sidewall, they might fail
some misguided purist's test, but this is seriously good rubber.

Steve Bruun