The 8 Best Tires for the Audi R8

#1. Michelin Pilot Super Sport

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is one of our top tire picks for the Audi R8 simply because this tire can reinforce many of the qualities of the car.

Start with the fact that it can make your R8’s ride even more easy-going. Armed with Michelin’s Acoustic Technology (which helps it absorb vibrations and deflect noise), this tire will encourage you to drive the R8 daily, regardless of your driving style.

Another quality the car and the tire share is staying stable at the limit. The R8 does that thanks to its mighty V-10 engine and seven-speed automatic. The PSSS, meanwhile, owes its superb high-speed handling to the outer portion of its tread.

Designed for dry performance, the outer portion has fewer voids than the inner one. This enables it to improve traction and handling. Paired together with the PSSS’s sturdy internal construction, it lets this tire handle breakneck acceleration with ease.

True, it does have its faults, with many drivers suggesting that its cold/wet weather grip isn’t as good as the dry grip. Yet, when you analyze all factors through the lens of its reasonable price (especially for a Michelin tire), the drawback seems insignificant.

#2. Michelin Pilot Sport S5

Just as the latest model of the R8 poses formidable competition to its competitors, the PS S5, unveiled last year, represents serious challenge to other UHP tires.

The first area where this tire outperforms many UHP tires is durability. Thanks to Michelin’s MaxTouch Construction, which evenly distributes the pressure forces it’s subjected to, it wears more evenly than your average UHP tire. The result? A long road life.

Durability isn’t everything with the Pilot Sport S5, as its handling is equally superb. Stiffer tread blocks on the outside make sure that its handling is improved vis-à-vis its predecessor. Additionally, they improve its grip in the corners, letting you attack bends at speed.

Also, while your average UHP tire only performs on dry roads, the Pilot Sport S5 also holds its own on wet roads. Want to know how? Its outer side has larger grooves for water evacuation. Thanks to them, the contact patch stays dry, resulting in high wet traction.

#3. Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position

The Potenza RE970AS offers everything a premium all-season UHP tire should, including improved handling through the corners, a respectable treadwear warranty, and short braking distances.

Another thing we like about this tire are the 3D sipes integrated into its tread design. Besides improving its grip in cold weather and on slippery surfaces, they help evacuate water for short stopping distances on wet roads. That is something not all UHP tires can claim to do.

Small wonder, then, that this tire feels very well composed on wet surfaces. Even when you push it to its limits, the traction remains intact. And when it does loose, as it eventually will, it will do so in a predictable way, meaning you won’t have to sacrifice control.

Speaking of control, you’d have plenty of it when driving at the limit. The credit for that goes to this tire’s spiral wrap structure, which helps it maintain its shape no matter how hard you push it.

What is more, this tire is now available in a vast range of sizes, so you’re bound to be covered no matter which trim of the R8 you drive.

#4. Continental ProContact RX

The ProContact series from Continental boasts some of the best tires on the market, but even then the ProContact RX takes things to the next level.

Not only does it offer superb road manners, you also get sporty-like characteristics. Think of better grip in the corners than you’d get from your average grand touring tire, slightly improved high-speed stability, and more than enough traction to eliminate wheel spin.

The tread compound on this tire has all-season roots, meaning you won’t have to replace the RX as long as your area doesn’t receive lots of snow. Plus, both the shoulder grooves and tread pattern are designed to aid in water evacuation for better performance in the rain.

Comfort isn’t also an issue with this tire, as long as you stay on the highway. The tread compound does a decent-ish job of absorbing road vibrations, especially at slower speeds. However, you may hit a bit of road at higher speeds in the last few days of this tire.

Treadwear warranty is the only weak point of this tire, given that it’s backed to last 40,000 miles, at least 10,000 miles lower than the competition.

#5 . Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus

Although the market is flooded with AS UHP tires, the ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus manages to distinguish itself from the crowd in more ways than one.

The first of which is that it offers a quiet ride, attracting those who use their R8 for daily driving. It does an excellent job of softening out road imperfections, meaning you won’t have to drive on paved roads to experience the whisper-quiet ride it’s famous for.

Performance is another box this tire ticks. An incredibly low rolling resistance (for an all-season high-performance tire) means you can easily exploit the power supplied by the R8’s gutsy V-10 engine. So no need to switch for dedicated UHP tires.

Despite that, its treadwear is still great, as indicated by the 50,000-mile treadwear warranty. An average American driver – one who drives around 15,000 miles a year – can easily get at least three seasons out of these, especially if you drive conservatively.

Bear in mind, though, that this tire doesn’t come cheap. A set of four of these may end up costing you the same as two or more sets from mid-range brands.

#6. Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 – Best UHP Tire

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 has everything you may look for in summer tires, making it a must-have for adrenaline junkies who live for speed.

This tire begs you to drive it hard and won’t squeal when you do so. Without taking any time to heat up, it grips the road as soon as you press the accelerator. As such, when you’re driving this tire, high-speed stability would be something you can take for granted.

Braking performance is equally brilliant, even if the road looks like as if it has just withstood a sand storm, a quality not many UHP tires possess. Plus, it is quick to respond to steering inputs, meaning you won’t have to hesitate while making quick lane changes.

The good news continue in the wet department, where this tire brakes, accelerates, and attacks corners with confidence. That isn’t surprising, though, given its tread compound has rated AA-rated wet traction grade, the highest traction grade any tire could get.

Want to hear more good news? Goodyear backs this tire with a 6-year workmanship and materials warranty, which is pretty decent for this category of tires.

#7. Vredestein Quatrac Pro – Best UHP Tire

If your area receives more than its fair share of snow and you cannot afford to buy dedicated winter tires, the Vredestein Quatrac Pro is an excellent bet.

That is mainly because it comes with the 3PMSF emblem. Awarded by the EU authorities and ratified by bodies around the world, the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol is considered as the ultimate guarantee that a tire will safely carry you on snow and ice.

An aggressive tread pattern further underlines its snow-driving credentials. That too without affecting its noise levels. Which is surprising considering that many tires with the same tread pattern would force you to turn up the volume to block out external noise.

Unfortunately, there’s one area where this tire lags its competitors. Its treadwear warranty is a mere 50,000 miles, falling much short of rivals that are backed to last 60,000 to 70,000 miles.

#8. Continental VikingContact 7 – Best Winter Tire

Does the area where you live and/or drive receives more than its fair share of snow? If so, the VikingContact 7 deserves your attention and money.

The main reason for that lies in its tread compound. Made of silica and enriched with canola oil, the compound stays soft regardless of how low the temperatures drop. This flexibility, in turn, lets the rubber conform to the irregularities of snowy and icy roads, providing better traction.

There’s another design element that helps this tire perform superbly on snowy surfaces. It features sipes with different widths that trap snow within them. In doing so, it promotes snow-on-snow contact, resulting in reliable braking performance on slippery surfaces.

Yet another area that helps with winter is the Grip Edges. Placed at the shoulder blocks, they serve as this tire’s second point of contact with the road, the first being the contact patch. The increased contact promotes better grip and traction on snowy and icy roads.

All of the above is what you associate from a premium winter tire. What you don’t expect from tires in this category is to stay stable at speed. But guess what? That is precisely what this tire delivers, thanks to the interlocking tread blocks.