Ticanuck

Hi all,

Sorry in advance if this question has already been asked & answered. I looked around the forum but I am having trouble finding something!

I just bought my car - 2007 A4 cab - in November of last year and it came with a set of good winter tires + an extra set of mags.

- Should I now get summer or all season tires? I am a careful and non-aggressive driver - mainly use car to commute ~30k to work everyday (both ways).
- What tires would you recommend? Toyo or Michelline - I hear they both have good quality, but what would be best for my Audi?
- Also, any good recommended places in Ottawa to buy tires?

Sorry for the many questions! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - am a new car owner. Many thanks!

mikeh

There have been many questions on tires in this forum and it comes down to a number of variables such as type of driving, level of performance you are expecting and of course cost. Not that I am supporting any particular supplier but tirerack.com is an excellent place to read some reviews and they will deliver to your front door. I read that you already have winter tires so why not buy pure summer tires and get the advantage of better performance? I currently have Continentals for the summer and Pirrelli in the winter. After some research my next set of summers will probably be Michellin Pilot. Just my opinion. Good luck.

KLD

You'll get as many different opinions on what is "best" as there are people posting, so you have to go with what you feel comfortable with. Tirerack.com is a great place for information and can be a competitive choice but you have to factor in the cost of having them mounted once you get them here as well i.e +$100 or so. Some people will have them delivered to the UPS Store in Ogdensburg and go across the border to pick them up themselves saving the extra shipping and brokerage fees. Tirerack gives all of the fees once you put tires in your cart.

FWIW, I ended up ordering ordering Bridgestone RE760 Sports from Talon Tire in Montreal. They are highly rated in their category on Tirerack.com and the price was withing $25 of ordering them from the US.

Other places in Ottawa are Frisby's (usually expensive), Kanata Rims and Tires (good prices but you may end up with lesser tires if you go only on price, and some order from Ottawa Tires Direct who import grey market tires from the US - again know what you want first.

Good Luck.

Ticanuck

Thanks very much for the info & advice. Just checked out Tiretrack.com - it's great and I am learning quite a lot. I was going to actually give up & just call the local Audi dealer & get them to put the "right stuff," but think I am going to be able to make a more informed decision now. Many thanks indeed.

xitan

How do you like the Bridgeston RE760? I am looking into purchasing these tires.

KLD

I don't have them yet - they are being shipped right now and won't make it on the car for another week or two since I am have two wheels refinished because of curb damage. I chose them pretty much on as a paper exercise based given how they would be driven (fairly easily) vs cost. The Tirerack tests were the biggest source of information.