Dunlop D40M2's vs. Continental Sport Contact CZ91's

[quk@sievers.com (Phil Payne)]

In message <199704091419.JAA06136@natasha.eden.com> Mark Shilling writes:

> when asking my dealer about a credit for the Conti's on my A4t ( to put on
> D40's) he mentioned that while Continental does have a poor reputation for
> their lower end tires, the upper-end products are rated very high *and* that
> the Conti's with the Sport pkg. were actually the same as the ones used for
> Porsche.  Is this CZ91 the same tire I will have on my A4t?

BIAS WARNING - CONTINENTALE GUMMIWERKE WAS A CUSTOMER OF MINE FOR FIVE YEARS
 
I spent 1978-1980 in Hannover solely to support a mainframe computer we had 
installed at Conti in Hannover.  It's a strange place - Conti claims to have 
the oldest "Data Processing Department" (Datenverarbeitungsabteilung) in the 
world - it was established sometime in the 1880s.  It's also very formal.

_Very formal_.

I had to deal with two department heads on a regular basis - Herr Duee (data 
centre) and Herr Kreye (systems programming).  They had started together in the 
factory, and had worked together for 25 years.  They helped each other build 
their houses.  And they were still not on forename terms - "Herr" Kreye and 
"Herr" Duee.

Conti make a _huge_ range of rubber products and aren't evenly largely 
dependent on tyres.  From nipples for babies bottles to lifting bags for 
getting C5As out of the mud.  The display cases in the Koenigswoertherplatz 
HQ are amazing.  They _don't_ make tyres to their own specification - they make 
them, largely, to the specification of the car manufacturer.

It's unusual for Conti to be specified for an export market, because their 
reputation outside Germany is not what it is within Germany.  But if Audi has
taken this step, it's because they're prepared to accept the negative reaction 
that is inevitable.  And they must have a reason for that.

--
 Phil Payne
 phil@sievers.com
 Committee Member, UK Audi [ur-]quattro Owners Club