AO Tyres? Will I die?
Discussion
My Skoda Superb 1.4Tsi has factory fitted Continental TS815s in 215/55 R17 94V. As they are down to 4mm at the front after 14K miles I'm looking to see what is available in all seasons that size. Maybe replace once below 3mm
I've been happy with the performance of the TS815s but would prefer Goodyear Vector 4 Seaons Gen2 when I replace them. They didn't perform as well in snow as Goodyears on my Octavia and look like giving a bit less life as well. Granted the Superb is a bigger car.
The Goodyears in that size seem to be either a 98 load rating presumably giving a slightly harsher ride or else the 94V AO version supposedly Audi only. In fact National Tyres website says they are not to be fitted to non Audi cars.
As the Superb is very similar to the Audi A6 is there any reason not to fit the AO tyres. AS far as the load rating goes I've not had any issues and 95% of the time the car has one or two adults and 40kg of dogs. I'd consider Michelin Crossclimates as well but again they seem to be 98 rather than the OE 94 load rating.
https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/Tyres/Goodyear/Vec...
https://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search?wi...
I've been happy with the performance of the TS815s but would prefer Goodyear Vector 4 Seaons Gen2 when I replace them. They didn't perform as well in snow as Goodyears on my Octavia and look like giving a bit less life as well. Granted the Superb is a bigger car.
The Goodyears in that size seem to be either a 98 load rating presumably giving a slightly harsher ride or else the 94V AO version supposedly Audi only. In fact National Tyres website says they are not to be fitted to non Audi cars.
As the Superb is very similar to the Audi A6 is there any reason not to fit the AO tyres. AS far as the load rating goes I've not had any issues and 95% of the time the car has one or two adults and 40kg of dogs. I'd consider Michelin Crossclimates as well but again they seem to be 98 rather than the OE 94 load rating.
https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/Tyres/Goodyear/Vec...
https://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search?wi...
Edited by irc on Tuesday 20th August 18:40
Crack on with the AO. I have done it before and also used other car man OE rated tyres and never had issues. I have no insiders knowledge evidence to back up my view though but my intuition is that the difference are minimal and comparable to the difference between different brand tyres anyway irrespective of manufacturers rating/code.
On a side note, is it just me who wonders about the wisdom of developing tyres for one specific vehicle, as seems to be the trend on high performance models nowadays?
It's difficult enough to get high performance tyres in the correct size for older vehicles nowadays, especially anything with less than a 15" or 16" wheel, so I have to wonder whether tyre manufacturers are really going to bother making model-specific tyres in, say, 10 years time, when the pool of vehicles requiring them might be very small in number (compared to the millions of 'standard' vehicles that aren't fussy about tyre choice).
It's difficult enough to get high performance tyres in the correct size for older vehicles nowadays, especially anything with less than a 15" or 16" wheel, so I have to wonder whether tyre manufacturers are really going to bother making model-specific tyres in, say, 10 years time, when the pool of vehicles requiring them might be very small in number (compared to the millions of 'standard' vehicles that aren't fussy about tyre choice).
RSTurboPaul said:
...is it just me who wonders about the wisdom of developing tyres for one specific vehicle....
...and how different are they? The cynic in me thinks that it is the trade off for getting the partnership with the manufacturer, sell them thousands of tyres for new cars at minimal markup and then be able to sell the 'marked' tyres at a premium going forward when they are no different to the normal tyre.Truckosaurus said:
...and how different are they? The cynic in me thinks that it is the trade off for getting the partnership with the manufacturer, sell them thousands of tyres for new cars at minimal markup and then be able to sell the 'marked' tyres at a premium going forward when they are no different to the normal tyre.
Exactly!! How many VAG & Mercs are out there with non AO and MO tyres? In the event of an accident would an insurance company say they are not paying out? Interesting twist maybe? Pupbelly said:
Exactly!! How many VAG & Mercs are out there with non AO and MO tyres? In the event of an accident would an insurance company say they are not paying out? Interesting twist maybe?
No, they wouldn't. as long as the tyres are the right size and correctly speed/load rated, and have the appropriate E marking, they can't wiggle out of paying based on brand etc. Shakermaker said:
No, they wouldn't. as long as the tyres are the right size and correctly speed/load rated, and have the appropriate E marking, they can't wiggle out of paying based on brand etc.
I've always thought that's got to be the next way they make more money by loading premiums. Say my Imaginary Mclaren P1, and I put some £50 "black circles value choice" tyres on it instead of the £200 Pilot sports, surely there's a lot more risk of an accident? But in insurers minds, theyre both just as safe as each other. Lazadude said:
Shakermaker said:
No, they wouldn't. as long as the tyres are the right size and correctly speed/load rated, and have the appropriate E marking, they can't wiggle out of paying based on brand etc.
I've always thought that's got to be the next way they make more money by loading premiums. Say my Imaginary Mclaren P1, and I put some £50 "black circles value choice" tyres on it instead of the £200 Pilot sports, surely there's a lot more risk of an accident? But in insurers minds, theyre both just as safe as each other. I see many performance cars and quick luxury cars sat on budget "Linglong" tyres and it does beg a question that if the owner does stack their lovely (insert quick car name) whether the insurance companies give a hoot or not?
Lazadude said:
I've always thought that's got to be the next way they make more money by loading premiums. Say my Imaginary Mclaren P1, and I put some £50 "black circles value choice" tyres on it instead of the £200 Pilot sports, surely there's a lot more risk of an accident? But in insurers minds, theyre both just as safe as each other.
Warped analogy as I bet the tyres for a P1 cost significantly more than £200 and won't be available in the blackcircles budget range.But if someone did come to market with a suitably speed rated and sized tyre for the P1, got it E marked etc, then yeah, go for it if you want to. I don't have experience with many high-performance cars, the nearest I can get is an 80s BMW but most of the performance models have much wider tyres that the budget makers won't do, they're catering to the mass market?
I don't expect you'll be getting any 295-width Linglongs
(I'm sure someone will now find them for me)
Truckosaurus said:
RSTurboPaul said:
...is it just me who wonders about the wisdom of developing tyres for one specific vehicle....
...and how different are they? The cynic in me thinks that it is the trade off for getting the partnership with the manufacturer, sell them thousands of tyres for new cars at minimal markup and then be able to sell the 'marked' tyres at a premium going forward when they are no different to the normal tyre.Outside of what they try to achieve in terms of dynamic handling, there are also considerations for NVH and rolling resistance and that’s before you get into any quirks that the vehicle has which the tyres can help mitigate.
My Cupra had AO tyres fitted by the insurance company they're Pirelli p zeros which I believe are for the RS3. They fitted these because they apparently couldn't get the (LS) p zero that the car originally came with... Apparently.
The only difference I see is the that sidewall has a strange profile in that they taper from the bead to the tread, I'm not sure if this is for clearance on something on the RS3. The Goodyear's I have on the front have a much squarer sidewall.
The only difference I see is the that sidewall has a strange profile in that they taper from the bead to the tread, I'm not sure if this is for clearance on something on the RS3. The Goodyear's I have on the front have a much squarer sidewall.
Darren93 said:
My Cupra had AO tyres fitted by the insurance company they're Pirelli p zeros which I believe are for the RS3. They fitted these because they apparently couldn't get the (LS) p zero that the car originally came with... Apparently.
The only difference I see is the that sidewall has a strange profile in that they taper from the bead to the tread, I'm not sure if this is for clearance on something on the RS3. The Goodyear's I have on the front have a much squarer sidewall.
Yep, the AO variants have an extra lip on the sidewall. If you stick a normal 235/225 on an RS3 the wheel gets smothered in stone chips in no time (ask me how I know).The only difference I see is the that sidewall has a strange profile in that they taper from the bead to the tread, I'm not sure if this is for clearance on something on the RS3. The Goodyear's I have on the front have a much squarer sidewall.
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