Tires OEM Audi or Vredestein
I love how the Vredestein Quatrac (the V shaped all seasons) tires behave. They are fantastic tires and the best in my opinion for wet conditions. I would definitely recommend them anytime. They are great tires.
I use them on my C7 S6 in winter. Also had a set of winters for my B7 S4 cab.
Love them.
These have been my go to winter tires for years. Even when worn past the winter compound portion of the tread they are predictable and confidence inspiring in snow. Better than any Bridgestone blizzak or Michelin alpine tire I’ve owned. All having been used in DEEP snow conditions.
I picked up my first set of Wintrac Pro’s last season and even though they got limited use as it was warm-ish with little snow, they were excellent.
Got some summers for my stock 20” wheels earlier this year, and they exceeded any tire I’ve tried before in grip. In particular, at the same time the ride quality for 265/30 tire feels like a 19 or 18. Then I needed to replace my winters (Toyo Observ) so I tried their Wintrac’s and holy shit, they have stiff sidewalls for cornering yet while cruising are like floating on air. Hugely noticeable cornering improvement over the Toyos.
Crossclimates were great in a previous car that I had to get in a different size. I just ordered the Vredstein Quatrac Pro+. it’s an all weather tire that’s winter certified and is supposed to have better wet and sport handling performance than the crossclimates. 55k tread warranty.
Tirerack says the Vredestein Quatrac Pro+ is available in your size, it's 3PMS rated, and it does quite well in customer reviews for winter and summer driving.
I’ve just installed these on my car last week! I had the potenza s001’s on before that. And I only got 8k miles out of those. They were pretty good except for driving in the wet. I could get them to spin easily. I never had that issue with the oem Bridgestones. I’ve had none of the issues you say with the vredesteins. I’ve put over 200 miles on them already. I find them to be slightly noisier than the potenzas.
I had the Vredestein Sportrac 5 previously.
Positives:
+ Quiet and smooth ride
+ Very reliable on flooded highways
Negatives:
- Soft sides, tires looked deflated at the recommended pressure (2.2/1.9 bar - if the car is not loaded, which is most of the time). If I inflate more the drive gets extreme hard and uncomfortable.
I have not driven a lot of tires but wonder if that soft side somehow dampens accuracy?
- Surprisingly bad at braking on the dry, even at low speed in the city, they slide.
My initial impression of the Vredesteins was, "Holy cow, the rear end is going to swap places with the front." The car wagged and bobbed all over the road. It was scary. After a short 5-mile drive home, I adjusted the tire pressure to 41 psi in the rear (they were at 40 and 45 left/right) and drove around a bit more to break in the tires. Once broken in, they drove much better.
Going straight they're fine and don't notice too much difference between the old EP500s and the new Vredesteins. Maybe the ride is slightly better due to the Vredesteins’ softer sidewall. Noise is about the same—they’re quiet tires.
We get a lot of rain here, and the Vredesteins are great in the wet. They’re better than the stock EP500s, likely due to their less aggressive tread pattern and greater tread depth.
However, corners are where it all falls apart. The initial turn-in is great because the front EP500s, despite their poor tire life, handle well. But there’s a slight delay as the rear wobbles into the corner. You can feel the car load up, and you have to counter-steer slightly to keep the car in line as the rear flops over. While the Vredesteins have good grip, the side/slip angle is so large during aggressive driving that the traction control freaks out in fast corners. When you straighten out, the rear flops back and wobbles a bit.
My wife texted me on her way to work this morning, saying, "The car is wiggling so much I think I might throw up."
Any type of turning has the rear bobbling and wagging around. Bumps in the road will also cause it to bounce around. It's just not a pleasant experience whatsoever.
After driving on them for a while, I’m considering whether running Vredesteins on the front as well might correct some of the handling issues.
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