QUA77R0

If this thread had been about the Pirelli P-Zero Rosso, then the many of us who also have/had them would have commented. The P-Zero Rosso is a very comfortable tire for its class with a fairly soft sidewall compared to other tires in this class. Unfortunately, this contributes to flat spotting when not driven daily. In some cases, the flat spotting has occurred overnight. After driving 15k miles and 9 days of track time, I finally wore them out so that I could justify the cost of upgrading them. I chose to upgrade to Continentals ContiSportContact 3's in 255/35/19. These have a stiffer sidewall than the P-Zero Rosso so the impact harshness is a bit more pronounced but the turn-in response and wear characteristics are an improvement. After 4 days of track time, these Contact 3's are merely scuffed. After my first track day on the P-Zero Rosso's, I found significant wear as well as pickup accumulation. The pickup was enough to throw off the balance for a few days after each track event. No such problem with the Conti's. I did note that the the outermost rib welded itself to the outer blocks so they definitely got alot of heat in them. I don't recall my pyrometer records offhand but I did keep records after every run session and the temps were pretty even across the tires.

From my experience with these, I would rate the ContiSportContact 3 as a step up from the Pirelli in steering feel and turn-in response. That said, I don't think that the ContiSportContact 3 is as good as the Michelin PS2 which I run on my E55 AMG. The Pilot Sport 2 seems telepathic in its turn-in response and the steering feel is phenomenal. That comes with the cost of further ride harshness but my E55 spend alot of time sitting for extended periods unused (17k miles in 10 years) and it has never had any flat-spotting issues which I attribute to those rock hard sidewalls. So next year when I wear the Conti's out I'll upgrade to the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 or its replacement the 3.

It bears mentioning that the P-Zero Rosso gets quite loud as it wears. I was appalled at the drone once they hit the wear bars. I heard great thing about how quiet the ContiSportContact 3 was and was upset when I went for my initial drive after install... Same droning as the worn Pirellis. But after 2 days, they were very quiet and have stayed that way.

Considering that there are at least 3 formulations of the Rosso, what makes you think that the ones you put on your Evo are the same as the ones supplied by Audi. The UTQG rating ranges from 160 to 220. The ones supplied by Audi are rated at 220. Food for thought.

snagitseven

Maybe because my thread was about the Conti DWS vs Pirelli P6?

QUA77R0

Agreed. Didn't mean to take it OT but felt he deserved a reply. Great review and thread BTW snagitseven.

Audirings4

No one?

After 9800 miles I am at 6/13 tread. Horrible wear on the Rosso's so I wont be buying them in the future.

I'm now using the stock 7 split spoke as my winter wheels.
Picked up some OEM 19" s4 wheels for summer.

<img src=http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o64/mofsteel/2010%20Avant/a071fce0.jpg>
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Macallan21

I've got 36,000 on my P6's right now.

Discount tire has the P6's for $170/tire .. + 2.50 + 3.00 + 16.00 (for environmental, tire dispotal, and 16 = installation/balancing).
Those are rated for 65,000 miles.


the Continental .. DWS at $144/tire .. plus same about 2.50+3.00+16.00.. and are rated for 50,000 miles.

is anyone actually getting near these numbers?

Also.. anyone just bought their tires and had an Indy place (walmart even) mount/install them? In the past Walmart's only charged me $3 to mount the tire on a rim and put it on the car.

ports

snagitseven

Since you didn't mention the size, there's no way to know if the prices you mention are good or not. As for balancing, I wouldn't let Wal-Mart clean my tires much less mount and balance them. I would be sure to use a shop that had people experienced on the Hunter force balance machine which is the only way to go. 3 bucks is not going to get you a force balance.
Good luck getting 65K miles out of a set of P6's. Even if they did last that long, my teeth would fall out from the vibrations before I ever got that far. I will never own a car with Pirelli P6's mounted again. Ever. Pure garbage IMO.

quality_sound

Did you mean 6/16ths? If so you actually have MORE tread depth than the tires were made with. Pirelli lists the depth on all 3 Rosso versions in the 255/35/19 size at 8/32", which is 4/16" or 1/4".

I agree with QUA77RO that they do get noisy after some wear. I, however, prefer the Contis to the Michelins. The Michelins wear faster than any tire I've ever owned. Outstanding grip though. I don't track enough to justify them so I run the Contis.

Audirings4

Thanks for the 2nd grade math lesson.
I am actually less 6/13th so approx 64% total depth left.

quality_sound

It wasn't meant to be condescending. I was just wondering how you were measuring in 13th of an inch is all.

Macallan21

245/45 R17 is what my car came with. I figured mentioning the prices was enough, because I thought most people were talking about the STOCK tires on the A4.

Anyhow, DiscountTire is 30-35 miles away. I think what I'll end up doing is buying the tires there and having a local shop (not Walmart) mount them. It's just a bitch to have to take a whole afternoon (or morning) to have my tires rotated, and THEN still go to another place for an oil change. My local shop does my oil changes for $13 (labor only) since I provide the oil & oil/air filters. Autozone rarely carries the 0W40, so I stock up on it when I see it.