Good post, some interesting questions, unfortunately I can’t be of any help, but am particularly interested in the feedback you receive

 

the SC7 is the latest sporty tires of Conti, it just came out in the market so there aren't so many feedback yet, judging from that comparison test it should be very well performing, however I never rely 100% on these YouTube tests (also considering the tested car is quite different from the TT).
regarding the AO (Audi Original) matter, it is correct to say they are not intended for the TT, the R01 are the good ones (R01 is one of the OEM tires, that have been specifically developed for the TT. AO are intended for other FWD Audi's)

 

I contacted Continental and they just said that they only have the core tyre available now as the tyre is so new and that the car manufacturers normally test the tyres after release on a track with their cars and then give them feedback. Then they tweak the tyres for them and change the composition and that this normally takes many months. They told me they would expect an Audi variant to be on the market later in the year typically but that it wouldn't be for many months.

 

I guess there won't be any SC7 suited for the TT, since TT is going to die soon, they will stick with the usual OEM tires like the P-Zero R01 and the Falken

 

The issue with other brands is that Michelin last at least 50% longer in my experience and cost less than 50% more.

 

my experience with the TT tires is limited to P-Zero R01, so can't comment on PS4S, but opinion goes generally from good to very good

 

I ended up biting the bullet and ordered the Sport Contact 7's. I'm having them fitted this coming week.

I'm not waiting for R01 versions to come out as God knows when that will be and if the tyres are as good as this review claims, it really shouldn't matter. It's clear these tyres are much better than all the previous gen tyres on the market including the Michelin PS4 S. I would have waited a bit if Michelin were releasing a PS5 S tyre and probably got those instead but they are only currently releasing a PS5 tyre with no PS5 S even on the horizon.

Also - I noticed manufacturers like Continental saying to take it easy on new tyres and only do gentle braking / acceleration for the first 500 miles to bed them in. I will never in a million years have the patience to do that - I doubt I could hold off for 15 miles let alone 500 miles lol?? I'm wondering how important that is... I don't want to wreck my new tyres... I know tyres have a factory coating that has to come off before they get grippy, but 500 miles is a totally different ball game...

Also, in the tyre test above, I'm assuming they just tested all the tyres straight from new - how do they deal with having to bed in new tyres(?)

 

there won't be any AO/R01 version for the SC7, since it is not/it will not an OE tire for the TT.
regarding 500 miles for the breaking-in, sounds unreal to me

 

Well - had them fitted earlier. I couldn't believe how soft and grippy the compound was to the touch - I couldn't even run my finger along the surface it was that grippy - nothing like my current fitted tyres. These replaced Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2 tyres. Although it will be ages before I actually push these new tyres (so can't comment on road grip / handling), what struck me driving round on them was how super smooth and comfortable the ride was on these - it was so noticeable and literally night and day difference like a totally different car.

Something I really wasn't expecting was also that I couldn't hear any noise from the tyres 'at all' driving on the roads - practically silent which was so freaky and totally unexpected. The Dunlops are so loud and constantly noticeable and yet on paper are meant to be 70 decibels and the Continentals 72. The Continentals weren't just quieter but just totally silent in the cabin - hopefully they stay that way and don't get louder as they get run in as it's a pleasant surprise and makes no sense. I was expecting a really loud tyre

 

good, let's reconfirm the feeling after some thousands of miles!
regarding the rolling noise, you can't compare a brand new tire with a used one, since the noise increases with the wear (even your new SC7 is destined to become more noisy in the future!)

 

New Michelin Pilot Sport 5 looks really good and the press are giving very favourable reviews, unfortunately I dont think they are yet released in the 19 inch tyre size of the TT. I guess these will come soon.

 

I forgot to mention, total price fully fitted (19") was £681 and was significantly cheaper than getting PS4 S tyres (e.g. £920 from same retailer). I could easily see this tyre going up in price given the review above so probably a good time to grab some if any of you are considering them. I struggled to find any retailer offering this tyre given how new they are - the only tyre retailer that had the Sport Contact 7 was Asda Tyres (and I checked all the retailers and websites constantly), so if any of you are struggling to get hold of them, I would try their website (currently they are doing £40 off a set of 4 Conti's aswell)

 

I have been wondering regarding the OEM tyre topic. I feel like the whole OEM tyre vs buy whatever you want is BS.
Audi sells Dunlop 3D and 4D as their OEM tyres for TT. Both are very old models of tyres that have been heavily left behind by the current competition. Same how in some instances they tell you to buy TS830 Conti tyres that are horrible.

Are you telling me that just because the 3D and 4D are OEM to TT MK3 that somehow they are better than say even 5D that did not get OEM sticker?

 

Over the past 15 years I reckon I've tried all the leading makes on various TTs and as I don't flog it to death on a track, I can't say I've ever noticed a tyre that is poor or excels. I'm sure others will disagree but that's my opinion.

 

I agree with you to a certain extent. The major think to realise and mind is what do you need. Snow or wet tyre. Because very few can do both well. There is always a trade off.
However, I still dont see any excuse for Audi to sell rims with such old models as ts830 and Dunlop Winter Sport 3 or 4. A car shouldn’t be 5 years younger than the tyre model design.

 

I found an interesting video from our good friends at TyreReviews. Here they examine a much more realistic scenario where your car is relatively new and the recommended "OEM" tyre model is now outdated. What is better, old "OEM tyre" vs "new model from the same manufacturer"?

Shows that in some cases (M2 BMW in this example) the new tyre model is outperforming "OEM tyre" in almost every conceivable aspect.

So maybe rule of thumb is to follow OEM tyre recommendation up until there is a new model launched by tyre manufacturer. Because from what this video shows, you are both overpaying and getting less performing tyre if you go OEM after certain amount of years has passed.
Interesting video that answered my previous question perfectly.

 

interesting, but somehow contradicting with this...

 

Not really in my opinion. That video compares current model of tyre vs its OEM counterpart.

In my video Jonathan is testing “old gen OEM” vs “new gen aftermarket/one size fits all”. For example is Continental TS850p (OEM Audi) better than the newer TS860 (non oem)?

I have no doubt that when comparing same model of tyre…OEM would most likely be better.

However, when looking at the old OEM vs new aftermarket…its not the case (at least with Michelins)

 

mhh, not convinced.... in the above example, I doubt a PS 5 can outperform a PS4S (PS 5 just launched)

 

The PS5 is a UHP tyre where as PS4 S and Continental Sport Contact 7 are both UUHP tyres. It's wrong to expect a PS5 to beat a PS4 S IMO as they are literally a class apart. I would choose PS4 S over PS5 in a heartbeat

 

totally agree on this, that's why I criticise the idea that a newer tire is better than OEM, just because "it's new" (as the video seems to suggest)

 

Really interesting points of view. I am from South Africa and have been told by my local dealer that I can only fit AO tyres on my TTS. Can Audi insist on replacement tyres fitted and does fitting other tyres like the newer SC7, have warranty implications?

 

To be honest I think you can overthink tyre choice. There’s certainly noticeable differences between premium and budget lines but not many people are likely to see a significant performance difference between brands in the same price/range unless doing track driving. If you buy a decent quality premium tyre you’re never going to go far wrong.

 

Hey guys - I'm currently looking at buying a full set of 19" tyres for my 2015 TT Quattro 2.0 TFSI and looking through the forum everyone seems to be saying on here to get Michelin PS4 S tyres. I've not been able to find any cheap deals and they also seem to be hard to find at the moment. Also I was surprised seeing how bad the label ratings are for this tyre... (D rating for fuel economy??)

Whilst looking at alternatives, I noticed the Continental SportContact 7 came out recently and were significantly better than the Michelins in a recent tyre TEST

I definitely want the best tyre that I can push my car in dry and wet conditions. I was about to purchase the Continentals but then noticed that these tyres don't have any AO, R01 or R02 rating - do I need to worry about this, or is it fine to fit them to my car?

The tyres I am about to buy are listed as: "Continental Sport Contact 7 245/35R19 CONTI SPORT CONTACT 7 93Y XL". I noticed people saying online that R01 / R02 are for Audi Quattro models (and to not even buy AO if you have a Quattro?) which made me slightly concerned before spending so much money as these aren't even AO rated let alone R01 or R02. On Continental's own website it doesn't even show these tyres as being compatible with my car at all (shows SportContact 6) when I enter my reg which is also slightly worrying me. Any advice appreciated. I would have assumed it's fine to fit to my car, but just wanted to make extra sure as it's alot of money and I know that all wheel drive cars are more temperamental when it comes to tyres.

Also I watched this video below showing the difference between standard spec Michelin tyres and their manufacturer spec version of the same tyre and there was a huge difference which really shocked me and made me worry more about this AO/R01/R02 business...

Reply

Had the same thoughts a few months ago, local garage said they wouldn’t recommend the SC7 as they were not Audi approved. Contacted Continental who gave me the same message. Contacted Audi who repeated the message - not approved for use on the TT. No one said I ‘couldn’t’ have them but I choose to stick with the SC6 which was a like-for-like replacement that worked for me.

 

do not know in other countries, but here absolutely no legal or warranty related implications in adopting other than OEM tires.
Also to consider. TT OEM tires have been developed almost 10 years ago, and according to the several comparisons, newer tires (P-zero PZ4, SC7, PS4S, PS5) are definitively outperforming older P-Zero, SC 5, etc

 

Thank you for your response buddy.
Exactly my thinking as well. It makes no sense to use outdated technology (example SC6 RO1) when better perfoming (example SC7) is available, and this is by continentals own data analysis. As tyres are superseded there should be an understanding to allow the newer one in the interests of safety, emissions, tyre wear, etc.

Furthermore, the SC6 has variants namely AO and now RO1 in my country which is interesting. Would be interesting to understand the differences in compounds to the regular SC6 if any.

 

Guys - several months on, the Continental Sport Contact 7 tyres have been fantastic. Handling and grip is perfect. Not only have I had no issues with the Quattro system, but everything feels alot better and the car loves these tyres. The Quattro system on the TT definitely works significantly better with these tyres from my experience than the previous OEM tyres. I've noticed my traction control lights never ever go on now no matter what I do as the car just gets 100% grip and just does whatever you want. Anyone sitting on the fence needn't worry at all - 100% recommend.

One thing I would say though is take it very easy until you've bedded them in (which you should be doing anyway with all new tyres) - I was purposely taking things very carefully after fitting them but was still not prepared at all for how much longer the stopping distance was at high speed - the stopping distance after having done about 10 to 15 miles on them was about 4 times longer at Motorway speed. When I exited the motorway, there was sudden stationary traffic, I needed to urgently stop and I barely managed to stop in time - there was no skidding, juddering or anything - just literally felt like my brakes were at 20% of what they were normally and there was a moment when I thought I wasn't actually going to stop in time - very weird feeling that was scary when it happened. Take it very easy after fitting them until the tyres bed in - I can't stress this enough.

 

One thing I would say though is take it very easy until you've bedded them in (which you should be doing anyway with all new tyres) - I was purposely taking things very carefully after fitting them but was still not prepared at all for how much longer the stopping distance was at high speed - the stopping distance after having done about 10 to 15 miles on them was about 4 times longer at Motorway speed. When I exited the motorway, there was sudden stationary traffic, I needed to urgently stop and I barely managed to stop in time - there was no skidding, juddering or anything - just literally felt like my brakes were at 20% of what they were normally and there was a moment when I thought I wasn't actually going to stop in time - very weird feeling that was scary when it happened. Take it very easy after fitting them until the tyres bed in - I can't stress this enough.

That makes no sense, if they were lacking grip the ABS would've been going bonkers. Your experience implies the brakes weren't working properly, not sure how they would've done it but maybe your fitters got tyre lube on the discs

 

Would be great if we could add a way of tracking mileage, feel, grip etc based on intensity of use, high speed, cornering, combined, efficiency on each set of tyre for 18’s,19’s, 20’s.

 

Does anyone know when the SC7 would be AO or RO2 approved?