Vincent in Montreal

My choices: Michelin Pilot Sport (good looking)
Bridgestone S-03 (nice results on tirerack.com)

My dealer choices: Dunlop SP 6000 (OEM tire)
Continental (OEM tire)

My local tire shop: Bridgestone S-03 (will not last long)
Pirelli Asimmetrico (very smooth and silent)

So what should I choose, now I really need some new soon. Who should I thrust? And what should I choose?

Stan4.2

They handle really well and are very quiet.

carbonLORD

I second that. Very quiet and superb in wet weather.

Seattle Scott

I virtually second that. Plan on buying them but I drive a 4WD pickup truck in the snow.

ESN

do you mean Dunlop SP 9000 (not 6000)?

HotSprings2.7T

although I don't live in Canada, I do live in the mountains where we get a fair bit of snow and I definitely can't run summer tires but a few months a year. I ran the conti 2's for a bit, and then some pirelli 6000's and, although obviously a different type of tire, they were great. Had to put on the yokos last fall - very noisy, even to the point where passengers thought i had rubbing in the parking lot!!

i ran dunlops sp 5000's on my '98 A4 and liked them much better

DrHandball

Pilot A/S would be a good choice as well. The Tire Rack says that this tire will eat the Yokohama alive on the track and it will last longer, too.

ESN

Isn't the AVS db an all season tire?

Stoney

The S-03s are the most common upgrade for Audi's it seems. They are widely acclaimed as having great grip, sharp turn in, great stability (fewer steering corrections) and such. I'm one week into my set, and I don't see a big change over the Pirelli P6000s that came stock, except that the Pirelli's grip decreased a bit as they got to end of life (15k hard driving) and they became rather noisy early on. I was expecting more change. I may have to check alignment, and give the S-03s more break-in (had 300 miles so far). Ride is firm but not distinctly different from Pirellis at 36-38 lbs... a bit less resonance going over bumps, but a bit more initial shock transferred through the stiff sidewall. I prefer the S-03s, but I wouldn't call them quiet or soft in ride.

The Toyo Proxes T1-S have great grip I am told, but perhaps not as stiff a sidewall, with perhaps better ride but less sharp turn in.

For other than "max performance" summer tires, the AVS dB is quiet and all-around very good. Less money too.

All the others I read about and asked about were in some way less recommended (and rated less well on TireRack) than these.

Some of these links may help (some may be broken):

<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/1164315.phtml">Toyo sidewall is softer, less crisp turn-in</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/CompareMostPop.jsp?autoYear=2001&autoMake=Audi&aut oModel=A6+4.2&sortCode=50150&width=255/&ratio=40&diameter=17&minSpeedRating=H&minLoad=nul l&search=mostpop&vehicleSearch=true&speed_rating=H R&speed_rating=VR&speed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR& speed_rating=ZR&">Popular tires A6 4.2 sport</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/1164264.phtml">Toyo-T1S can be 4lb lighter. Poor turn-in.</A>
<A HREF="http://www.treadepot.com/td.c/orders/index.html">Toyo Proxes T1S from TREADEPOT.COM</A>
<A HREF="http://www.treadepot.com/td.c/orders/index.html">Toyo Proxes T1 $162 at TREADEPOT.COM</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/142335.phtml">Question for ryoung on Toyo vs S-03</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/racing/msgs/18882.phtml">April on Kumhos at track</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/132515.phtml">April: If you like S-03s, you'll love Toyos</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/11960.phtml">April: older message about Toyo, Dunlops</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/141763.phtml">April compares Toyo, S-03s</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/other/msgs/96224.phtml">Toyo Proxes T1-S are awesome &amp; 3lb lighter</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/121358.phtml">April: Just spent the weekend on track, Toyo vs S-03</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/100401.phtml">April: Ignore the SP9000 for track, have Toyos on now</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tires-n-parts.com/tires/toyo/toyo.html">Tires-n-Parts - Toyo Tires</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/141903.phtml">AudiWorld Forums: Toyo Proxes T1S</A>
<A HREF="http://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_lines/high_perf/t1s.html">Toyo Proxes T1S: mfr info</A>
<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/5405.phtml">S-03s vs Dunlop SP8000 on an S8</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare2.jsp?compare=true&qty_54YR7SPORT_=4&model= &autoModel=A6+4.2&speedRating=&make=&qty_54ZR79000 _=4&price=&width=255%2F&vehicleSearch=true&qty_54Y R7S03PP_=4&qty_54YR76000_=4&diameter=17&qty=&stock Message=&autoYear=2001&ratio=40&URL=&qty_54WR7DB_= 4&sortValue=1&startIndex=0&type=T&partNumber=&sort Code=&newCompare=true&autoMake=Audi&compareList=0& compareList=3&">Tirerack Compare Results: AVS dB, S-03</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsModel.jsp?tireModel=AVS+dB">Review: AVS dB</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/bs_s03_rd.jsp">Review: S-03 Pole Position, Michelin Pilot Sport and Pirelli Pzero Rosso</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/yokohama/yo_avs_db.jsp">Yokohama AVS dB: Ultra performance, not Max. Quite, smooth. </A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/yokohama/yo_avs_sport.jsp">Yokohama AVS Sport: low noise, but follows grooves and understeers</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/pirelli/pi_p6000.jsp">Pirelli P6000</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/dunlop/du_s9000.jsp">Dunlop SP Sport 9000: best ride, low noise, hydropl resistant, but more driver input required</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/michelin/mi_pilot_sport.jsp">Michelin Pilot Sport: noisier, not as grippy as S-03s</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bs_s03.jsp">Bridgestone Potenza S-03: handling; but noise and comfort not as good</A>

Stoney

And I, myself, mistakenly call them Dunlops on occasion.