Daily driving
Ultra-high performance summer
Hot-tier power starts to overwhelm touring rubber, especially in the wet. UHP tyres add the braking and steering you need and still last.
The Audi RS 3 (8Y) is a all-wheel drive car with 294 kW and a kerb weight of 1,575 kg. That’s 187 kW per tonne, in the hot tier. Hot hatches and sports coupés. Power can overwhelm cheap rubber, especially in the wet.
187kW/t
Over the P-plate limit. Above 130 kW/t, so P1 and P2 drivers in NSW and Victoria, and under-25 P-platers in Queensland, can't drive it without an exemption. P-plate rules
For a mild, wet climate. Cold and snowy climates are further down.
Daily driving
Hot-tier power starts to overwhelm touring rubber, especially in the wet. UHP tyres add the braking and steering you need and still last.
Spirited road driving
At 187 kW/t, your car leans hard on its tyres under power and braking. Max-performance tyres are what cars like this are engineered around.
Road + occasional track days
At 187 kW/t, your car leans hard on its tyres under power and braking. Max-performance tyres are what cars like this are engineered around.
Also consider: optional track set, track.
Estimates from power and weight. The tyre placard on the driver’s door jamb is the legal minimum.
Ultra-high performance summer: character
Cold winters, little snow
Summer set: Ultra-high performance summer
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 · Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 · Hankook Ventus S1 evo3
Cold-season set: Winter
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 · Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 · Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
If you want one set: All-season / all-weather
Michelin CrossClimate 2 · Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 · Continental AllSeasonContact 2
Snow and ice
Summer set: Ultra-high performance summer
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 · Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 · Hankook Ventus S1 evo3
Winter set: Winter
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 · Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 · Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
If you want one set: All-season / all-weather
Michelin CrossClimate 2 · Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 · Continental AllSeasonContact 2
All-wheel drive: replace all four
Keep all four tyres the same make, model and near-identical tread depth. Many AWD systems tolerate only 2–3 mm of difference before the centre coupling or diff is strained, so a single damaged tyre can mean replacing the set, or shaving a new one to match.
Buying only two?
On AWD, avoid it. On other cars, put the new pair on the rear axle: grippy rears keep the car stable when braking or cornering in the wet.
187 kW per tonne (250 hp per tonne), from 294 kW and a 1,575 kg kerb weight. That puts it in ratio's Hot tier.
For everyday driving, ultra-high performance summer tyres. Good options include the Michelin Pilot Sport 5, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, Hankook Ventus S1 evo3. Always match or exceed the load index and speed rating on the car's tyre placard.
No, not without an exemption. At 187 kW per tonne it is over the 130 kW/t limit for P1 and P2 drivers in NSW and Victoria, and for under-25 P-platers in Queensland.
Cars in the Hot tier typically run W or Y-rated tyres. The legal minimum is whatever your placard, on the driver's door jamb, specifies.