PWWildboy

According to the calculator, you could get away with a 205-55-16 diameter-wize if you wanted to go narrower for winters. Not sure about clearances for the 16" wheel on the A3 though. You would need to research the use of 16" wheels on your A3, Tire Rack is a good site to check out that kind of info.

tweev

Thanks for the direct!

tweev

oK, So I think I'm going to buy a set from tire rack. Because I'm moving to Victoria I'm going to get Summer tires ONLY. Hopefully I can pick up some rims off craigslist and if the winter's start to get messy, pick up a set of winters and swap the, when necessary. Sound like a good idea?

These are the the two tires I'm thinking of for 2009 Audi A3 2.0T FWD Base Model:


225/45ZR17 XL Michelin Pilot Super Sport Blackwall
$169.00 $676.00 for 4

225/45ZR17 Continental ExtremeContact DW Blackwall
$132.00 $528.00 for 4

It's simply based on reviews (and some price). What do you guys think?

Axel

Have you considered these?

Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110

I just got them myself and they're excellent summer only tires for a superb price. Read up on the reviews. Nothing but good stuff about them.

As for the earlier comment about brands having some crap tires, I totally agree. Just cause one brand's top of the line tire might be excellent, doesn't mean their entire line is good too. I bought my S4 used and the previous owner had some Michelin Pilot all-seasons on them and they were so bad, I threw them out before they were totally worn down. I considered them dangerous. My sport winter tires have better grip, handling, stopping, everything than these POS Michelin all-seasons.

When buying tires, read a lot of reviews and parse out the dumb comments (such as reading reviews on Max Performance Summer tires and seeing people comment "They suck! I can't drive in the snow with them!". No **** Sherlock.

tweev

I just spoke with a work college and he said I should just get all seasons and not worry about it. He has a point. Then I don't need to source additional wheels and maybe juts throw on the winter tires for a month a year.

Based on that, these look pretty good (based on price/reviews):
Continental ExtremeContact DWS

Looks like on tire rack that you can order the tires, have them delivered to a shop and have them installed there. Sounds pretty sweet and something I can get done at the end of my road trip up the coast.

Axel

I guess if you're going to be living in Vancouver, snow isn't as big of a concern. Furthermore, if you're not an aggressive driver, then high performance summer tires may be overkill so all-seasons may be best for you indeed. In Toronto, it snows enough that I wanted dedicated snow tires (albeit performance ones) and dedicated summer tires (I tend to drive fairly aggressively).

As for the Continentals you pointed out, I can't comment as I've never tried them myself. Good luck!

PWWildboy

I have the Continentals now extremes, traction is good but I got them used and the camber must have been out on the car they came off of because they are cupped. That causes them to be excessivly noisy at low speeds. I am going to put up with them for this season because my employment is on strike but next season, I am replacing them. I've had several Michelins over the years and I always loose one part way through the wear and end up having to by two to keep a match going and can never get rid of them. I have that going now on the Lexus winters and ended up finding a used tire that got me by. It gets Nokians next winter, took them off the Audi and am buying wheels through the summer.
Keep us posted on the experience. Thanks.
Len.

tweev

It's difficult to price compare between US and canada because many sites scan your IP to know if you are in Canada or the US and it can be difficult to get pricing.

Anyway, looking at:
1010tires.com
Continental ExtremeContact DWS Tires - 245/45ZR17 245/45ZR17
540-A-A W 95 BW $149.99 + tax and GST (15%?) looking at $690 after tax plus install and shipping; and not in stock)

--- > Got ths US dollar price including tax & shipping: $838.48 (USD)

Tirerack
225/45ZR17 Continental ExtremeContact DWS Blackwall
$126.00 $504.00: There is no tax and shipping is about $$57.72. Total $560

Looks like this way I'll save ~ $300. Yup, that's worth the hassle!

spleen

a 235/40 tire is very close in outer diameter, only 1.5% larger than stock. this translates to 1.5% higher actual speed than what you get now. Since my A3 speedo read about 3 or 4% high on the stock tires, I figure I'm just making my speedo MORE accurate. If you find yours reads a bit lower than actual speed too, you'd be fine with a 235/40.

235s run fine on the stock 17x7.5" wheel, I ran them for about two months before I got 17x8" wheels with no problems. That said, I might have been a little concerend if I'd tracked the car hard or done any autocross in it while they were onb the stock wheel.

Aspect ratio (40,45, 50 etc.) doesn't matter for fitting to the wheel, just rim diamter (17) and width (7.5, 8, etc.)

A 235/50 tire has about 2inches larger diameter than a 235/40 tire. That's one less inch between tire and fender... I would seriously worry about rubbing with that tire, especially if you have a sport suspension or lowered aftermarket suspension! Plus that's just a fat looking tire for a sporty car - I think it would look a bit silly.

spleen

In the 1010 tire quote, you listed a size of 245/45. Was that just a typo? If you used that to get your price from them, it's not a fair comparison to a 225/45 at tirerack. With tires, more rubber usually means higher price.

If you did mean a 245/45/17 from 1010tires, you should know that 245/45 is too big for a car that comes stock with 225/45s. If you want a 245 wide tire, you should be running a 245/40 to keep the same sidewall height.