Replacement Tyres - "AO" marking

[Dr Mcr]

Hi Everyone,

It is replacement tyre time. I have Bridgestone Potenza RE050A 245/45 R17 y(95) AO fitted at moment.

I was thinking of switching to Continental ContactSport 3's, but for that size of tyr they have an "MO" marking, which some tyre sites seem to interpret as Mercedes Only.

Checking the handbook (p250), sure enough it says use tyre with an AO or RO marking as these are "specially matched"

Q1) Does this mean I won't be able to fit the Conti's to my car and I will have to choose either Bridgestone or Michelin, the only tyres carrying the AO marker in this size?

q2) Does anyone else on here pay any attention to their replacement tyres having an AO marker or is it just an audi scam? ;-)

q3) would it matter if I fitted a w rated tyre - I don't understand why I neeed tyres rated for 300km per hour - its a 2litre diesel :biglaugh:

Many thanks in advance.


D.

[Bratty]

"MO" on the tyre means "Mercedes Original" ie. its what theyapprove and would fit at the factory to a new car, I had the same prob finding tyres this year and when I dug into it there is No Difference!!?!! The MO tyre has more stringent testing so that Merc drivers can be happy spending more cash than usual!

Not a bad Info Link http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/reading-tyre-markings-advice.html

Dunk

[Zafi]

Please dont tell me that there is a risk of insurers not paying out if we use tyres that are not marked AO :eek:

[Guest 2]

Please dont tell me that there is a risk of insurers not paying out if we use tyres that are not marked AO :eek:

Just don't tell them :biglaugh:

[streetfighter-r]

There are no requirements to stick with Tyres that are recommended by Audi. This is an interesting thread to see opinions around tyre preference and why.

RE40s were awful but must admit the RE50 is not a bad tyre...I have some way to ho on my set but understanding what is best will put me in good stead for future replacements.

Is everyone replacing to premium summer/sports or going all weather as o know we don't normally change for the winter - just moan about local authorities when we get snowed in, etc!

[Dr Mcr]

There are no requirements to stick with Tyres that are recommended by Audi. This is an interesting thread to see opinions around tyre preference and why.

RE40s were awful but must admit the RE50 is not a bad tyre...I have some way to ho on my set but understanding what is best will put me in good stead for future replacements.

Is everyone replacing to premium summer/sports or going all weather as o know we don't normally change for the winter - just moan about local authorities when we get snowed in, etc!

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

Had the lack of an AO Mark confirmed by Stockport's Audi garage earlier - they said it does not matter - it is just what they fit to the car at the factory. They said they only stock Continental and dunlop but can get others.

More worryingly they said the wheels had to be fitted with y rated tyre as you can't trade down on the letters so I can't get away with w's which are slightly cheaper. The only tyres Continental make with a y rating are 99 load index rather than 95's. Will this make a difference to handling or road noise?

Had good mileage out of re050's but they really were no good in the snow. I live on the edge of the peak district. Lots of rain and lots of snow so I need a tyre that can handle these conditions well. Might consider winter tyres this year though if funds allow. Contis got a very good all round review on Auto Express which is what swayed me.

D.

[Bratty]

Dr Mcr, Conti make tyres in the correct load rating!, that you are Obliged to by In Accordance with your Vehicle handbook to have fitted (A good read when you have a minute)!, I know that it is easy to think (or want to think!) that the dealership is the "ORACLE" but they have been (maybe not yours!?!) shown many a time to be lacking in accurate and commonsense advice. Hope that you do not get ripped off!

Dunk

[Dr Mcr]

Dr Mcr, Conti make tyres in the correct load rating!, that you are Obliged to by In Accordance with your Vehicle handbook to have fitted (A good read when you have a minute)!, I know that it is easy to think (or want to think!) that the dealership is the "ORACLE" but they have been (maybe not yours!?!) shown many a time to be lacking in accurate and commonsense advice. Hope that you do not get ripped off!

Dunk
okay, getting worried again but thanks for all the helpful comments.

I'm assuming what he said about the Y rating is correct - I have to fit Y tyres rather than W to keep within specification

The load rating of the tyres I have is 95. He said you can put a higher load rating on, but not a lower one - is this correct?

I'll see if I can get a 245/45 R17 95Y Continental Contact Sport 3 but I must admit, I thought they only make three ratings at this (245/45) size R17 95W, R17 99Y, ZR17 99Y.

I think they make a contact sport 2 in a 95Y - Is there much of a difference between version 2 and version 3 (other than you might not be able to get hold of them)?

Crikey, I didn't realise buying tyres was this hard. It's harder than buying the car in the first place. Glad I've got all you guys to help me :D

D.

[Zafi]

I took my Winter tyres off today. I hereby declare Winter is over!

Bet I wake up to 6" of snow in the morning ;)

[Dr Mcr]

I took my Winter tyres off today. I hereby declare Winter is over!

Bet I wake up to 6" of snow in the morning ;)

Yay!

White over with frost this morning in Derbyshire! I salute your optimism for tomorrow :biglaugh:

[Rusk]

On my B7 I have conti sport 3s and they were amazing! So much grip!!! They never let go and gave me so much confidence to have fun on the roads (when safe to of course;)).

The B8 I just picked up has Coopers on and they are really bad. They spin up with the slightest right foot motion and understeer when I am feeling adventurous. I am actually considering the expense of swapping all 4 out to conti 3s.

With the conti 3s I never had issues in the wet or even in the snow. Which is amazing when you think the conti website says they are summer DRY weather only :).

One word of warning though. These are very soft (why they have so much grip) and I ripped through a front set in 10k twice. So they are expensive but like all things in life you get what you pay for.

[Dr Mcr]

On my B7 I have conti sport 3s and they were amazing! So much grip!!! They never let go and gave me so much confidence to have fun on the roads (when safe to of course;)).

The B8 I just picked up has Coopers on and they are really bad. They spin up with the slightest right foot motion and understeer when I am feeling adventurous. I am actually considering the expense of swapping all 4 out to conti 3s.

With the conti 3s I never had issues in the wet or even in the snow. Which is amazing when you think the conti website says they are summer DRY weather only :).

One word of warning though. These are very soft (why they have so much grip) and I ripped through a front set in 10k twice. So they are expensive but like all things in life you get what you pay for.

10k :yikes:

I got 28,000 miles out of the Bridgestone. Mind you there's a lot of motorway miles there and a light right foot.

Load index increase:- Trawling the internet, it looks like it is okay to put a tyre with a higher load index on the car. I found some references on a BMW site that suggest it is fine. There is an article on wikipedia (search tyre load index) which references some Euro tyre authority which implies you might have to do something with standard tyre pressure, but I'm guessing that the fitters will sort all that out.

My Tyres have a decent price for them at the mo, but I will see if the Audi garage can match (slightly cheaper than black circles, ctyres and etyres with my local fiter).

Does anyone else have any great discount tyre sites to recommend?

Thanks again.

[satsu]

10k! One of the reason I switched from the RE050A was that I only got 17k out of them, which was very disappointing given how much motorway cruising was in there. I went for a set of Michelin PS3 which I am very happy with - they are a tiny bit louder than the RE050A but much more grippy, especially in the wet, and not half so prone to tramlining on the tiniest little groove in the road.

The speed rating question is an interesting one. Back in 2008 mine came with a set of W-rated RE050A which at 168mph seems ample for a car limited to 155, even if I do ever take it to Germany and find a quiet Autobahn. Looking at the Bridgestone site now they only do Y-rated RE050A (with the exception of a few odd sizes). I wonder if this is actually a cost-saving move on their part - perhaps the extra cost of Y-rated tyres is offset by the benefit of only making the one rating?

I did try to look at the relevant bit of the law on the various government websites but couldn't find the full wording. That said I think that any insurance company would struggle to decline a claim on the basis of inappropriate tyres just because you had dropped a rating from the one the manufacturers just happen to be putting on at the moment. The important thing has to be that the tyres are appropriate for the car e.g. if you had fitted 168mph tyres to a car with a maximum speed of <150 then you should be ok. I'd be quite happy to argue that with the insurer but of course the important question is would you. ;)

[Zafi]

Does anyone else have any great discount tyre sites to recommend?

Thanks again.

eBay. I got a pair of Conti 2 a couple of years back which still had the moulding marks on them for £70 for the pair.

OK, both had a repair plug in them, but they never gave any problems.

Same with my Winter tyres, they had been repaired but were otherwise perfect.

If the area is prepared and the vulcanised repair is carried out properly the repair will outlast the tyre.

[Dr Mcr]

They are ordered (last night).

After shopping around, including eBay. I got a set of Conti Sport 3's, 99Y rated from Kwik Fit. Beleive it or not, they were the cheapest out of everyone I tried at £162 each fitted!

Could have saved another £1.50 per tyre ad I wanted to take the old ones to the tip, but life is too short!

Thanks again for everyone's help regarding the AO mark on the tyre and speed ratings :beerchug:

[Rusk]

Well done. I paid about that at my local Tyre garage. I fear I will be paying more this time round with the 245 instead of 235 :p

[AndyH123]

I went for a set of Michelin PS3 which I am very happy with - they are a tiny bit louder than the RE050A but much more grippy, especially in the wet, and not half so prone to tramlining on the tiniest little groove in the road.

I've just put 2 PS3's on the front and moved the PS2's to the rear. 245 R18 if I recall.. I can remember the price more than the size :) (ouch!)

I'd say the PS3's are quieter than the PS2's. Very happy with performance so far. I'm pretty sure I'm running 97Y's too which I was told was a good thing given the car.