Tyres

[Tommo 1]

Does anyone have a tyre recommendation for a 50 TDi Quattro ? I have scrubbed the Pirelli’s in 13k miles with a good % of motorway work !

[Magnet]

Hello Mike, 

Of course, the obvious bit is that the mileage tyres will do will be highly influenced by driving styles, and the average journey pattern - the latter often being overlooked. 

An acquaintance runs an executive hire fleet and he generally uses Continental (Contact 5 I believe) on Mercedes etc. and is very pleased with the service and mileage he gets from them. I tried them on the ordinary A3, and found for our normal short hop tyre journeys that they are not lasting very well. For his mainly motorway journeys - they do. 

I could be wrong here Mike, but since you say you have scrubbed (rather than using the word worn) the tread on Pirelli s on mainly motorway travel, that your driving style may be ‘enthusiastic’, and perhaps 13k is really not too bad. 

For me, I’ve returned to Michelin, which although cost a little more, are a more cost effective miles for £s in the long run. 

Of course, there are other important considerations here, such as road holding in varying conditions, and these factors have to be taken into account as well as how long they last.

No doubt others will be along with their experiences of makes they use. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Tommo 1]

Hi Gareth,

I agree with your driving observations ! I have historically been hard on tyres and to clarify, scrubbed = worn - just my terminology.
Interestingly my last car was the A6 Avant bi turbo (320 bhp) and for whatever reason I had much better tyre wear on this and stuck with Pirelli’s. (Up to 25k miles per set).

Following a conversation with Camskill today ( I have used them as suppliers for many years) I was told that many “premium” tyres are now not manufactured to last more than 10 - 12 k miles ! I was informed 15k would be very good ! Having gone through the options they also felt that the Contact 5’s (as opposed to the newer Contact 6’s) may be the best option. This accords with your above info.

Like you, I have always felt Michelin to be the tyres for longevity but let’s wait and see if any others have views. Bridgestones also tend to be a harder tyre and can have good wear......

Thanks for info.....

 

Mike......