Tyres

[SpinneyA6]

This morning I got in my car, reversed off the drive only to find I had a flat front near side tyre. I removed it and replaced it with the spare and upon inspection there is a 3" tear along the inner wall of the tyre. I've no idea what the cause of this could be.

There were no noticable problems driving the car last night, the only thing I can think of is I've caught it on the kirb reversing off the drive.

So my question is, What tyres shopuld I go for? I'm currently running Pirelli PZero Rosso 255/35 ZR19 I've been quite happy with these although recently I've noticed the car tramlining on motorways.

I've no experience with any other tyres on the car so would be grateful for any thoughts and opinions on this.

[Bratty]

Are you going to Just Change the damaged Tyre? If so is it worn? is the car FWD or Q?

Dunk

[addey]

This morning I got in my car, reversed off the drive only to find I had a flat front near side tyre. I removed it and replaced it with the spare and upon inspection there is a 3" tear along the inner wall of the tyre. I've no idea what the cause of this could be.

There were no noticable problems driving the car last night, the only thing I can think of is I've caught it on the kirb reversing off the drive.

So my question is, What tyres shopuld I go for? I'm currently running Pirelli PZero Rosso 255/35 ZR19 I've been quite happy with these although recently I've noticed the car tramlining on motorways.

I've no experience with any other tyres on the car so would be grateful for any thoughts and opinions on this.

Sorry, no idea what tyre to go for, but i expect the damage was caused by straddling speed humps

[SpinneyA6]

Are you going to Just Change the damaged Tyre? If so is it worn? is the car FWD or Q?

Dunk

The car is a quattro. The tyres are slightly worn but not really in need of replacing. I know your supposed to change all 4 at the same time but I'm hoping to change the front 2 together, then the rears when required.

Sorry, no idea what tyre to go for, but i expect the damage was caused by straddling speed humps

I hadn't considered this, but it is some thing I do. Is it a common cause of this kind of damage?

Thanks for the responses.

[paul b]

I'm running Dunlop Sportmaxx 235/45/17s on my older C5 A6. All in all I prefer them over the Bridgestone Potenza RE050As, Michelin Pilot Sport 2s and Michelin Primacys I've used before.

[fruitbat]

I went for Michelin Pilot Sport 255/35/ZR19 (96Y). The last lot lasted 26k miles which I thought was OK. I was quoted £287 each on BlackCircles.com. In the end I had them done at service by Audi for £300ea fitted, balanced, valves, etc. I have immaculate alloys and went the Audi route because I figured I could shout at them if the alloys got damaged and they would do something about it. (There was no alloy damage in the end)

I had a rear damaged as you describe a year ago on a speed hump made of brick where one brick had been damaged and left a razor like edge.

[addey]

The car is a quattro. The tyres are slightly worn but not really in need of replacing. I know your supposed to change all 4 at the same time but I'm hoping to change the front 2 together, then the rears when required.



I hadn't considered this, but it is some thing I do. Is it a common cause of this kind of damage?

Thanks for the responses.

Yes i think it is getting more common, particularly recently where speed humps have become damaged by the weather. There are lots near me where the sides have broken up, thereby leaving rough edges. The usual advice with speed bumps is to drive one wheel right over the top and keep the other wheel flat on the road.

[SpinneyA6]

I went for Michelin Pilot Sport 255/35/ZR19 (96Y). The last lot lasted 26k miles which I thought was OK.

I was considering these, my brother runs them on his M3 and swears by them. He says, "F**king hell they're expensive!"

I did have a look on www.tyrereviews.co.uk and they get excellent write ups. What where you running before and how do they compare? Obviously to pay £300 a tyre you were suitably impressed.

Yes i think it is getting more common, particularly recently where speed humps have become damaged by the weather. There are lots near me where the sides have broken up, thereby leaving rough edges. The usual advice with speed bumps is to drive one wheel right over the top and keep the other wheel flat on the road.

I think that's what I'll do in future. There seems to be speed bumps appearing everywhere.

[fruitbat]

SpinneyA6, they were on the car when new in 08. When coming to my first change I figured 26k miles was ok, noise level reasonable, some rubber protection for alloys, only the price was eye-watering, but I couldn't find cheaper than £287ea and so £13 premium to be fitted by Audi was worth it. So I have nothing to compare them with, it was more of the same.

To be honest the price played a part, if I was having to pay >£250 a pop, then risking something else that turned out inferior would have made me cry. So I stuck with what I knew.

[JimC64]

Tyres??
When buying tyres, its a lot like buying your car insurance.....shop around, then shop around some more and play them off against each other for the absolute best price, especially if you're buying 2 or more at those prices ITS A BUYERS MARKET!!!
I have 225 x 50 x R17 on mine and have used Continental Contact Sport 2's and also Bridgestone RE050's and both have been excellent tyres in terms of road holding and wear life as well as road noise IMO.
I am however, a firm fan of the Pirelli brand having used them over hundreds of thousands of miles, especially great in the wet.
I had prices for the Contis coming back anwhere between £185 and £165 and ended up getting them from ( of all placed my local Kwik Fit ) for £130 each fitted, balanced etc etc.
The trick is that I made an arrangement with them to take all my cars to them and get the absolute best price every time, telling themthat they'll get the last chance at the order before I go elsewhere.
I could have had them from viking international......check them out www.viking.co.uk , as they supply the trade as well as do cash sales ....for £123 each but then would have had to have had them fitted anyways!

Essentially, the cheapest I could have got my tyres for a set of 4 was around £500 and the most expensive ( had I not checked ) would have been £740.00.....Bigggggg difference!!

Something else to consider - A few years ago I needed to change 2 rear tyres, but wasn't happy with my 8 twin spoke alloys

and wanted a change.
2 tyres were going to set me back around £280
In the end I got a "Brand spanking new set of 5 spoke TT alloys with Brand new Continental Conti Sport 2 tyres delivered to my door ( cost new around £2000 - £2500 ) for £430 bought of Ebay
These are shown after many miles and coming to the end of their life

The kicker was when I sold my "old" but immaculate alloys with 2 good tyres on the same site for £220............YOU WORK IT OUT

Anyhow, hope this has given you some ideas