Poll: Best 18-inch ultra performance all season tire for B8 S4

[mobile S4]

There are a couple threads on this but wanted to focus on all season tires for 18 wheels - somewhat selfish but want to help those out there that are also contemplating the move to all season.

Wanted to allow everyone to add other tires, but no option to do that.

[mobile S4]

Thanks for the votes - so looks like I'm leaning towards the Conti DWS.

Tire poll gets 9 votes with 159 views, while post about mud flaps gets 38 comments in 1200+ views [confused]
Next time I'll try pics of pics of cat memes which seem to be popular on the B8 A5/S5/RS5 forum

For those in New England, I'm thinking of going to Town Fair Tire. Will let you know how it goes.

[IceAero]

I had normal ContiProContact AS tires on my GTI when I moved to Boston.

Then...the 10/11 winter happened. I got stuck so many times I couldn't even keep count. I slapped two Conti DWS on the front wheels and the difference was night and day.

That being said, my new S4 will wear winter tires this winter.

[stumpjumper]

I have put 30K on a set of the MPS a/s plus and they were fantastic in the dry and the rain but terrible in snow - they are 3-season tires, not snow tires

in Boston I would not run these all year unless you don't need to drive on snowy days, while last year would have been OK you can't win that bet every year and you're likely to cost yourself a lot more than WinterSport 3D's or somethign similar would cost

[Wusty]

If you have summers, don't do all seasons, do performance snow tires. If you're going to run all seasons year round, DWS' will be the unanimous winner.

[DavidD]

I had a great experience with my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. They lasted a long time and were a good all around tire. They lasted about 52,000 miles and personnally I think they look great as well

[brocken]

DWS the winner? Only if you don't care about actual performance... They might be great in the rain or snow but they corner like marshmallows!
I tried those on my S4 and took those terds back the next day. Felt like I was wallowing when doing quick corner transitions. I've never felt that much sidewall roll in a tire.
Swapped them out for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (which I've had on other cars too) and love them. Handling is night and day difference and the wet/snow performance is still great.
I've seen feedback that the Michelins are slightly noiser than the Contis. I have 20k miles on my Michelins and I'm only slightly bothered on really crappy road surfaces. Otherwise, noise is what I'd expect for a German car.
There is also a price difference but I'm very happy I spent the extra few hundred.

p.s. don't gripe about low number of voters/posts when you ask a question that's been asked many times before... ;)

[stumpjumper]

DWS the winner? Only if you don't care about actual performance... They might be great in the rain or snow but they corner like marshmallows!
I tried those on my S4 and took those terds back the next day. Felt like I was wallowing when doing quick corner transitions. I've never felt that much sidewall roll in a tire.
Swapped them out for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (which I've had on other cars too) and love them. Handling is night and day difference and the wet/snow performance is still great.

Boston's average snowfall for March is as much as Seattle's is all winter... for you they may work fine in the winter but here they do not

[FatalBert]

Thanks for the votes - so looks like I'm leaning towards the Conti DWS.

Tire poll gets 9 votes with 159 views, while post about mud flaps gets 38 comments in 1200+ views [confused]
Next time I'll try pics of pics of cat memes which seem to be popular on the B8 A5/S5/RS5 forum

For those in New England, I'm thinking of going to Town Fair Tire. Will let you know how it goes.

You posted this yesterday. The mud flaps thread was started back in August.
Plus there are many threads already out there about tires, not so many about mud flaps, but I wont be that jerk to say "search is your friend".

I have Conti DWS's they seem to do pretty well for all seasons (only used them once in the snow though). Can't speak for the other tires you have there.

[mobile S4]

You posted this yesterday. The mud flaps thread was started back in August.
Plus there are many threads already out there about tires, not so many about mud flaps, but I wont be that jerk to say "search is your friend".

Yes - but since 2nd post votes and comments have more than doubled [:D]


I have Conti DWS's they seem to do pretty well for all seasons (only used them once in the snow though). Can't speak for the other tires you have there.

It is comments like these I'm looking for - thank you. Does "pretty well" mean you would recommend? Don't want be driving around on terds - lol

[essfour]

OP, I am from Boston... And while I run a dedicated winter tire, and would never pesonally consider an all season, my good friend does run the conti dws on his 335xi. Granted last season was not the best year for snow fall, but he did fine...

[rs4dreams]

From personal experience, the Conti DWS are considerably less "sporty" than something like Bridgestone RE970 while having slightly better snow traction. The DWS has a much softer sidewall and a more vague steering feel.

[mobile S4]

OP, I am from Boston... And while I run a dedicated winter tire, and would never pesonally consider an all season, my good friend does run the conti dws on his 335xi. Granted last season was not the best year for snow fall, but he did fine...

I'm in Boston as well and trying to avoid running a dedicated winter tire. Just want to put them on and forget about it - but still want performance. After all, this is why I bought an AWD car.

Before my S4 I ran Eagle GT tires on my Volvo S60 R AWD in town and even way up in NH with no problems.

I also have an SUV, but live on a hill and know I won't be able to go a couple days without driving the S4.

If I give up on A/S which is sounding more and more likely, I'll put winters on my OEM-18" rims, and then do a summer tire/wheel package in the spring - which is 5 months away (f-me)

[Dr GP]

I don't really think it matters. If you get a really large accumulation of snow , you won't want to go on the road with just A/S tires . In fact if it gets high enough, the snow will pack under the chassis and you won't even go with dedicated snow tire. If the accumulation is only a few inches, you will go with any of the above mentioned tires. With the quattro and sport dif, the difference in snow traction will not be great. The real difference will be how well you can break and steer in the snow. There is where you will probably notice a difference between the tires. You might want to check out this actual Tire rack test: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=165. Much more reliable than a survey : http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHPAS BTW, I'm running General GMax As -03. New tire and I have yet to find any snow to run them in. But I really expect to be able to go where and when I need to based on the snow removal practices in my area.

[A4orce84]

Bumping this up. Does anyone have a new favorite out there with tire?

[wwhan]

I have had two set of the 18" Continental ExtremeContact DWS, now on a set of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus.

I like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus better, but they do not rate as high for snow.

[MrFunk]

No vote:
Ultra Performance All Season = Oxymoron

If you are looking for "Ultra Performance" this would mean to me you are looking for elevated performance:
If this is the case then why are you shopping all seasons??

If you live somewhere that doesn't require snow tires then run summers.
If you live somewhere that does require snow tires then have two sets - summer tires and winter tires.

If you are not looking for the best then get all seasons.

[Cevin]

i lol'd when i read the title,


no such thing, if your worried about performance, don't buy an all season tire. period

[Maitre Absolut]

No vote:
Ultra Performance All Season = Oxymoron

.

first thing that came to mind when reading the title. kinda odd that it took 3 years for someone to realize it

[Sundowner]

I'm a big fan of the Bridgestones. Been through a few sets on various Audis over the years and loved them. got a set of the DWS last time around them based on recommendations here and elsewhere and was not impressed. I understand they change the sidewalls and they're better now, but have not ridden on them. My own opinion, but the Bridgestones are an under-rated tire.

I realize I'm in the minority here, but I prefer all-season tires over UHP summers. I don't drive my car at 10/10ths on the street (because I'm not a dick), the all seasons last a whole hell of a lot longer, they get better mileage, and they're quieter when they start to wear. And this is petty, but the summer tires are so sticky that road grit in the treads gets flung at the rockers and undersides of the mirror when I turn. I hate that.

[M3KILR]

Snow tires are safer and more fun. Get some cheap winter rims and throw a good set of snow tires on there. You'll have a lot more fun in the snow and with a nice set of summers you won't have to deal with marshmallow AS sidewalls. I hated my DWS's so much I scrapped em with 50% tread left.

[MrFunk]

first thing that came to mind when reading the title. kinda odd that it took 3 years for someone to realize it

LOL! Didn't even realize it was an old thread!

[A4orce84]

There is a new version of the Continental DWS's, linked below:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=199

Maybe they have fixed some of their previous issues.

Thanks,
Asif

[rs4dreams]

Snow tires are safer and more fun. Get some cheap winter rims and throw a good set of snow tires on there. You'll have a lot more fun in the snow and with a nice set of summers you won't have to deal with marshmallow AS sidewalls. I hated my DWS's so much I scrapped em with 50% tread left.

To be fair, the DWS's have horribly soft sidewalls. They are not performance tires at all. The Michelin PS A/S 3 is miles better. Arguably better than the crappy stock summers as a performance tire in warm weather actually.

[b8audis4]

Performance and all season should never go in the same sentence.