A2 Tyres

Wookiee

Wookiee

Member
I will require some new tyres shortly and have been scouring the internet for prices. I currently have Michelin Pilot Primacy 185/50 running on the 16 inch 6 spoke alloys (standard on the 1.4 TDI (75) SE model). Am I right in declaring that the these particular Michelin tyres are becoming harder to source or am I looking in the wrong places. Others are available such as the Pirelli P6000 and Kumo but I would prefer a tyrewall protector.

Does anyone have any views upon the Michelin tyres or are there others which are better available?

Any information at this point would be appreciated.
 
Hi Wookiee, I'm currently running Vredestein sportrac 2's at 205x50x16 on my tdi sport good tyre, got the set fitted for £200.00 at my local dealer, you might want to try www.mytyres.co.uk they have some great deals and can be fitted locally to you, the larger size has corrected my speedo according to my GPS scamera detector. Hope this helps
 
You're right in saying the Michelins are a pain to get hold of. We've had 2 punctures so far and as the tyres were still fairly new we only wanted to replace the damaged tyre and not a pair - so we wanted another Michelin primacy.
We had to scout round a 50 mile radius until we found one the first time round but for the second we found one just down the road.
When phoning round, make sure they DO actually have them in stock as several reckoned they did but on arrival didn't.
When ours wear naturally & need replacement we shall go for a different make.
 
I have replaced both front tyres with the Kumho ecsta KH11 from here:
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m4b0s297p2356
They cost £42 each and in my opinion are spot on for the money.
They do look a lot better in the flesh than in the above link.
They have a squarer shaped profile and a built in rim protector,as soon as the the Pirelli P6000 wear out on the rear a set of these will be going on.
Also Audi and VW have specified Kumho tyres on some of the later Polos and A2's.
 
Hi Wookiee

I'm running 205x45x16, I'm now running goodyear F1's previously I had been running Dunlop SP9000's (I love these tyres!).

By running the 45 profile, you are keeping the original rolling radius (well albeit 1mm).

I paid £75 each for my tyres.

hth

bba
 
Michelin were reported to have stopped making the 185/50 about a year or so ago so if you do find one check the date of manufacture on it. Tyres do age - or so Semperit told me years ago when I had a blowout on the M1 at 70mph.

Our first A2 had Michelins (and two punctures) luckily both repairable, this one has Continentals.
 
We have had Kumho's on our 75TDI SE for about 5 months now. They have given excellent service - no complaints at all.
 
We had Kumho's on our last car a Rover 420SLi which replaced
BFGoodrich Profiler's and lasted twice as long at half the price i would not hessitate to use them again .............
 
Hi there, not posted on here for a long time and didn't post much a while back to be honest, no doubt i'll be on here more often now as i'm looking at doing a few things to my a2. But i've just had to buy some new front tyres and ended up going for some Toyo Proxes T1Rs, I had the same tyres on my old car (clio) and found they were great in the dry and especially in the wet, i've been doing a search on quite a few sites as well to try and find the cheapest prices.

The main problem i found whilst looking was the size of tyre, my 16" alloy uses and the lack of tyre dealers that stock the 185/50 r 16 size. I ordered my tyres from camskill yesterday afternoon and they arrived this morning, ready to get them fitted by my mates garage tomorrow. I could get back to you in a week to give a review of them, but i already have a good idea of how well the tyres will cope, so if you've got any questions feel free to ask!

A picture of the tyres - http://toyotires.jp/cm/images/topics_050328_1.jpg

Mike
 
I had to replace my front tyres last year and I went for the original make which was Michellin the old ones had done nearly 30,000 miles and were nearly down to the markers just so I replaced them. Dont like leaving it until they get down to the legal limit usually change tyres at 2mm or just above. They cost me £80 each fitted which I suppose is not cheap but some tyre garages wanted over £100 each. Soon will have to replace the rear tryes maybe before the MOT not sure yet.
 
Just replaced the front Pirelli's with Dunlop SP Sport 9000 185/50/16 - How good do they look and they have excellent reviews and rim protectors!! They did cost £170 for the pair fitted, but I will never skimp on my tyres, they are the only thing that keep the car on the black stuff. So I always recomend people tread carefully with "budget" tyres.

ps This is my first Post on these pages - Excellent site, v-interesting Congratulations to all concerned!
 
Copy of thread from 1/11/05

Hi all.

In response to Manhattan$'s query, here is a copy of a thread I contributed to last November re. tyres:-

I've had my A2 Colour Storm for 3 weeks now - absolutely brilliant car. However, although those 17" alloys may look the nuts, they are prone to even the slightest run in with the kerb (as the delivery man from Audi discovered).

So, after several days agonising over the A2OC forum archives and Audi agreeing to refurb the wheels I've decided to part with £300 for a complete set of Falken Ziex 512's, 215/45/17 to replace my Pirelli / Kumho 205/40/17 mix.

So far I'm impressed. The rim protection offered is much better, albeit just 7mm proud of the rim; they grip very well in both wet and dry; are noticeably quieter and as for comfort are loads better.

I was concerned about up-sizing but have had recommendations to do so by several independent tyre specialists. All agreed that in doing so would further increase rim protection and improve the ride - without presenting any compatability problems. There isn't any rubbing on the arches and I had four adults and shopping in the A2 at the weekend - no problem.

I was also told that a bigger tyre would affect the speedo reading - this has not been the case.
I measured 71mph in fifth gear at 2600rpm on the original size tyres and get exactly the same reading with my new Falkens?!?!

I considered the Avons, but were told they weren't that good although they do have the biggest sidewall protection; Toyo Proxes seemed to read up well but didn't seem to offer great longevity from what I've read about them; and the Bridgestone's were too expensive for me - particularly as I didn't really need new tyres in the first place.

Well, that's 1/2 hour of work time wasted on talking about tyres............I must get out more often!


Eeeboy.
 
Oh! And I forgot to mention I got them at Watling Tyres in Redhill. £300 (all inc.) for the set and they gave me my old ones back which I recently eBayed for over £100 - result! Great guys and a very professional service.

www.watlingtyres.co.uk
 
thanks for the info eeeboy!

i know about the kerbing problems with the rs4 rims,my old tt had 18"rs4's which i managed to keep perfect though,lol (miracle) :eek:

its good to know that the 215's will offer more rim protection,not that i have found a specced tdi sport yet! :rolleyes:
 
Hi eeeboy

Your new tyres are approx 5% bigger in diameter than to 205/40/17's so for the same engine rpm you will actually be going 5% faster regardless of the speedo reading. This is not always a bad thing as most speedos read a few percent fast so it may actually be slightly more accurate than before.
The easiest way to check your speedo accuracy is by driving in convoy with someone who has sat nav

Cheers Spike
 
I have resently put Pirelli P6000 on my A2 tdi, having done 75k on the original Michelins. They cost £80 a corner but unfortunately the grip and the cornering just isn't as good. The only good thing is they don't have a rotation direction unlike the Michelins, so tyre swapping is easier....
 
Cheers for all the reviews. Currently looking through all the information posted and will make a decision at renewal time (availibility pending).

Over the past week I have experienced wheel spinning when accelerating. Do other drivers (just a matter of interest) have these experiences with their A2's on damp road surfaces?
 
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