Tire Lifespan

[Raptor09]

Just interested to know how many km's you guys are getting between tire changes on the stock Pirellis?

[geffers]

Just about to change my 1st set at 17,500mls = 28,000 kms, the fronts still have 3-4mm but the rears are bordering on illegal in the UK. Pondered switching to Michelins but Audi strongly recommend sticking with P Zero Type R01s which I've always been happy with anyway for UK roads. Dealer quoted me £1100 for the full set but I need to shop around a little still.

[harrison]

I hit the canyon frequently.My fronts have worn quicker than the rears. (Stock Pirellis) 13K miles is all I'll get.If I only drove in a straight line I could probably get 20K !!

[Raptor09]

Hmm If I remember when I checked prices with the Pirelli dealer here (Dubai) it was about 900 pounds-ish for the set. I've only done about 8,400 miles so everything looks good. Sadly aren't enough nice winding roads here, but I make do with the good bits I've found --> the best roads nearby actually the ones going on/off the Palm Island because they have to curve to avoid buildings ! Flat deserts don't seem to make anyone want to build curving roads

[geffers]

What other wear patterns have drivers experienced?

My fronts are evenly worn but the camber or toe settings seem to have caused the rears to go bald about an inch or two from the outside edge of the tyre. The inner half of the tyre still has a good 3mm or so.

Best price I've managed to get from the dealer for a new set of P Zero's is £1000 straight.

[KfabR8]

I got just at 11,4K miles out of the stock slug P-Zeros.

Check this link to the post I put up on Audizine back in October. It's fairly telling about the Zeros (at least to me.)

I believe the pix of the chunks missing says a lot.

I know I sound like a broken record about the Zeros, but I just can't express how much I disliked those things. - and yes, I will freely admit that I abused them quite hard near the end of their life, as I wanted them OFF my car.

They did do great donuts...

[geffers]

Kfab

Thanks! an interesting read. I've never seen 'chunking' like that on any car I've owned never mind the Pzeros. I had P Zeros on my Porsches for about 8 years before the R8 and we've also had them on hot hatchbacks so I'm shocked to see them pics. The general wear pattern does look similar to mine tho' and u can tell mine have had an easier life at nearly 18000 miles to get to the same level of wear.

I did think about switching to PS2s but decided the P Zero was the safer and cheaper option here in the UK both due to our weather and the strong advice from Audi UK for the stock tyre due to reports of drifting and tramlining with other tyres. For normal road use in all seasons I don't think there's much in it either way.

[willyjp]

Kfab

Thanks! an interesting read. I've never seen 'chunking' like that on any car I've owned never mind the Pzeros. I had P Zeros on my Porsches for about 8 years before the R8 and we've also had them on hot hatchbacks so I'm shocked to see them pics. The general wear pattern does look similar to mine tho' and u can tell mine have had an easier life at nearly 18000 miles to get to the same level of wear.

I did think about switching to PS2s but decided the P Zero was the safer and cheaper option here in the UK both due to our weather and the strong advice from Audi UK for the stock tyre due to reports of drifting and tramlining with other tyres. For normal road use in all seasons I don't think there's much in it either way.

I had a car (V70R Volvo) that was delivered with factory P-Zero Rossos that caused TERRIBLE tramlining and other mis-behavior.....Michelin Pilot Sports totally solved all the problems and improved the handling immensely! I also think you'll get better wear out of the Michelin. Other folks on here have reported good results with Pilot Sports.....your dealer probably wants to sell you the Pirellis!

Performance in the wet, btw, is a very strong suit for the Pilot Sport and they did not disappoint in our rainy weather that is at least as bad as yours...probably worse!

[drbf]

what has been the difference in performance for those who have switched form P-Zero's to the PS2's?

[Raptor09]

what has been the difference in performance for those who have switched form P-Zero's to the PS2's?

Yes I'd be interested in this too including handling grip and lifespan. All weather usability isn't much of an issue here since the R8 hides from the rainy days anyway