A4 Tires

Initial Review, 50 Miles on Tires
February 14, 2013

I finally replaced my OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE050A to these after tons of research. I was considering Micherin PS2 A/S, Bridestone Turanza /w serenity plus. I decided to try most recent technology from American company.

I do hard cornering and enjoy grip driving so I do understand Potenza's limit. This one has better steering response than Potenza which is max performance summer tire. However, comfort and noise level is somewhat worse than Pirelli P6 A/S and same as Potenza RE050A.

I will update this review after break-in.

Initial Review, 8,500 Miles on Tires
February 10, 2013

Absolutely magnificent tire!! Two days ago we had about 6 inches of snow and this tire just absolutely blew me away with how well it performed in the snow and ice. I kid you not, with my Camry, I could accelerate off of street lights as well as a 4x4 driving next to me. Stopping was no contest, I easily braked better.

As for wear, so far I'm almost 10K in and the tires show no wear whatsoever.

In the dry they aren't quite as sticky as the Sumitomos I replaced, nor are they as quiet, but in the wet they are about equal and in the snow there is no contest. The Sumitomos were not only bad, but dangerous and bordering on suicidal.

Comfort-wise the tires have a smooth soft ride, which probably explains the slight lack of steering response. They need a split-second to set up before they respond. Certainly nothing that is an issue in even spirited driving. On a track it might be a bit unnerving, but on the street its nothing to even think about.

Would I buy these again? As long as these are an option for a car I drive in all seasons, these will be on it!!!!

Initial Review, 33,000 Miles on Tires
January 11, 2013

Unlike other reviews, i found these tires to be pretty good and i constantly drive 70+ mph, sometimes hitting triple digits and found that the faster i go the more grounded i felt. Good cornering on dry and wet roads, decent thread wear. I put on over 30k and found the tires to have sufficient thread left but the traction definitely has diminished after about 15k miles. My only issue with these tires is their supposively snow traction, which is almost non-existent.

Initial Review, 400 Miles on Tires
December 29, 2012

I recently came back from a deployment and I needed new tires badly. The old ones were on the verge of dry rot. I needed a good tire due to living in Southern Georgia you have to be able to run on some highways and some city areas like the ATL, Savannah, and Augusta. Also it rains a great deal so exceptional tires are needed in GA. I have had them for less than a month now and I am very pleased with them. I went to visit my sister for Christmas and I had to drive through a pretty heavy rain storm for at least 2 hours of the 4 hour plus drive on HWY 16. These tires hug the road great. During that ride I was going b/t 75 to 80 MPH on the highway and had total control of the wet HWY. They cut through wet roads;) Huge difference from my old tires. My car is an AWD so with these tires you can definitely feel the control of the road. I am very happy with these tires.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
January 28, 2013

I bought my 88 Toyota 4x4 P/U in 2004. (95,000 original miles) Nick named "MINI MONSTER" by fellow 4x4 Club members, Previous owner gave it a 4" frame (suspension) lift and 5" Body lift, sporting BFG 33" tires. Being a redneck Female, I thought bigger tires were needed. After doing some off-road 4 wheeling with friends & much researching & gathering male opinions, I decided to replace the 33's with 35" & change the Brand. Using Tire Racks web site I searched brands. First sight of the Dunlop Mud Rovers and my search was over. The Meaty look of the tires would add a finishing touch to My Toy. In 2006 I purchased the 4 tires for appx. $150 each from the Rack. Off Roading in the Nevada Desert, salt flats & sand became a lot more thrilling for me. The tires dug right in with every condition. The first big snow when I pulled a STUCK full sized Ford P/U to Safety, I knew, once again I made the best choice in tires. Throughout the past years I have received many compliments on these tires,& have been the reason some have decided to replace their brand & style to these. 7 years & 10,000 miles later (not my commuter vehicle) when they're clean, these tires look as good as when new. Amazement over no dry rotting. Now 7 years later, after having a tire slashed, you could see where it took 3 attempts to get the knife blade to finally go through the sidewall, I was delighted to discover from Tire Rack that the price for replacement had only increased by $50. Thank You Dunlop for the Mud Rover Tire.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
August 19, 2011

Replaced GoodYear Eagles that were High performance Summer only tires (Garbage). Having never used Hankook tires before I was interested to see how well they would perform and thus far they have not let me down. Much quieter than I expected, great dry and wet handling. I hope I get good mileage out of them as I really like the tire.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
January 04, 2013

I orginally encountered these tires three years ago when I put them on my 1997 Tacoma 4X4. I used them through three New York winters and was quite happy with their performance. In May of 2012, I purchased a new Tacoma with Dunlop Grandtrek AT20s installed. After looking at the tread on these passenger tires, I was underwhelmed, but decided to give them a chance. Who wants to cough up hundreds of dollars on new tires for a new truck? I used them until December and our first dusting of snow. I immediately called the tire store and ordered a set of the General Grabbers. The shop got them on literally minutes before we got hit with 10 inches of snow. If you've ever been to the Ithaca area, you know we have hills...lots of them! During the worst of the storm, the truck handled confidently. The tires are noisier on the highway, but I expect that from an LT tire. I no longer spinout on slight inclines and hydroplane in the rain. The Grabbers allow my truck to act like a 4X4 and get around in all sorts of weather which is why I bought her in the first place.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
January 11, 2013

Excellent, well balance tire. I installed it on my '11 A4 quattro and the car drives like it is unstoppable regardless of the road conditions. However, its best trait is its ability to go from dry, wet, snow, and anything in between, while not sacrificing handling and traction.

Initial Review, 9,000 Miles on Tires
January 11, 2013

These tires were purchased to replace the crappy OEM Goodyear Eagle's. So far the Kuhmos have been an excellent choice, for the money!! After 9000 miles, these kuhmos' have seen heavy water, light snow, deep snow, and ice. These tires have pleasantly handled all conditions. They are very strong in dry, and wet. During this December the deeper snow and the typical slush (in N.E. USA and Canada) were not as easy to handle with these tires. These Kuhmos are rated for 55k miles tread life. But i doubt that will be acheived. For a ZR rated tire is suppose that is to be expected. The least favorite attribute is the higher than normal road noise. Overall we are happy the value of these Kuhmo's, expecially considering the price! Worth considering as an alternative.

Initial Review, 12,700 Miles on Tires
January 15, 2013

These were the OE tires on my Jeep Patriot. I just took them off today to go to larger tires with a more aggressive tread. Overall for an OE passenger car class tire, on a 4WD suv/cuv, they performed very well( even in the snow ). While they would not have been my 1st choice of tire for the vehicle, and many people beat them up, they were much better than I expected. I drove in a few really bad snow storms and never had a problem with them although that may have been more a credit to the 4WD system in the Jeep than the tires? Still, they didn't hurt me in anyway. Only real complaint would be they seemed to be loud on certain rode types. Other road types very quiet. Other than that not a bad car tire. Just not really an appropriate tire for a 4WD suv/cuv IMO. New tread was 11/32 and when measured today they all had 8/32 left( very even wear ).

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
December 03, 2012

Good tire - one observation - one of them got a bubble on the sidewall after 9 months of driving, probably from a pothole - This is the first time I get such a thing on a tire after 45 years of driving.
I was told that warranty does not apply in these cases and I had to pay for a new tire.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
December 25, 2012

An excellent winter tire - truly shines in the muck of an Iowa winter. With these tires, my rear-wheel-drive BMW 335i takes to icy and snowy hills as well as, if not better than, my previous all-wheel-drive (Audi A4). They are also extremely quiet on the highway, much quieter than the summer performance tires the car came with. They are a bit less stable in the dry, but that makes sense. These are great winter tires.

Initial Review, 5,100 Miles on Tires
January 04, 2013

These tires were standard equipment on my 2012 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab 4X4. I was skeptical when I received a 4X4 vehicle with a passenger tire on it. I decided to give them a chance and drove them for 5,000 miles. Their performance in the rain was disappointing to say the least. You end up spinning out at level intersections and on a slight hill it was even worse. In sand or gravel, I didn't feel confident that the truck was going to stay where I wanted it. After a dusting of snow here in Ithaca, New York, I felt like I was driving a Mini Cooper instead of a 4X4. I called the tire store and ordered a new set of General Grabber AT2s on the truck. The garage managed to get them on an hour before we got 10 inches of snow. The truck handles great and I have no qualms taking it out in the snow. No more slipping on wet pavement and sand and stopping on inclines is no problem. For the highway or someplace flat with no snow, the Dunlops would be fine, but if you live in a hilly, snowy area, you should find a better tire.

Initial Review, 9,500 Miles on Tires
January 13, 2013

Well Its been exactly 1 year and just shy of 10,000 (9,500) Miles on a new set of DWS, and I find my self looking for tires again. Sad.
I am not the type to usually write reviews, but I felt I needed to say something about my experience with these tires.
Purchased a new set of 4 DWS tires for our 03 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro. Had my installer install, balance and do a full alignment on the car before using the tires. BTW, alignment on the car was perfect before running the tires, and is still perfect. Now approx 9,500 miles the rear tires are completely worn down so badly the look like racing slicks. These tires were rotated properly, and its an AWD car, so there was no "aggresive" spinning of the rear tires.....its acctually impossible in this car. The tires are worn perfectly down to nothing. Not an alignment problem. The tires started out o.k., a little loud at first but handling was pretty good. Then started noticing some balance issues, tires began to vibrate badly, and installers could never get them perfect. Was very bad when the tires were cold, like they were flat spotting. A noticable "thump,thump,Thump" for at least 10-20 miles before they would start to get a little more tolerable. Its my wifes car, and never realized how bad it had become until I recently drove the car. Totaly unacceptable is all I have to say. Even the cheapest of tires (which the DWS is NOT) can handle 10,000 miles on a properly aligned and carefully driven car. Just shaking my head.......
Now Since I have 2 tires that are still decent......do I just buy 2 more DWS and make it another year before needing tirs again.......NOT. I am going to replace all 4 AGAIN with something that will last at least a few years and 25,000 miles.
I purchased these from Tirerack, where I get most of my tires from. I just dont feel like fighting with Continental for Warrantee coverage. Probably going to put some Hankook Ventus V4 ES's on now. I have had a few sets of the V4's now. Love them!
DWS not so much!

Initial Review, 17,000 Miles on Tires
January 28, 2012

I put these tires on my 330ci ZHP (sport pkg) to replace the Bridgestone RE040's that came on it. The difference was striking. The RE040's were rock-hard with a tendency to tramline and wander. Anyone who has this car knows how responsive the steering is (could also be related to the staggered setup). Living in the Seattle area I wanted something that could get me through all seasons yet still be a performance tire. The Pilot Sport A/S looked like they would fit the bill.

The tires are very quiet (I could actually hear the engine and exhaust over the road noise!) and they ride smooth. Of course, the smooth ride comes at the expense of a bit of cornering. I believe the sidewalls are a bit softer than I'd like for way I drive, and the turn-in could be a bit quicker, but it's trade-off I've made for now. Driving through a dumping rain storm in the Siskiyou range last year with water sheeting down the road surface, I never felt any indication of hydroplaning. These tires do a good job of cutting through standing water. I can't speak to snow/ice traction because the car stays in the garage on snow days.

After 17000 miles they are still pretty quiet though not as quiet as when new. The treadwear is good with 6/32 and 8/32 remaining on rear and front, respectively. I'm not sure if I will buy these tires again because I'd like a slightly stiffer sidewall. I just put Conti Extreme Contact DWS on my wife's 2010 A4, and so far those seem to grip the road like crazy. I'll see how those last and may try them next if I decide to go with all-season's again.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
February 10, 2011

These came on my certified pre-owned Audi A4. The dealer installed them prior to delivery. Maybe it's the Quattro system on my car, but I had zero trouble driving on inch-thick ice and snow at moderate highway speeds (50 mph). I was very surprised at this, as these tires do not make obvious claims about being good in snow/ice by the way the tread pattern was designed. They were a little noisy when brand-new, but they seem to have gotten quieter and smoother after initial break-in. I think a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS will be in order next time around. I had those on my old BMW and they were AMAZING, but I would not be opposed to having these Hankooks again. I already have a giant screw in one, so it's likely ruined. I recommend road hazard tire coverage if you live in Atlanta, lots of rubbish in the roads here.

Initial Review, 30,000 Miles on Tires
November 19, 2012

These tires were a good fit for my A4. They have done a great job in all conditions, and matched with AWD, if they were slipping, I never knew it. There was no noise as the tires wore, the traction was outstanding, and steering responsiveness was great.

However, after 30,000 miles they are ready to be replaced. There is some tread left on the tire, but the edges have worn away to nothing, even with two allignments. For Michilin- $$$ tires- to have them wear that rapidly is unacceptable. They've just been replaced with a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS. The Michelins were good to the end, but treadware can't justify the cost.